"You made this for me?" Loki looks at Tony with a mixture of gratitude and concern. The clothing is odd looking but Loki cannot deny its wonderful cooling effects. The long sleeve tunic is snug fitting and has inner tubing filled with a cold liquid that makes him feel very comfortable. The pants are also snug fitting. Unfortunately the whole outfit highlights just how skinny he is. Tony offers him a second set of outer clothing to hide the cooling suit, along with a pair of sunglasses. The T-shirt and jeans seem strange to Loki but everyone else is wearing them as well, so he accepts them gladly.
He slept on a makeshift bed last night in a wonderful room filled with frozen meat. Loki ate an entire frozen salmon and his full belly now sticks out like he is pregnant. He has never felt so full. These people have done more for him in one night than his own family has in more years than he can remember. Who are these people and what do they expect in return? Clearly they are Thor's friends, but they did not approve of the way he treated him, and Thor loves and respects them enough to not bash their heads in for defying him. The situation is strange and precarious. What happens now?
"Yeah, I got excited and couldn't sleep so I spent a few hours in the lab last night constructing it." Tony says gleefully like a kid giving his mommy a homemade macaroni necklace.
"Thank you. I worried how I would manage in this heat. I will be forever in your debt. You have shown me so much compassion." Loki says eloquently.
"It was the least we could do after the welcome you received." Natasha says as she shoots Thor the evil eye. He is sitting on the couch watching a football game trying to ignore the group as they fawn over Loki. Loki bites his tongue. He does not want to stir the pot.
"I know nothing of your world beyond the stories I was told as a child. Your world is nothing like I imagined." Loki says as he looks out the window at the vast New York City skyline and its people. "Will your people hate me for what my father tried to do? Does your species still carry its righteous anger with my species?" Loki asks.
"Loki this is the first we've heard of it. I've had Jarvis go through all the recorded histories from all the various peoples that existed at the time of the invasion. Beyond a couple of Norse mythologies of varying detail and accuracy, there is no record of your people. The human race has forgotten the incident." Tony explains.
"Praise the Norns for small miracles." Loki says quietly. He looks down on the street and notices something and a thought occurs to him. "If I were to go outside, how would your people react to me?" Loki asks.
"Not well. At first people would stare at you and think you are a strange performer wearing makeup or something. But if anyone stared at you long enough to figure out you're not human the people would panic. We recently suffered an attack from an alien race called the Chitauri. The City suffered a great deal of damage and a lot of people died. Humans are a little scared of aliens like you at the moment." Steve explains. Loki bites his lip at the mention of the Chitauri. He knows that name…from somewhere. His father! A few years ago a man came to court and spoke with Laufey behind closed doors, but Loki ever the trickster and nosy little spy overheard their exchange. The Man Titan left Jotunnheim without getting what he wanted.
"Then I will either have to spend my life on this world in hiding or find a way to blend in." Loki says. "Are there colder places to live in this realm?" Loki asks.
"Yes. The northern parts of Alaska would be really comfortable for you I think. It is sparsely populated up there. It would be a lonely life but I think you could make something of it." Steve says.
"Yeah, I don't think blending in is going to be an option for you." Clint adds sadly.
"Not necessarily. I may be able to cast a spell to change my appearance. There are a couple of illusion spells I can try…..but illusions would not resolve my constant discomfort with this heat. What I really need is something more akin to a shape shifting spell. I'll have to think on it." Loki says mostly to himself as he thinks out loud.
"That book you brought with you, is that a magic spell book?" Tony asks greedily. He wants to read it.
"Yes it is. If you are curious about learning the art I would be more than happy to teach you what I know." Loki says.
"Are you serious?!" Tony and Bruce say in unison like a couple of nerds.
"Yes of course. It is the least I could do for all the kindness you have shown me." Loki says.
"I'm Harry Potter." Tony says.
"What! I'm the one with the glasses. If anything I'm Harry and you…you're Hermione." Bruce says.
"Hermione wishes she was this fabulous." Tony says flamingly. Loki looks at the two and wonders what the hell they are talking about.
"Ignore them… they are just being silly." Natasha says after spotting the confusion on Loki's face. "Tell us about yourself, your life. We want to know more about where you come from." She says. Natasha is both genuinely curious and playing the part of investigator. In spite of the horrible way Thor treated Loki, Natasha knows that Thor's concerns may well be justified. She needs to be sure they are not making the mistake of aiding the enemy as Thor has suggested.
The group hunkers down around the dinner table. Tony orders food delivered and everyone digs into the strange assortment he has selected as they listen to Loki tell the tale of his life in a world of ice. They receive a delivery of pizza, Thai food, sushi, McDonald's French Fries, fresh fruit platters, and some gourmet hors d'oeuvres. Loki immediately goes for the sushi. He loves the fish.
"My elders always spoke of life before the Casket was taken away. I've never known life with it while it was in my realm. I was born around the end of the war with Asgard you see. I remember my world was healthier when I was young. We had plenty of food back then and I remember the bright red fire blossoms that used to bloom. I haven't seen them in two hundred years. A lot of our plant life slowly started dying off over the centuries and did not return to us. It was in the last decade that all the large plants failed and the beasts we relied on to hunt for food began to starve. I knew the end was near when I heard the first rumors of people in the far villages turning to the last resort for survival." Loki says.
"What is the last resort?" Clint asks. Loki eyes look haunted and he looks around at the spread of amazing food before him, a feast in its own right. Everyone swallows hard as they realize what he is alluding to. The frost giants started eating each other. "I didn't dare venture outside the palace walls after that. I began working in earnest on a spell that could take me far away to safety. I cannot impress upon you how lucky I am to be here." He says.
On the far side of the room Thor has stopped listening to the television. He's been listening intently to everything Loki has said. He knew the Jotunns were monsters. Loki just proved it by admitting his kinfolk were eating each other. His obvious ploy to cultivate pity may work on the mortals but it will not work on him! Loki is a weak pathetic runt. It is a miracle he survived among those monsters at all, probably because he wields magic like a woman. His friends will see. The monster will reveal his true colors soon enough and then they will beg Thor to kill him, if they don't do it themselves.
"I've always wondered what life was like in the other realms. When I was a child I had dreams of traveling to places like Vanaheim, and Alfheim, and even Asgard but those hopes were dashed quickly enough. I learned at an early age that we were isolated. None of the other realms wanted anything to do with us. We were stuck on our world and not given the political opportunity to redeem ourselves. The only time others from outside our world came to visit was when they wanted to steal something from us or use us. Though, the last few decades became rather peaceful as we had nothing of value left to take." Loki says. Thor has had enough. He takes great exception to this last lie.
"Your people are the thieves Jotunn. Many times have my men had to dispatch your kind for trespassing in the outlands." Thor says darkly.
"Those were starving refugees! Desperate people who paid smugglers their entire life savings for transport off world and then dumped in a place that guaranteed their demise!" Loki yells.
"That is because your pathetic people did not know how to fend for themselves. They didn't know how to hunt, or build structures, or make things with their hands." Thor yells back.
"That is a vile lie. The very wall you look upon each and every day in your pristine golden palace was constructed by my ancestors! We were a race of builders and craftsmen. But after our defeat the others realms were too intimidated to offer Jotunnheim aid. When my people tried to fend for themselves their settlements were burned." Loki yells.
"Just as your people froze and destroyed the human settlements on Midgard! Your people got what they deserved!" Thor returns.
"And what is that exactly? Genocide? My people have suffered enough for their crime. We have endured the worst possible fate any race of people could imagine, but even now it is not too late. My species can be saved, if it were only shown a shred of mercy!" Loki cries.
"Your people are weak and pathetic. My people would not have turned to such monstrous methods of survival. We would have at least died with our dignity." Thor says arrogantly.
"Oh is that so?" Loki says quietly. "You've never known hunger have you Thunderer?" Loki says. Thor sneers at him but says nothing. "I challenge you. I challenge you, Prince Thor of Asgard to go seven days without food." Loki says. Thor's eyes go wide. He has never been challenged in such a way before. That this puny little runt would dare…..it is no matter.
"I accept your challenge." Thor says haughtily. A tiny smirk plays upon Loki's lips. Even if Thor manages to last the entire week without food the pain he will feel from hunger will be so searing it will teach him a lesson he'll never forget. Even if Thor wins, he'll still lose.
Tony and the others watched the whole exchange coming close to interrupting but they are glad they didn't. It is evident to everyone that Thor has made a terrible mistake and is about to learn a very painful lesson. The Avengers approve.