Author's Notes: This and some succeeding chapters are what happens when the characters in an intended PWP story take over and decide they want to bring in some drama and be a full-on plotted story. Sigh. Don't worry; there will be much more smuttiness in later chapters.
... ...
"Got you, you son of a bitch," Tony Stark crowed. Thor tried his best not to glower noticeably at the man. "Well, damn. He is in Las Vegas. Am I good, or what?"
"Come on, Tony," Dr. Banner said. "You had no clue."
"Maybe not, but maybe I did, just saying."
"Is not this Las Vegas a very large city?" Thor asked as he concentrated on the sky near the area where he'd left Loki and forced the fronts together hard enough to cause thunder.
"It is indeed, Dolph, but I've got an exact location, we just need to set the GPS and he's ours."
"Dolph?" Banner asked, much to Thor's relief. He most certainly did not understand the reference.
"Lundgren. Blonde muscular actor, well, kind of an actor, not a particularly good one. He played the Russian boxer in Rocky IV. You know; the one where Rocky jogged in snowdrifts and lifted boulders to train, Apollo Creed dies, song was Living in America, James Brown?"
"Ah. Got it." Bruce picked up his bag of equipment and slung it over his shoulder. "I'm ready. Oh, and Tony? You really need a new hobby. This nickname thing is getting old."
"Says the guy that turns big and green as a hobby."
Thor groaned and wondered how the mortals had managed to concentrate long enough to determine Loki's location. "I am also ready," he said to forestall a continuation of the discussion. Surely by this time Loki would realize he'd been located and would have fled.
"Okay, blondes with blondes and brunettes with brunettes." Thor stopped to stare at the Man of Iron who looked back at him as he activated his suit. "That means you grab Captain Spangles outside and I'll take Bruce. My tech will agitate the other guy a lot less than your mystic mallet thingamabob."
"Hammer," Thor grated. "It is an Uru Hammer and its name is Mjölnir."
"Yeah, whatever."
… …
Kat sighed and flopped back down on top of the covers, naked as the day she was born, though a good bit cleaner. Her hair was still damp from her shower and she'd made use of the toothbrush and toothpaste she'd found, still in the packaging, on the counter beside the bathroom's opulent sink. There was even a small container of antiperspirant. She figured he'd just asked the hotel to provide toiletries suitable for a woman as the latter was a brand that targeted women. After cleaning up she'd looked through the purchases Loki had made while she slept. A forest green silk tunic and slacks set was hanging in the closet. A front clasp demi-cup underwire bra with side boning to support her natural, thank you very much, E cup breasts, a garter belt and matching panties all in forest green trimmed in gold lay on the dresser along with a pair of nude silk stockings. Surprisingly, since none of the clothes she'd worn the night before had tags, they were all in her exact size. Must be some kind of magic, she supposed.
What had really shocked her was the jewelry box. It held four pairs of matched emerald earrings. Three were stud-style and the fourth a dangling beauty of a pair. Emeralds varied in color and clarity even more noticeably than diamonds. Matching this many was difficult and pricey. Her first reaction upon opening the box was that he was buying her off and goddess how that had hurt. Then she'd seen his note. It was very flowery and asked her to wear them in honor of their pledge and that he couldn't wait until he could see them 'adorning your delicate ears'. Kind of romantic, actually, and she would have kept it if the writing hadn't disappeared as soon as she'd finished reading it. Damn magic. She snapped the box shut and set it on the nightstand. "Loki, you'd better have meant it 'cause I'm going to be in a world of pain if you don't come back to me," she muttered. After staring at the clock for a good half hour she decided that she might as well nap until big brother showed up with the Avengers. Kat debated putting some of the underclothes on, or at least getting under the covers but decided against it. If the goons were going to march in here without being invited then they were going to be as uncomfortable about it as she could manage to make them. With that happy thought, she drifted off to sleep.
… …
"Huh. The balcony door is not only unlocked, it's open. Jarvis, are you sure this is where the surge came from?"
"Positive, sir."
"Anybody in there?"
"Yes, sir. Readings indicate the presence of one living being."
"Just hope there aren't any dead ones. Guys? You coming down here, or what?" Tony stared up at the roof where Thor sat perched with Banner and Rogers. Captain Amazing did a really graceful flip that landed him on the balcony beside Tony. Thor offered Banner an arm and then thudded down nearby before setting the scientist down gently. "Okay, I'm going in." Did he just hear Thor sigh? What the fuck. Sliding the door open he stepped through, repulsers at the ready. Nothing. There was a half-open door off to the side. "J? Where's the living being you promised me?" he said softly.
"Through that door, sir," the AI told him as the door lit up on his heads up display.
He edged over to the door, pushed it open and strode in, Thor close on his heels. Rogers edged in beside them and froze. "Oh my Lord," the soldier muttered. Tony grinned behind his face shield. A very naked redhead was sprawled out on the Cal-king bed, sound asleep; a very lush-bodied naked redhead whose very lovely breasts had to be at least a double-D…more likely an E cup. Rogers turned his back on the bed; the Boy Scout's face was an interesting shade of red.
Thor turned and opened another door. Reaching inside, he pulled out what proved to be a bathrobe. The god strode over to the bed and covered the just beginning to stir figure. Wide green eyes blinked and stared at them as her cupid bow lips turned down in a frown. "About time you got here," she said huskily then turned to look at the clock. "It's been over four hours. What happened, couldn't you read the GPS?"
"Uh, we were in Malibu and Air Force One was passing through So-Cal. We had to go off the coast and all the way up over Sacramento before we headed southeast again," Tony found himself explaining.
"Don't you hate that crap? Every time the President comes to Vegas, we've got a five hour traffic logjam. I'm lucky that my office is in Henderson so I don't get stuck in it."
"Your office? Huh, I didn't know call girls had offices."
"Tony!" Bruce scolded from the doorway as the Capsicle and Thor gave him confused looks.
"Actually, call girls do have offices; clients have to call someplace to schedule appointments with them. But their offices are in Vegas proper, mostly in North Las Vegas. I, however, am not a call girl, despite appearances. I'm a psychic counselor." She stood and walked over to the dresser and picked up a small purse that sat beside a shopping bag. Snapping it open the woman pulled out a business card and tried to hand it to him and then slipped the robe on. He noticed that she didn't bother to belt it. Her breasts were even more impressive when she was vertical.
He started the process to remove the suit and looked at the card. "Uh, I hate being handed things. Bruce, buddy, could you…?" Banner sighed, took the card and held it up for him to read. "Uh, huh. 'Kat', 'Psychic Counseling', 'Priestess of Isis'. 'Weddings, Handfastings, and Naming Ceremonies'. Okay. Hey, it's Vegas, whatever sells."
"It pays the bills," she said.
"So, uh, Kat," he continued as the suit finished packing itself into briefcase formation. "Where's tall, dark and psychotic?"
Her eyebrow lifted. "I'm sure I haven't seen anyone fitting that description."
Tony nodded. "Fine, let's try this. Inky black hair, about so tall," he said, holding a hand up to not quite the top of Thor's head. "About so wide," he held his hands apart to indicate his own shoulder span. "With bright blue eyes and a megalomaniacal streak a mile wide."
"My brother does not suffer from megalomania, my friend," Thor rumbled. "And nor…"
"And his eyes aren't blue," Kat interrupted. "They're green."
"What?" Tony stared at each of them in turn. "Uh, when he threw me through my own goddamn window he had blue eyes. Really bright blue, bluer than yours, Blondie," he told Thor.
"Extenuating circumstances, Tony," Banner said as he tucked the business card in the pocket of his dress shirt. "Remember Barton's eyes, and Selvig's?"
"Son of a bitch. You're kidding, right?"
"Tis no jest Tony Stark. Though Loki will not admit it, Odin himself saw the evidence in him; though the thrall had already been broken by Dr. Banner's other."
Tony heaved a deep sigh. His whole righteous rant had just been turned upside down. "Shit. Jarvis, tell me you didn't forward this location to S.H.I.E.L.D., please?"
"You had not ordered it be done, sir. They are, as of yet, unaware."
"Coolness. Keep it that way." Never let it be said Tony Stark was slow on the uptake. "Okay, Red, where is Loki? Be quick about it; S.H.I.E.L.D. will be getting reports of our arrival from the public, it won't take them that long to put two and two together."
"No clue whatsoever, other than not here." She raised a hand as he opened his mouth. "Seriously; he purposely didn't tell me so that I couldn't be forced to tell anyone."
He rubbed a hand over his face and glanced at the others. Thor was standing with his arms folded across his chest, wearing a smug grin. "What's your problem, Point Break?"
The god shrugged. "As I told you; Loki will be found when he wishes, and not one moment sooner."
"You shouldn't have lost him."
Thor's grin widened into a full-out smile. "You are the one who said he was lost."
The woman started laughing. "What? What are you talking about?" Tony demanded.
"I did not lose my brother. I left him here, four days ago, when I travelled to Europe to visit Jane Foster. He would still be here if you had not taken it into your head to track him down and turn him in to S.H.I.E.L.D."
… …
Kat cracked up. The look on the billionaire's face was priceless. Captain America looked totally lost. Banner, not so much. The scientist's wry grin suggested he appreciated the turnabout. "I don't think I'd say put and wait for S.H.I.E.L.D. to come pick me up either," Banner admitted.
"Why the hell didn't you just say something, Thunderball?" Stark demanded.
"Captain Rogers had already called your supposition in. Would you have been able to retract it?"
"Shit. No, I guess not. Damn."
Rogers looked embarrassed now. Not 'there's a naked woman in the room' embarrassed, but 'I let my friend down' embarrassed. "Sorry, Thor; it was a gut reaction."
"I know this, my friend. And in truth, I should have hidden myself from your sight. Loki did warn me such would happen. I was arrogant enough to assume I knew better than he how you would react."
"So, you trust him?"
"Only when he gives his word," Thor shrugged. "Though, at the moment, he is unable to lie, so anything he actually says is the literal truth."
"Literal being the key word there, I take it?"
"Aye, my friend."
"He even admitted that much to me," Kat told them. "And warned me to think about what he wasn't saying."
"He admired you, then," Thor told her. "Else he would not have given such advice."
"I guess the admiration was pretty mutual."
"I'm still trying to figure out how you managed to keep quiet about knowing where he was," Stark groused.
The giant blonde smiled "I can keep my own counsel. Loki would tell you that I am an oaf, and truthfully, compared with him, I am such. I am also headstrong and oft think with my heart instead of my head. Many think that combination makes me stupid or foolish. I am not. Too rash, yes, even too trusting; but I am no man's fool." The smile faded slightly. "Not anymore. I learned the lessons my brother sought to teach me."
"Yeah, not to trust him."
"No, Tony. To trust those who have earned it, to learn the truth before taking action, and to always, always look to the reasons behind any action. These were valuable lessons and I am grateful for them. They will make me a worthy king once that time finally comes."
"So, now what do we do?"
"Clear out of my bedroom so I can get dressed," Kat suggested.
They'd all stared at her for a moment and then had headed out to the living room. "Come on, Cap," Tony Stark teased the blue clad Avenger. "The girlie show is over."
"Stark, that's not funny."
"No, but your blush was absolutely roll on the floor hysterical."
Kat closed the door behind them and sighed.
