"It will be totally awesome," Beth enthused. "All of the exhibits are decorated with Christmas lights and such; they're serving hot chocolate and apple cider, Santa will be there for the kids, and it will be so much fun." She smiled at them as the group pretty much glowered in unison. "And it's for charity; the proceeds are going half to the Children's Zoo and half to discounting rates for school groups so that more city kids can learn about the animals."

Now she had them. Tony sighed. "I could just write them a check," he muttered.

"You could do that too, Tony," Pepper said. "You're not going as heroes; this will be all incognito…well, more or less. Some of you will probably be recognized at some point. This is just something for us all to do together." Tony shrugged and nodded.

"Yeah, think of it as a teambuilding activity," Steve told them all. She grinned at him. He'd been all over the idea when she'd shown him the article in the paper. He'd apparently never been to a zoo. While it was true many of the animals would not venture out in the cold and dark, he'd still love it.

Kara was frowning, as was Loki, but at least Loki's frown was thoughtful. "Pretty lights, things to see, strolling along at your leisure, it will be romantic," Beth wheedled.

Loki's expression softened further and he gave Kara a small smile. "Shall we be romantic, love?" he asked her as he lifted her hand to his lips. Yes! Another one hooked!

"I suppose. They have something like that at one of the California zoos, it was kind of nice."

Beth turned her pleading gaze on Darcy and Bruce. They were freshly returned from Asgard and while they weren't arguing or anything, they'd been spending a lot of time apart. "It's up to you, Darcy," Bruce said. "I'm okay with it either way."

"Christmas, huh?" Darcy mused. "At least there'll be lots of real people there."

"Darcy, there were real people in Asgard." Oh boy, that sounded like an old argument.

"Not human people…or excuse me, mortal people." The brunette was suddenly the focus of several annoyed stares. Beth had already had a convo with Steve about the fact that he might live a lot longer than she would. Clint had the same problem with Natasha. Logan, who was off visiting his X-Men friends, was also going to live a very long time and God only knew how long Loki and Kara would live; they were both, for all intents and purposes, immortal. Tony had been grousing about it, again, just the other day and had spilled that Bruce's lifespan, thanks to the other guy, was likely to be super long as well. Had Darcy finally been told?

"I'm sorry, Darcy. If I could change things, be normal again, I would. You know that." Yep, Darcy knew. "Come on, honey. Let's go stroll in the zoo, admire the lights, just do something normal."

"Okay. Yeah, I'm in."

Beth smiled and looked at Natasha and Clint. Well, more at Natasha. "We all missed out on Halloween and Thanksgiving between you guys saving the world and us all going to Asgard, what do you say?"

The very pregnant Black Widow frowned down at her baby bulge. "It would be an acceptable way to get some light exercise and fresh air," she decided.

"Wonderful! I'll call in and get our tickets arranged. They open at five-thirty; it'll be dark enough by then. We can go out to dinner after, if that's okay with everybody?"

"Not Mexican," Nat said quickly. "I love it, but the spices keep the baby up."

"How about Italian?"

… …

Darcy frowned down at the outfit she'd decided to wear. It had several layers, since she figured it would be pretty cold at the zoo; but it was cute. The boots alone had cost her a week's salary; well, a week's salary when she was just Jane's assistant. Her current salary was awesome, much higher than most poli-sci grads could expect. But then, most of them didn't get jobs being the Social Media Director for the Avengers. Damn, she loved that title, it even sounded important. She finished buttoning the silk blouse and pulled the cashmere sweater on over her head. It was a really nice sage green that matched her eyes and hugged the boobage. "Not that I want them highlighted," she muttered.

A knock sounded on her door. "Miss Lewis, Dr. Banner is at the door," Jarvis told her.

"Thanks, J; could you pop it open for me?" she asked as she reached for the pendant Queen Frigga had given her as a thank you gift for helping Bruce navigate the intricacies of negotiation. It was a gorgeous piece of gold and held a golden topaz stone. Frigga had been great; she'd been the one whose shoulder Darcy had cried on when she'd overheard some of the delegates offering Bruce sympathy for his attraction to a 'mortal whose light would be doused in the mere blink of an eye'. She blinked rapidly to stop the tears in their tracks. Darcy Lewis did not cry goddammit. She was the strongest of the strong, the toughest of the tough, the…

"Hey, Darce; you okay, honey?" That soft warm voice made all of her strength melt away like ice under the summer sun. She grabbed a pair of tissues and held them at the corners of her eyes to catch the tears so her mascara wouldn't run and give her raccoon eyes.

"Sure, fine. Be with you in a sec." She took a deep breath and was about to let it out slowly when Bruce closed the gap between them and wrapped her in his always surprisingly strong arms. I mean, seriously. Everyone knew the Hulk was strong, but nobody suspected it of Bruce with his absent-minded professor look. "Don't, please."

"We need to talk about it, honey. Pushing the issue aside isn't doing either of us any good."

Why did he always have to make sense? "What's there to talk about? I'm going to get old, you aren't. Not any older than you are now, anyway."

"Ouch. Gee, thanks." He loosened his hold and let her turn to face him. "Darcy, just because I don't seem to be aging now, doesn't mean that I won't in the future; I just don't know what will happen, no one does."

"Lady Eir seems to think you might be immortal, or as immortal as they are anyway."

"She also said she's never seen anything like this. Come on, Darcy. You were okay when you thought you'd end up with an old man while you were still fairly young."

"That's different."

He sighed. It was a tired sound. "And here I thought I'd be rejected because I was too dangerous to love; not because my aging stopped. It's ironic." She looked up in time to see his sad smile slip away. "We can call it quits if you want. I-I don't want you to feel obligated."

Did she feel obligated? She'd broken down and told him that she loved him one night in Asgard while they stood on their balcony looking out at the alien constellations in the night sky. She'd meant it, too. No one had ever taken her so seriously; made her feel smart, important, cherished. Most men just saw her as sexy and sarcastic; a hot bod with not much going on otherwise. Bruce saw her; he loved her, not her boobs, not her pussy. He loved Darcy Lewis, all of her. "I don't want. Geez, Bruce; I'm just scared. Just…I don't know."

"Okay. How about an easier question? Do you want to go out with the others tonight?"

She smirked. "Yeah, I do. I wish I thought they'd spike the hot chocolate with Bailey's though."

"We can have some of that later."

… …

It was a nice night; Kara was glad they'd decided to come. The lights were pretty awesome, people were smiling everywhere, and they even had carolers; just the right kick to get them into the Christmas spirit. Well, most of them. She stole a glance at her husband. Loki was peering into one of the enclosures at a big black cat, jaguar or panther; she wasn't sure and was too lazy to go looking for the sign. The animal was half in and half out of the heated part of the habitat. Evidently all of the lights and commotion had sparked its interest. "Reminds me of you," she said playfully.

His eyebrow lifted. "In what way?"

"He's sleek, powerful, beautiful and dangerous as all hell."

"Hmm, yet you managed to make me purr." She laughed as he tugged her closer and nuzzled her jaw. "Your skin is so warm," he said softly before nipping her earlobe.

"It's damn cold, I'm compensating." They were both wearing light jackets and scarves. She'd added a brownish newsboy cap with rhinestones. Darcy had called it 'the ultimate redhead's hat' as the shade complimented her hair. Her scarf was forest green cashmere and Loki wore the silk one he'd worn in Stuttgart. That had raised a few eyebrows amongst the team, but her ever-mischievous love had insisted. He did enjoy putting people on edge. "Stop that," she told him as he began kissing down the length of her neck.

"Why? You know you love it."

"I'm not an exhibitionist." He sighed heavily. "No, I'm not going to make an exception for you," she scolded. "There're lots of kids around."

"Very well." He petulantly pulled the collar of her jacket back up to cover the skin he'd exposed. "Tonight, you owe me."

Kara had to laugh. "Once we get back to our rooms," she agreed.

"Damn, it's cold." They turned as Tony and Pepper made their way to the enclosure. "Wait, why aren't you freezing?"

Loki smirked at him. "Frost giant?"

"Oh, right. Aaaannnd?" he asked, looking at her.

"It's part of my pyrokinesis, Tony. I can self-adjust my body temperature to deal with the cold."

"I did not know that. Did I?"

"I'm not sure if I ever mentioned it. You didn't go to Jötunheim with us."

"Damn. Color me jealous."

Pepper stared out at them wistfully from her the depths of her down filled coat and hood. "I have to admit, I am too for a change."

"I'm sorry," Kara offered.

"I'm not."

"Loki, be nice."

He grinned. "If I were being nice…" he trailed off as she frowned at him. "Oh, very well. Pepper, take off your glove." Loki sighed when she hesitated. "Do you want to be warmer or not?" The glove was yanked off hurriedly. "Place your hand on mine," he instructed, holding his hand level, palm out.

Pepper complied and a green glow surrounded their hands for a moment and then seeped into hers. "Oh! Oh, thank you, Loki, that's much better."

"Wait; did you just make her not feel the cold?" Tony asked.

"No, but the ward will take the edge off of it for her. If you two hold hands, bared hands," he clarified. "You will be covered by it as well."

Tony immediately pulled his right glove off and took Pepper's left hand. "Damn, Rock of Ages, I owe you a solid." Their honorary brother grinned as Loki frowned at him. "Get it? Rock, solid…no?"

"No. Pepper, have you never told your fiancé that he has an utterly juvenile sense of humor?"

"Frequently. But you know how he is, Loki."

"Unfortunately. Ah well, for your sake, you get to keep the ward. It's your choice whether he gets to keep possession of your hand. I'd insist he pay for the privilege in some manner were I you."

"If you were me, Tony wouldn't have made it past his thirty-seventh birthday. Luckily for him, I have a much higher tolerance for his antics." Pepper turned to frown at her fiancé. "Tony, if you don't want to continue freezing your backside off, you will make that appearance at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore that Beth suggested."

"Cap will go; all the kids love that red, white and blue."

"The boys want to see Iron Man and you will give them Iron Man; no debate, you're doing it."

"Damn. Okay."

Kara gave Loki a sidelong glance. "Happy now?" she asked him.

"Yes, actually."

… …

"Damn, it is fucking freezing," Clint muttered as he watched Natasha peer at an exhibit which purportedly held wolves. All that could be seen where gray lumps of fur gathered near the entrance of an enclosure.

"Wimp." She shot him what, for her, was an indulgently fond look. "You'd have never lasted one winter in Russia."

"I admit it. Let's just hope that Merida takes after you and not me in that area."

"Brianna is doing just fine," she retorted.

He grinned. Loki's suggestion to use reverse psychology to get the name he wanted for their baby was working. Nat was totally convinced that Brianna was the name she wanted. Now he had to work on the middle name. "Merida Sophia Romanov," he insisted.

Nat's stubborn expression emerged. Not that most people would recognize it as a stubborn expression. It was mostly just a setting of her jaw accompanying a slight frown and an even slighter narrowing of her eyes. "Brianna Merida Barton and that is final. Deal with it, Hawk."

"I don't get a say?"

"You wanted Merida, we're using Merida. I don't want her to have a Russian name, so she's using Barton. Stop arguing with me."

He heaved a sigh. "Fine; it can be Merida Brianna Barton, then."

"Hawk."

Her voice had gone dangerous. Damn that was sexy. "Do you have any idea how sexy you are when you're annoyed with me?"

"Do you have any idea how much I want to rip your penis off and make you eat it when you say things like that?"

Whoops. "Sorry, Nat. Okay, Brianna Merida…Barton."

"Good choice."

This time he hid the grin. The game would be up for sure if she saw it. And she would see it, six months plus pregnant or not, the Black Widow didn't miss a thing. "It's still damn cold," he muttered, careful to sound sullen about it. He frowned as Kara and Loki came into view; the two were only wearing light jackets. "That is so damn unfair." Nat frowned at him. "Look at them; not cold at all. Fuck."

Her eyebrows rose. "He is a frost giant; well, half, anyway. He just wore trousers and his boots in Jötunheim and it was much colder there; and Kara is the goddess of Fire."

"Yeah, yeah; I get that, but it's still annoying." He grinned suddenly. "Hey, Loki? Your godchild is gonna freeze here; anything you can do to help?"

The smug bastard smirked. Yeah, he still thought he was a bastard most of the time, though he'd really grown to like the guy. "A bit cold, are you, Barton?"

Shit. Like his beautiful Natasha, Loki didn't miss a frigging trick. "Yeah, you caught me." Loki's smirk deepened and Kara was looking pretty damn amused too. "Aw, come on, buddy. Help me out here?"

"Natasha, would you like to be a bit warmer?" Loki asked instead.

"I wouldn't mind."

"Fine, glove off and lay your hand on mine." He held out his hand and once Nat had done as instructed the telltale glow of his magic seeped into her. "There; it's all done."

Clint looked from one to the other. "Aw, now that's definitely…"

"If you hold your lady's hand, you'll be warmer as well," Loki informed him.

He shot Natasha a pleading look. "No more arguing with me about Brianna's name," she told him. "She'll be Brianna Merida Barton." She held out her hand to him with a firm frown.

"Okay, you win; Brianna Merida Barton it is." His smile answered hers as he took her hand. He sighed at the almost immediate relief from the cold. Stealing a glance at Loki as Nat started to turn away he raised his free hand. "Thanks, man; for everything." Loki's only response was a wink.

… …

Loki stifled a laugh as he overheard Bethany whispering to Steven. "I didn't realize it was going to be this cold. Do you think they'll be mad at me?" she asked.

"It's New York City in the third week of December, honey. If they weren't expecting cold, it's not your fault. Now go ahead, drink your cocoa. That'll warm you up a bit." He watched the two blondes from the shadows. Rogers stood so that he blocked the light breeze from further chilling his lady; ever the gentleman. "Do you want mine, Beth?" he asked as the girl tossed her empty cup in the nearby trashcan.

"No, but thanks. I'll go into sugar overload if I drink anymore. I wish they had coffee."

"Your cheeks and nose are so pink; it makes you prettier than ever."

Oh kill me now, Loki thought as Rogers delivered that bit of tripe. He flinched as Kara elbowed him in the ribs, hard. "What was that for?" he asked.

"I felt that disdain. Be nice; he's being sweet and reassuring. That's what she needs."

"I've been nice, all evening," he groused. "Heimdall is likely laughing himself sick."

"Oh, he's doing no such thing. I'll bet he's very proud of you."

Loki borrowed one of her pat responses. "Whatever."

"Cute. Now go help Beth."

He rolled his eyes for form's sake and approached the couple. They truly did look an unsettling bit like those dolls that Tony had shown him on the internet; Barbie and Ken, they were called. "Too cold, are we?" he asked, forcing a kind note into his voice.

"A bit, yeah. I guess it doesn't bother you?" Bethany responded.

"Bother, no; but it is colder than I prefer. May I help take the edge off of it for you?"

"Really?" Steven interjected. "You can do that?"

He shrugged. "Now that the majority of the restrictions are off of my use of power, yes."

"That would be amazing," the soldier continued. "Beth's been pretty miserable."

"So I saw. Bethany; remove your glove and lay your hand on mine." He held out his hand and established the cold mitigating ward as soon as she obeyed. He was pleasantly surprised at how quickly she had complied, and that she did so without question or hesitation. "How is that; better?"

"Oh my God, yes. Thank you so much, Loki! I was feeling totally frozen."

"You're welcome. I've owed you a favor. You and Dr. Nassar did a wonderful job caring for Nyvorlas; I doubt he would have recovered nearly so well without you both."

"That's just my job as team physician; you really didn't owe me, honest."

"Hmm. I chose to see it that way. Please don't deny me the pleasure of returning what I saw as a favor."

"Of course not." He stiffened as the girl threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "Thanks," she said again as she released him. "Are you two enjoying the lights?" she asked.

"Yes, it's quite festive." He had to smile at her enthusiasm. Hmm. "There is a Festival of Lights in Asgard once every five of your years. The entire city is lit only by scented candles in special lanterns with colored crystal panes. Floating lanterns holding candles travel down the canals. The celebration should be coming up sometime in the next year. Perhaps that would be something for the team to plan on attending? I'm certain my mother would enjoy hosting all of you again."

"Really? That sounds awesome. Steve, don't you think so?"

"It does. Thanks, Loki; if you can nail down the dates, we can put it on the calendar and make arrangements ahead of time so we don't tick off S.H.I.E.L.D. by all taking off without notice."

"I'll do that." He turned to leave them. "Captain; is this not supposed to be an evening of romance? Why are you not holding your lady's hand?" Letting his smirk emerge he walked off and listened closely.

His attention was rewarded a moment later when Rogers discovered that holding Bethany's hand extended the cold relief to him and muttered: "That son of a gun." He kept his laughter soft enough for the humans to overlook.

… …

Darcy was too damn cold. In fact, she was freezing her tits off. Bruce knew this because she had told him so in no uncertain terms at least five times already. Yes, it was definitely cold and he'd bet that her nipples were hard from that cold and straining against her bra; it was doubtless terribly aggravating. Of course, if she'd try to focus on something else, like the Christmas lights there were purportedly here to admire, she probably wouldn't be quite so miserable. He hated it when she was miserable. It didn't help that he was part of the reason for her mood. Or rather, his idiocy in experimenting with gamma radiation was. The best thing that ever happened in his life had come about because of the worst thing that had happened; and he'd end up losing that best thing, again, because of the worst thing. That was so damn depressingly ironic. He tried not to hate anything, but with irony, he was losing the battle. "You know I'd never leave you, don't you?" he asked; trying to continue the conversation they'd had earlier. She flashed him an annoyed look. "It won't matter to me how we age, either of us. I love you and I'll stay with you, no matter what…so long as you'll have me."

"I'll be ancient and wrinkly and you'll still want to hold me? Will you still want to fuck me?" she asked.

"I'll still make love with you for as long as we're both physically capable of it and you're still enjoying it. If you're not enjoying it anymore, we won't; if you are, we will." This time her expression was doubtful. "Darcy, I won't care. Love is about more than what's on the surface. You are about more than your looks and your body; you'll always be extraordinary to me." Oh crap. A tear was making its way down her cheek. "Honey, please don't cry."

Darcy sniffed. "Not crying," she insisted.

"Doctor? Can I have a word with you?" Oh damn, what did Loki want? "It will only take a moment."

"Go," Darcy said. "I'm going to duck into the loo. Hopefully there's some heat in there so my ass won't freeze to the seat."

"Okay, Darce." He waited until she'd disappeared into the restroom and then walked over to where Loki waited. "What is it?"

"I noticed you're having problems with Darcy."

"I'm sure it's very amusing."

"No, actually, it is not. Would you like us to speak with her? Before I was sentenced Kara and I faced much the same dilemma. We could both reassure her from our own points of view that you are sincere and will truly still love and desire her."

"I don't…you know, why not? It couldn't hurt. That would be great, thanks."

"One more thing; hold out your hand; remove your glove first."

Bruce stared at him. Loki's gaze was kind of challenging, like he was daring him to trust the trickster. Hell, they'd saved each other's lives on Jötunheim, he could trust him here. If not, the other guy would come out and the zoo would have a Loki shaped hole in its concrete. They could probably use it as a tourist attraction. "Okay." Loki covered his palm with his far longer hand and the god's signature magic gathered. Bruce tried not to flinch as it disappeared into his own body. His eyebrows rose as he felt a bit of warmth seeping through him.

"I had to do this on you rather than Darcy. Your system is unique and I didn't think her being warded from the cold would transfer to you by touch as it does for the other couples." Loki's thin lips curved up in his trademark combination smug and mischievous grin. "As a bonus, if Darcy wishes to be a bit warmer, she'll have to hold your hand for the rest of the evening."

He chuckled ruefully. "Oh, you are sneaky. Nice job, I'm impressed."

"I thought you might be."

… …

"Now was that really so hard?" she asked Loki when they'd returned home from dinner.

He turned the patented Loki Glare of Death on her for a full minute before his mouth twitched. "Not the way I went about it, no," he allowed.

"And that was fine; you're allowed to have fun when you're doing something that's nice. In fact, you should have fun with it. What I do want to know is how you managed to make both Nat and Clint think they scored off of each other."

"I took a page out of your book, literally."

"Huh?"

Loki smirked and pulled one of her old psychology textbooks off of their bookshelf. "I'd been reading and decided one of the principles was very similar to how I convince others to take the side I wish them to take with none the wiser. Our godchild will be named Brianna Merida Barton, the name you and Thor most approved of, and both Barton and Romanov each believe it is their own idea and that the other did not approve of it. They now each think they've had their way over the other's objections."

"When in reality, they both would likely have chosen something else?"

"Yes, most likely."

"Loki, they're the parents; naming their child whatever they want is their prerogative."

"How many times have you complained about the names some of your celebrities gave their children? Didn't at least one of those children legally change their name to something far more reasonable once he reached adulthood?"

True. David Bowie named his son Zowie. Poor Zowie had insisted on being called Joey in school and then had later changed his name to Duncan after some family member or other. "But some don't, that's why there's a woman running around out there named Moon Unit who has a brother named Dweezil."

"I believe that makes my point. Did you really want a godchild named Sophia?"

"You're the one who objected to Greek names. Which reminds me; what do you have against the Greeks?"

He sighed. "I had a run-in with Ares over a maiden named Arionna. Turned out she was his child; how was I to know? He hadn't claimed or acknowledged the chit in any way. She wasn't even aware of the relationship." She waited as he frowned fiercely. "It wasn't as if I'd taken her maidenhood. All I did was kiss the damn girl and he was ready to start a war over it."

Crap. Apparently the Greek pantheon was real too. "Wasn't he their god of War?"

"Well, yes; but I hadn't harmed her in any way. He should have been flattered that she was so remarkable that she caught the attention of a god."

"Do they have a separate Realm somewhere?"

"No, they're here on Midgard; but they've faded a great deal. Zeus is fairly reasonable but his son is more of an ass than...ah…"

"More than you used to think your father was?"

Loki glanced skyward uncomfortably. "Yes, obviously I was mistaken about my father, which makes Ares even more of an ass than I'd thought."

"But everything got straightened out."

He scowled. "If you can call it that. I was the one who was penalized though I was not at fault. I was courting the chit in good faith. Ask Thor, he was caught in the backlash as well. We were both banned from Midgard for over a century. The worst thing about it was watching Odin apologize to that bastard Ares for my behavior when I had done nothing wrong and then being chastised over the whole affair in front of the entire Realm at a formal court."

"How did Thor get caught up in it?" Loki mumbled something she couldn't hear and threw himself down on the sofa. "Loki?"

Rolling his eyes Loki sighed. "He stood up for me at court and insisted that I was as innocent in the matter as he was and that if I were to be punished, then he would take the same punishment as it would be equally undeserved."

She stared at him. "And you later had the unmitigated gall to deny him the title of brother?"

"Yes, well, I was dealing poorly with the shock of finding out what I really was." He fidgeted as she continued to frown at him. "I have apologized, you know."

"I do know. I'm sorry, that was just kind of amazing to hear. From what I'd heard before all he ever did was put you down."

"No, not always; I suppose never when it truly counted." Loki let his head drop back on the sofa and sighed. "I do love him, you know; even when he's being an ill-mannered oaf."

"Yes, you do." She sat down beside him and caressed his cheek and jaw. "And I love you." Letting her fingers trail down his neck and across one shoulder she leaned in to press a kiss to his frowning lips. "And I'm so very proud of you. You made everyone feel good tonight; thank you."

"So does that mean it's your turn to make me feel good?"

… …

His Kara gave him a languorous smile as she straddled his legs. "I did promise," she agreed.

Loki chuckled. She was very happy with him and a happy Kara meant a very cooperative Kara so far as bed sports went. Oh yes, this was shaping up to be a lovely night. He kissed those tempting lips and ran his hands down her still a bit too prominent spine. "Your weight is starting to stabilize, but you still need to eat frequently for a while longer," he told her as he gripped the firm globes of her backside and pulled her more tightly against him.

"I'm trying. I did eat a whole pizza by myself tonight."

"Very impressive, how…" the sound of an alert cut him off.

"Avengers, assemble," Jarvis announced.

"Oh for pity's sake," he spat. "Now what?" He stood and pulled his armor to him using his magic then did the same for his lady.

"Captain Rogers requests your presence on the launch pad, your highness."

"Which one of us, or both?"

"Both, sir."

He growled his annoyance at the interruption and pulled his now armored lady into his arms and shifted them to the roof. "What is it," he spat at the soldier.

"Loki, calm down, it isn't his fault."

Clenching his jaw he stared her down for a moment and then relaxed. "True. Sorry, Steven. What do you need me to do?"

Rogers gestured to the modified Quinjet and they followed him on board. Clint jumped in after them and ran to the cockpit. "Stark's gonna meet us there," the archer told them as Banner arrived and strapped in.

"Okay, team. We've got a group of would-be international terrorists that have wired the Brooklyn Bridge to blow. We've been called in as they've got some high-profile hostages in the middle of the bridge, they cut off a motorcade, trapped them on there. It seems the people in the motorcade, a bunch of diplomats, are their target rather than the bridge itself."

"Did they leave the hostages in the vehicles or have they gathered them all together?" Loki asked.

Bruce hit a few buttons and an image sprang to life between them. The hostages were sitting in the middle of the span, back to back in a huddled circle. "The bad guys seem to be spread out across the entire length of the bridge. That's going to make it difficult to take them out," he said.

"But easier to protect the hostages." Loki frowned as he considered his options. "I can't shift all of them out of there; I'd lose some of them in the void. I can shift myself to the spot in the midst of them and shield the entire group from any harm short of the collapse of the bridge itself."

"That's a good start," Rogers agreed.

"Hey, guys? Jarvis found the frequency for the signal they're using on the detonator control. We're blocking it as of…now," Tony reported.

"Great job, Iron Man. Okay; that means we need to just go after the individual terrorists. Hellbringer; can you drop them empathically?"

"When they're spread out the entire length of the bridge? Ah, no. I'm good, but that's even out of my league. I can't fry them as a group either."

"Well, we didn't want to go that far, anyway."

"Speak for yourself." Loki knew his tone was sour, but couldn't care less. These pathetic cretins had ruined his plans for enjoying the favors of his lovely wife and he was pissed. Kara frowned at him and he shrugged in return. "Should I lie and pretend I'm pleased to have our evening interrupted?"

"Loki, chill. This is what we're here for," she scolded.

That brought him up short. It was true; since the Battle of Central Park, as the second invasion had come to be called, the usual suspects that kept most of the special teams across the planet busy had lain low; probably petrified that they'd be next after seeing film of the destruction of Thanos. The most he had been called upon to do since their return from Asgard was rescue work arising from natural disasters. "My bad," he muttered over the communications unit they all wore. Stark snorted in response.

"I'm going to take over from Hawkeye," Banner told them. "I can protect the QJ from boarding," he said, using Tony's latest abbreviation that yet again seemed to catch on with all of them. "I really don't think we want my other angry and on that bridge."

"Good thinking, doc," Rogers agreed. "The Hawk can go high and pick off targets individually. Iron Man, scope out the entire bridge and call out locations as you identify them. Kara and I can go down the middle and pull out targets that have too much cover for Hawkeye to take out."

"Kara, take my weapon," Loki insisted, pulling his scepter from hammerspace. "I know you won't want to burn them. The energy blast will do them a lot less damage than your fire if your projections aren't enough to keep them off of you."

"You do realize I can likely punch their lights out at this point?"

"Yes, but you have to get too close to do so. I'd rather you stay safe." He glared at Rogers who had chuckled. "You may find humor in my protectiveness when you allow Bethany to take the field."

"Right, sorry. Okay, we ready to do this? Let's go!"

One of the women amongst the hostages shrieked when he materialized between them, attracting the attention of the terrorists assigned to guard them. He threw up a shield seconds before a rain of bullets was loosed. The twit screamed in full-voice as they bounced harmlessly off of the magical barrier. "Do cease that caterwauling," he snapped. "You are safe." The woman gaped at him. "All of you stay down and relax while the Avengers take out the enemy, hmm?"

A man in an expensive suite frowned at him. "The bridge is lined with explosives, do they know that?"

"Yes, that's being handled. Where is your security?" He didn't see a single person amongst them that could possibly be such.

"Replaced by the terrorists at some point, well, most of them. The few that were still our people died trying to stop them."

"I see." He tapped his earpiece switching it from the team channel to one that was monitored by S.H.I.E.L.D. "This is Loki. The embassy that was targeted was betrayed by false security personnel; you might want to look into it."

"Roger that."

"No, not Rogers, Loki. Are you deaf?"

There was a slight commotion on the other end before a new and this time more familiar voice spoke up. "This is Hill. Tell Rogers to brief you on radio jargon. You were being told that we understood your warning and that we would take care of it."

"Ah. Thank you for the clarification, Deputy." He looked out beyond his shield. Another of the women in the group was staring at him. "What?"

"You-you're Prince Loki?" she asked breathlessly.

"I am." He prepared himself mentally for the rant about homicidal maniacs that was sure to follow.

"Can I have your autograph?"

That had to be the very last thing he was expecting in the middle of a hostage situation. "Woman, do you realize that you are still in very real danger? This is not the time to be seeking mementoes." She turned back and stared at the ground, her cheeks bright pink. He sighed. "I don't do autographs, but after everyone is safe you may take a photograph if you wish." The embarrassed woman wasn't the only one who looked excited at the prospect. "Yes, any of you may, but until I tell you that you are completely safe, stay quiet unless you have vital information." Thankfully, they all fell silent.

"Loki has a fan club," Stark said in a sing-song voice.

"I'm certain Iron Man would be happy to pose for photographs as well," Loki said sweetly.

"You son of a bitch."

"It takes one to know one, Tony." Loki smirked as he listened to the lighthearted grumbling that ensued as his teammates worked to take out the scattered terrorists. Yes, his teammates; what a concept. One hundred and nine years and nine months to go. He could handle that.

… …

Author's Notes: To my new readers, if you haven't read Fire and Ice, you may want to do so, it will explain the backstory. To those who have read it...Welcome back, gang! The format will be a bit different this time around. While it will be largely time sequential, we won't necessarily have a continuous storyline. Each chapter will be standalone...this means...NO CLIFFHANGERS! I know some of you will be thrilled. Loki will be in all of the chapters to some degree as this is basically the story of him serving his sentence and becomming the person he was meant to have become all along. Enjoy!

Volunteer for a Character needed:

Okay, my little chickadees: I need a one night stand character for Thor. She will be either a SHIELD agent or a rich debutante attending Stark Industries New Year's Eve bash.

Present me with your character, based on you, appearance and name of your choice, which you want her to be (Agent or Debutante), and what she'd be wearing to a semi-formal bash where she hoped to attract a hot guy.

This will be a one night stand (or perhaps a friends with benefits thing); this character will NOT be Thor's HEA (I've already got that plotted out), and is NOT interested in falling in love with anyone. She just thinks Thor is H.O.T.T. HOT and wants to add a godly notch to her bedpost. She will NOT be breaking his heart or hurting him in any way, she'll just be someone he has fun with.

I also need hobbies, a bit of background, so that they'll have something to converse about before they get hot and heavy.

Have you wanted to get Thor in bed? This is your chance! I'll pick the one I like best and will have him flirt with the rest at times during the party. Submissions being taken NOW, but hurry…I need this before I post the next chapter of Life, Avengers Style!