Chapter One: Moving In
Jane blamed Loki. Loki blamed Tony. Tony didn't care whose fault it was – this was hilarious. Nick Fury's expression was well worth whatever damage this whole mess had on the SHIELD laboratories. The bruised ego of a comic book villain-warlord was a bonus. He would have preferred if Jane had not gotten the resulting effects – Loki deserved it – but the two standing side-by-side as a set were too ridiculously outlandish for him not to enjoy their humiliation.
"Have you informed Thor?" Jane, or the shorter, frizzier teenager who was supposed to be Jane, asked, arms crossed awkwardly across her flat chest.
Tony held back a snort as he said, "Yeah, Point Break really wants to hear about his girlfriend suddenly becoming illegal for him." He eyed Loki, mentally shrugged, figuring in this form, the short stack was much less of a threat and made the joke, "Although, you, Severous Snape, are the perfect age for her."
Jane let out a tiny gasp and spat, "As if." Her voice, Tony noted, lost some of its usual formality, and he began to wonder if it had anything to do with her current age.
Loki narrowed his eyes and shot an icy glare Tony's way, reminding him that younger didn't equal less of a threat and the teenager – to his chagrin – had a couple inches on him.
Nick cut in before things got out of hand. "All of you shut up." His eye glanced across the array of chaos before him, calculating all sorts of damage this caused. Jane Foster, astrophysicist in charge of the Cube; and Loki, an alien with a superiority complex, have both regressed into teenagers. He could feel the beginnings of a headache throb in the back of his head. "First of all, I can't have you two running around causing trouble. If word gets out that we couldn't contain Loki, and somehow let him turn himself into a teenager, no one will take this organization seriously."
"Yes, the respect you amounted now would surely blow up," Tony mocked.
Nick ignored him. "This stays between the four of us."
"What about Thor?" Jane objected. "He should know his brother was turned into a teenager."
Tony agreed, nodding. "The rest of the team should have the heads up that the freak who terrorized New York is now even more emotionally unstable."
Loki shot daggers into the man, but remained silent.
Nick relented. "Only the team can hear about this. The three of you are being held responsible for what happened. Loki, Jane," he turned to them. "Since you're teenagers, you're going to be put into a high school for the time being."
"What?" Jane exclaimed, mouth hanging loosely. "What are you thinking? You can't place Loki in a high school!"
"I agree with her. Aren't we trying to keep this mess covered up?" Tony pointed out.
"Relax, you two. Some of our scientists have been developing something to keep Loki from going berserk." Nick glared at the one in question, who seemed to find the suggestion amusing. He added, "Thor helped create it."
Loki stopped chuckling and straightened up, looking paler if that was possible. "Keep your Midgardian trash away from me," he hissed. His threatening tone went ignored.
"You still can't put him in a high school. There are children there," Jane reasoned, not convinced this plan was any good. "Why can't you keep him here in his cage?"
"Yeah, because it held him so well the last time," Tony retorted.
"Why high school though?" Jane pressed.
"Dr. Foster, we can't have him around the SHIELD facility with the Cube. You've already seen what happened on accident."
Alright. Fair point. "But, Director Fury, why a high school?"
"That's one of the few places he'll blend in. He doesn't look like himself anymore. He looks like an average high school student."
"Average?" Loki objected.
"Sure, but what if he terrorizes students?"
"That's why you're going. You're keeping an eye on him."
Loki scoffed. Jane flummoxed.
"What? What in the world makes you think I can keep an eye on that?" She waved her hands towards Loki whom sneered at her gesture.
"I agree. This plan sounds horrendous." Tony cut in. "Why not just give him a free-for-all spree on the city?"
Nick turned to Tony. "You're going to watch them."
Now it was Tony's turn to look aghast. "No. No. No. What?"
"You and your team are going to watch them until SHIELD can get this mess sorted out."
"Why are you making me go?" Jane protested again. She could continue her research. It didn't matter she was a teenager; she still had all her experience and training.
Nick shook his head. "You're going to high school. Having you around here will only cause suspicion. And you," he turned back to Tony.
"I'm not babysitting the Elf on the Shelf," Tony spat.
"And I'm not going to high school," Jane chimed in.
Loki shrugged. "Nothing you say will convince me to go, either."
Nick stared at them. Then he grinned.
/
/
Tony was still reeling from the information Nick shared with him. After the unanimous agreement that the high school plan sucked, Nick decided to pull them one-by-one into a room. Tony was the first to be pulled inside. Once the two were sure no one else could hear them, Nick pulled out something Tony wanted nothing more than to bury deep, deep in the past. Blackmail. Nick Fury, Director of SHIELD was blackmailing them. Tony was outraged, but not shocked. Maybe even a little impressed, but ultimately he was mad. Now he was dragged into this teenage mess. He didn't need this. What he should be doing was anything, but this. He sighed, watching as Jane walked out, looking like she was going to be sick. Loki went into the room. He came out a moment later, but he didn't look any different.
"How did he…?" Jane mumbled.
"I'll go," Loki announced.
Tony wondered what dirt Nick had on those two.
"Agent Coulson will be arranging your high school applications and new home for the time being," Nick explained, hands folded behind his back. "You and the rest of the Avengers will be staying in the same apartment. If anything goes awry, you can be assured I'll know about it."
Today was going to be a long day.
Jane sat in silence next to Loki as the skyline outside her window blurred into a rush of darks. They were being escorted to their new 'home' by one of the SHIELD agents by helicopter. After Phil sorted out all the necessary paperwork and arrangements, and Loki got two restraining braces clasped around his wrists, they were sent on their way. Tony refused to accept the ride and simply used his Iron Man suit to get there. Now only the two of them and an unfamiliar SHIELD agent were holding up in the helicopter. Neither of them spoke the whole ride.
The helicopter landed on the roof of the apartment building they were to stay at.
"So much for subtly," Loki muttered, but it wasn't directed at anyone.
Jane glanced at him and then climbed out onto the roof. Tony was already waiting, standing several feet away.
"I can handle this from here," he told the SHIELD agent after Loki and Jane came to stand near him.
They waited until the helicopter was gone to speak. Tony immediately turned to them. "Screw these apartments. We're staying at my place."
Jane stared at him. "Won't someone notice when we don't check in with their apartment?"
Tony didn't seem too concerned and waved his hand. "Taken care of. I may have to babysit you kiddies, but I'm not living under Nick's roof." He pressed an area on his suit and it quickly fell from him, reverting into a portable unit. He picked it up and started walking towards the door on the roof, where Jane suspected led into the apartment building. Tony called over his shoulder, "Let's go."
Jane hesitated when Loki didn't move. "Come on," she glanced at him.
Loki didn't look at her and started walking after Tony. She didn't care that he wouldn't talk, in fact, it was a relief he kept silent this long. But, silence may be worse than talking. Silence permitted thinking and no thoughts he had could be good. Jane followed close behind him, aware of the siphoning tension between them.
/
/
Jane didn't know what to expect when Tony told them they'd be staying at his place, but even though she'd seen him and been around him a few times now, she was surprised to be surprised by the sight of the mansion they would be staying in. Somewhere away from the normal houses, somewhere far from the school she and Loki were supposed to attend – Tony assured them rides – next to some beach was this mansion of a 'place' with several floors and balconies. Eight bedrooms, one for everyone as if Tony specifically made this house – palace – in case of this exact situation where everyone had to gather together. The front door – more like an entrance for a giant - led into a large area with marble floors and a vaulted ceiling. Jane immediately felt intimidated by her new 'home.'
Natasha and Clint were already waiting for them inside on one of the leather couches. The two were in regular clothes – something Jane has never seen before – Natasha in a white, button-up blouse and black pencil skirt while Clint wore a purple t-shirt and pants. The two eyed them as if they were the ones intruding on their home. Tony walked in front of Jane and Loki, obscuring them from view.
"All right, Stark, what is the situation Coulson told us about and why did you tell us to meet up here?" Clint demanded.
Without a word, Tony sidestepped and grinned as he watched Clint's and Natasha's faces contort into mortified shock. Natasha was the first to compose enough to speak. "What am I looking-" And then Clint cut her off.
"Are these the lovechildren of Loki and Jane?"
Jane shrieked, "What?"
Loki turned his face away to stifle a laugh.
Natasha's eyes widened and she really started looking them over.
Jane quickly went to reprimand this horrid accusation, "No, no, no. We are Loki and Jane. I'm Jane. We were turned into teenagers. We're the situation."
Natasha seemed to tense more. Clint, on the other hand, slumped into his seat, looking… was that disappointment? Jane did not want to know whatever that meant. She listened as Tony proceeded to explain the events that led up to this mess. When he finished, Natasha and Clint were both eyeing Loki intensely.
"Wait, so, you're telling me, God of Mischief, I-want-to-take-over-the-earth-kneel Loki is now a teenager? And this is him?" Clint asked, pointing at the black haired teen.
Tony nodded.
"And Fury wants us to keep an eye on him?"
"That's the basic idea, yeah. We're on babysitting duty."
"Babysitting a tyrant," Natasha muttered.
"Really, Romanoff, I promise to be on my best behavior," Loki purred, the first thing he said the whole time they've been there.
She crossed her arms, leaning back in her seat, staring at him with her brows knitted together. "Somehow, it's creepier when you're a child."
Loki only grinned unabashedly at her statement.
"How do we know he's not going to harm anyone?" Clint asked, eyeing the raven haired teen tensely.
Jane slipped a glance to him as well. It was odd. He and his clothing both seemed to have shrunk after coming into contact with the Cube's blast. Her clothes had also shrunk, too, which didn't make much sense. Well, nothing about this situation made any sense. Why were they turned into teenagers of all things? A Cube that supposedly had the ability and power to do anything, and it had to regress their age. Studying the workings of the Cube was her utmost priority. She had to puzzle out the way it worked if she ever wanted to get back to her normal age. The only problem was the Cube was back with SHIELD, which really bites because that was her project. She was the one in charge. She was doing a lot of the research. All because of a stupid accident, she was ripped away from it and now had to 'vacation' in Stark's home and go back to school. With Loki. Another glance in his direction. What did Fury expect from her? Because she and Thor were okay, that meant she was going to be okay with his little brother? Maybe give him some pop tarts, show him the town and everything will play out just fine. Jane smirked. Yeah, right. Loki was nothing like Thor. None of that would work for him.
"See? Jane agrees," Tony said, directing the attention at her.
Her head snapped up, trying to figure out what had been said. What had she apparently agreed to? She vaguely recalled hearing them talking about Loki, but other than that, she missed something.
"Dr. Foster," Natasha was leaning forward, elbows on her knees and hands clasped together. "I don't doubt your expertise in your field, but keeping the God of Chaos in line isn't going to be easy."
Was that what they were talking about? Her ability to watch him. Jane was suddenly aware of how close she and he were standing; their shoulders were almost brushing. Consciously, she took a half side step away, uncomfortable that they were freely having this conversation in front of him. "That's why we're all here, isn't it?" She looked at them, uneasily. It wasn't like she was alone in this. It was more their job to keep him from destroying things than hers.
/
/
Tony directed Loki and Jane to their rooms. Awkward as it was, they happened to be across from each other on the second floor. After Tony left them to get settled, he went back downstairs Jane assumed to continue discussing the 'situation' with Clint and Natasha. There was a sudden moment of tension when Loki and Jane made eye contact, but both turned away immediately and slipped into their rooms without a word.
When she stepped inside her room, Jane felt comforted to see this was one with a balcony. Bypassing the bed and vanity, she went straight to the outside and leaned against the rail, staring up into the sky. A twinge of disappointment shot through her when she found the sky wasn't very full of stars that night. Returning to her bed, she plopped down on it and sat in the little bit of moonlight that fell through the opening. The silence, she found, she couldn't ignore and in it, she couldn't stop her spitfire thoughts rapidly spinning round and round her head. Cube. Cube. Cube. Cube. Cube. That's all she could think about. The Cube had to be able to change them back, but how could she find the solution when Fury insisted she be pushed into a school to cover up this mess? There had to be a way to get her hands on files or data or something, so that she could further assess the Cube. Someone had to be able to do it. Jane's eyes widened and her mouth broke into a smile. There was someone who could. Someone in this very house. In the morning, she would have to have a talk with Tony.
A strange sensation pricked up her spine. One that compelled her to look up. She looked at her door, but didn't really see it. She stared through it. At the door across from hers. There was someone else she had to speak with.
Gathering up her courage, she stood and marched over to the other side of the hallway. She and Loki weren't very accustomed to each other, to say the least. Suspicious, cautious, yes, but Jane knew that although this was the safest route to take with him, it was going to be hard to completely avoid him when they went to their school in the morning. Jane cringed. She just thought of something as 'theirs.' Pushing that eerie thought aside, she went over what it was she wanted to say. She wasn't too sure. She just knew she had to say something to him, especially since they would be in the same house and school for an indefinite amount of time. Hopefully, a very short time. Throwing caution to the wind and deciding to wing it, she took one more deep breath and knocked on the door. There was a pause. Shuffling came and then the door cracked open only enough for Loki to poke his head out. The rest of him remained in his room, blocking the view inside.
He looked mildly surprised to see her, but didn't say anything. Jane took this as her cue to begin. "Loki, I, um," Why didn't she think this through? "I just came over to tell you that tomorrow is going to be pretty weird." She clenched her teeth, wanting to hit herself for beginning so awkwardly. Was she always this awkward or was it because she was a teenager again? She'd have to figure that out later. "I mean, there are going to be a lot of people and things there and I'm just thinking we should try to keep from disrupting things too much." Crap. What the heck was she doing rambling like this? She racked her brain for something, anything that wasn't complete nonsense.
"All of the Avengers, Midgard's Mightiest Heroes," Loki spoke, startling Jane who hadn't expected him to speak at all. "Fury believes all of them must be here to keep an eye on me. What does Jane Foster have to keep me in line if not them?" He smirked coldly at her.
Jane unconsciously stepped slightly away from him. "I'm not trying to keep you in line," she said plainly as it was the truth. She had no idea how to begin to in the first place. "I just wanted to…" she trailed off. She didn't know what she wanted to do. Talk to him? Be acquaintances? Not really. But, tomorrow they'd be thrown into something where they'd only have each other, and as awful as that sounded, that was the truth. "Look, Loki, we don't see eye to eye…"
"Because you're so short," he quipped.
"No," she snipped. "We aren't on good terms, but we're going to deal with something tomorrow, that's going to be-"
He cut her off. "What is all this 'we?'" He looked down at her through slit eyes. "I don't know what you intend to do, but I'm fine on my own. Now if you don't mind, I would like to retire to my chamber." Without waiting for a reply, he stepped back into his room and shut the door, leaving Jane feeling helpless.
Jane sighed, turning to go back to her room when she noticed someone else in the hallway. Natasha. The woman approached her. "What?" Jane asked.
"I came up here to see how you were doing," the woman answered.
"Fine," Jane said, tersely, wanting nothing more than to end the ridiculous day she's had and go to bed.
"Are you?"
"I am."
Natasha glanced at the door behind Jane and then set her gaze on her. "Look, this isn't going to be easy. I've dealt with him before. He likes to get into people's heads."
"I know," Jane was starting to move towards her room, but Natasha stepped slightly in front of her.
"No, you don't know. You haven't seen anything yet, but Jane, that's what I'm here to talk to you about." She leaned down, accommodating their height difference so she could look Jane in the eyes. "Everyone is here to protect everyone else from him, but Jane, listen closely. You are the one who's going to deal with him seven hours a day and you're the one who's going to have to keep him from doing anything reckless." She paused. "That's a lot to handle, but you're smart. Use that to your advantage. Don't let him get to you."
Jane stood there, absorbing what Natasha was saying. It was difficult to accept, but she was right. The Avengers and Thor – God, where was he – would be there to keep a close eye on Loki, but she would be the one who would have to attend high school with him and make sure he didn't go on some tantrum and hurt the students. Sure, the others would come and stop something like that, but it would be on her to keep something like that from happening in the first place.
"You're smart," Natasha repeated, straightening up. "Keep your head. If things go wrong we're a phone call away." She began to walk down the hall.
For some reason, Jane remembered something Natasha said earlier and it suddenly bugged her. "He's not the God of Chaos."
The woman stopped and looked back.
Jane continued, a little embarrassed by her outburst. "He's not the God of Chaos. You called him that earlier, but that's not who he is. Eris is. She's the Goddess of Chaos. Loki's the God of Mischief."
"Is there a difference?"
Jane shrugged. "Kind of. Chaos is wild and, well, chaotic." A nervous laugh escaped her lips. This was all awkward. Why did it even matter to mention it? "Mischief, I think, is supposed to be more controlled. It has more purpose." She started feeling foolish for bringing it up at all. "I don't know. Something I learned when I was younger. It probably doesn't matter."
Natasha nodded once and started back down again. Jane sighed, going into her room, wondering why she had to blurt that out.
Now what? She tried. He didn't want to. But, she couldn't let him shut her out. Natasha was right. Loki, though she hated to admit it, was her responsibility. He'd be put into a school, which in of itself caused so many problems, but on top of that, he'd be put into a school with her and she'd be the one there to keep a lid on things. There wasn't much she could do if he wasn't going to listen to her. Maybe they couldn't be friends, but that didn't mean she couldn't try to get him to at least talk to her. Talking would be better than leaving him alone to stew with his own thoughts. Jane walked back out onto the balcony. Staring up at the sky, she became determined to have a decent conversation with Loki before the week ended.
/
Heads up: Coulson is not dead in this. I'm not doing that 'he died, now he's back' situation. This is simply, Coulson lived and that death scene never happened. Yadda, yadda, whatever.
