Ok, seriously people: I have to talk to you about something. When I, (or anybody in general), is talking to a general populous, (e.g. "You all need to work on this technique"), most people remove themselves from the masses. So I'll say that YOU ALL have to review and you'll be all like "Oh someone else will. Phantom doesn't mean me!" NO. I MEAN YOU. EVERYONE MUST REVIEW! Ehehe it's ok, though, I do it too…
Anyway, Disclaimer: I own nothing!
"Do not follow us, Thor," Loki said seriously.
Thor's big blue eyes widened at Loki's request, "But – brother –"
"I mean it Thor. Let me be, now. Don't follow me, don't come after me, and don't try to bring me back, Thor," with that Loki grabbed Lill's hand and teleported back home with Thor's heart-broken face the last thing Loki saw before he was staring at the living room.
It was in absolute chaos. There was a fine layer of different colored chalk covering the back half of the living room and paint dripped all over onto the already paint covered hardwood floor. Paint brushes were scattered on the floor and some were even snapped in half. "Wow," was all Loki said. He turned to look at Lill but she wasn't even looking at the mess.
"I can't believe they let us go," Lill said slumping onto the couch and sighing heavily.
"They only let us go because they were afraid to see what you did if they refused to release us," Loki replied, still eyeing the mess.
Lill looked up and followed Loki's gaze before blushing deeply, "I was mad, ok?"
Loki couldn't do anything but laugh.
XxX
Renee stood outside of an old warehouse in the industrial district – a place most sane people avoided after dark. The warehouse looked like any other up and down the rows: blacked out windows, rusty, old, and most likely smelly. Bell couldn't have picked a more conspicuous meeting place, Renee thought.
The whole district was relatively noisy through the night – making the less-than-legal activities that usually went on here easier than normal – and Renee couldn't stop himself from looking back at his shiny new Audi A6. It was going to get jacked – Renee just knew it. He should have just had a cab drive him here.
Renee took a deep breath to steady himself and put thoughts of his poor Audi behind him – it's not like he couldn't afford another one if someone stole it…or just hunt it down himself.
Renee tested the door facing the road and found it locked but he was 100% sure this was the address so he walked around to the side. He tested the door again and it swung open with a loud metallic groan which was promptly drowned out by the noise inside the building.
Renee looked around the warehouse, bewildered; what was going on here? There was dozens upon dozens of other people in the building and they were all milling around, talking, laughing, and yelling.
"Renee!" a voice exclaimed. Renee looked over and saw Bell clasping his arm. "There you are!"
"What is going on here, Bell? You said you were going to meet him not going to some ghetto party house," Renee said with another disapproving look around.
"Well, I am meeting him – after he's done," Bell paused and dragged Renee over to a corner of the room that wasn't occupied with highly pierced, tattooed, and mostly drunken people. "He's like a freedom speaker, Rey, these people; they're all mutants – like us!"
"Yeah…" Renee said. He had noticed they were all mutants: one was flying around on mosquito-like wings, another was green and had scaly looking skin with long cuts on his neck that could only be gills. Another person was climbing the walls and another was sporting two pairs of arms. There were also multiple copies of one man, milling about and talking to anything that even resembled a female. "I don't know about this, Bell."
Bell's eyes, bright with excitement, dulled, "When did you become such a party-pooper? You used to have no problem coming to any kind of exotic clubs I brought you to," she pouted.
"That's the thing, Bell: you get arrested at 'freedom speeches'. Nobody gets arrested at clubs unless they start a fight," Renee said. He knew it was a flimsy excuse but…
"OH, COME ON! It's not like you haven't been arrested before, Rey," Bell said with a wink. "Remember Utah?"
"Ok I have an excuse for that: there's absolutely nothing else to do there! I had to create a little excitement!"
"Uh-huh, and what about Shanghai? Or how about the Austria debacle? What about that time in the Pyramids?" Bell said listing off times they had gotten into deeper trouble than expected together.
"All rather unplanned incidents," Renee said coolly – he couldn't help smiling at the memories.
"Of course – according to plan we wouldn't have gotten caught," Bell said with a laugh of her own, "Just stay until he's done speaking: if you don't like what you hear, then you can leave – I promise."
XxX
Tony Stark sat at his favorite bar – the one in the penthouse viewing the Loki-shaped crater – and poured himself another scotch. Tony couldn't help but grin at the sight of the crater – it wasn't his favorite memory but it sure was funny.
Ever since Loki's return to Asgard the Avengers had mostly disbanded: Natasha traveled all over the world completing missions for SHIELD and other…less known bidders.
Clint left to do much the same and every once in a blue moon Tony would hear from Clint – usually in the form of a customized postcard with a picture of a cityscape with a miniscule red circle revealing what his target had been and showing how far away he had successfully done away with it. Dr. Banner – despite begging and pleading on Tony's part – left for India, again. It was a pity: Tony didn't have any other intelligent life to communicate with around here.
Captain America – Steve – actually stayed at Stark, (now the Avenger Tower), tower with Tony. He filled his time with workouts and trying to regain a sense of the world around him – one that had changed so drastically since the last time he had been awake to see it.
Thor, of course, had returned with Loki to oversee his punishment. So it came as a surprise when Jarvis' voice filled the room, saying, "Mr. Stark, Thor is at the front door."
Tony's eyebrows rose in surprise. Had Loki escaped? Had he paid his punishment in only seven months? Thor had learned to use the front door? "Tell him to come in."
Tony casually strolled over to the ostentatiously expensive couch and plopped down on the leather – all without spilling a drop of his deep amber liquid he held so dear.
Without further ado Thor came galumphing into the spacious penthouse. "Stark!"
Tony hoped, for his own sake, that Thor had completely missed the Loki-crater and said, "What brings you here, to the lowly earth?"
Thor flopped onto the plush couch opposite Tony and gave him a sunny smile. He looked just fine, his hair as gayishly long as ever and grin as wide as ever. "Well, I came to visit Loki here and then before leaving I decided to come visit my Avenging friends!"
Tony blinked…He hadn't…surely he hadn't heard that right, "Loki…is…HERE?"
Alright, so that's what you people get! Ok so someone (I'm too lazy to look) asked what Bell and Renee's mutant strength thingers were so here you go:
Renee: longevity, basically. It like a healing-factor. Kind of like of Wolverine where he lives forever and ever amen. I've decided for story purposes that he can get drunk, though.
Bell: ok, remember in X-men First Class with the diamond chick? I guess she's kind of like that: she's super strong but lives forever because diamonds are forever.
Renee and Bell met when they were younger and knew each other most of their lives which can explain the relationship thinger they have together.
Phantom