Tessa was truly a miracle worker; only two weeks after the initial fitting, she called them all to let them know their outfits were ready.
"We're going to have a little fashion show," she said. "I've hired some models who are your approximate height and weight to show off what your costumes look like on an actual human body, as opposed to a mannequin."
"Is this gonna cost me extra?" Tony groused, and Pepper smacked him with her fan.
"This is quality work, you know! This isn't just something I threw together in five seconds. You can wear them to a con, you can wear them to a Faire, you can wear them for the next ten Halloweens. They're not just stylish, they're practical, too. Let's have the first one. This is Lady Bettina."
The model was not only close to Betty's height and weight, she also had similar coloring. "I chose this violet-pink fabric because it complements Bardok's yellow-green. She's an herbalist, so I gave her lots of hidden pockets in her cloak. The boots are calfskin, sturdy enough for outdoors, but soft enough so they won't be uncomfortable or scuff up floors.
"Next we have Lady Ginna. I did her in mostly white with accents of gold, to match the gold in Tomar's armor. I made the skirt full enough to give you room to grow, but not so much fabric that it would get in your way. The shoes are low-heeled and wide, with some more gold accents. As a wealthy merchant's wife, she likes to show off a bit. Very nice, Candy, thank you.
"Moving on, we have Nadia the Flame-Haired. She's an assassin, so she wears black. I designed a gown with a removable skirt, and under it, as you can see, she has leather pants tucked into low-heeled boots. There's also a hidden pocket on her thigh to hold her signature weapon-if you could hold that up for us, Gina . . ."
The model withdrew a slim dagger, about six inches long, with a crest on the handle. "As you can see, it bears the emblem of the Red Sisterhood, the society of female assassins to which Nadia formerly belonged. I modified the design from one used by twelfth-century Spanish knights.
"Now we have the men. Let's start with Cerros, Nadia's companion. For his signature color, I used a dark purple with touches of dark grey. He wears a short leather jerkin over a simple linen shirt, and you'll note the leather arm guards. The trousers I made form-fitting to allow the greatest possible range of movement, and the boots have flexible soles. And now, his weapon!" The model held up a bow that was about four feet long, and had a carving of a raptor in flight at the top. "I sacrificed authenticity for lightness, and chose a fiberglass one, but we have a complete range of bows in all materials if this doesn't suit."
"It's amazing," Clint said. "Does it work?"
"It works." Tessa smiled. "Our weapons master is an Olympic bronze medalist in archery. He personally tests every bow that passes through this shop."
"You people really care about your work."
"It's the little details that make the whole thing work so well. Shall we move on? I believe Commander Salkon is next."
A young man who looked enough like Steve to be his stunt double stepped out. "Salkon is a soldier, so I gave him armor based on the most common designs used in fourteenth-century England. The helmet and breastplate are crafted out of aluminum, for lightness and speed in battle. The shield-hold up the shield, Johnny-is forged from an alloy of steel and adamantium. You can see where it comes to a knife edge; it can be thrown like a boomerang and used as a weapon itself. He carries a crossbow with an eagle design on the stock-can everyone see that?"
"That's beautiful," Steve said. "You did all this in two weeks?"
"I did the costumes myself; my team modified the weapons and armor. Next, we have the mighty Todor!"
The model who wore Thor's costume looked like he competed in bodybuilding competitions on the weekends. "A lot of this armor is very similar to Salkon's, but I tried to give this more of a rough-and-ready look, like it had been well-used in battle. The pouch on his belt holds his throwing axe, which unfortunately isn't ready yet, but will be by the end of March. I'll give you a call the moment it's available. As you can see, I used his signature red throughout, with silver and black accents.
"Moving on . . . we have Bardok the Shape-Shifter. He's an alchemist, when he's not an ogre, so I gave him a cloak with lots of pockets, and a one-piece robe over stretchy trousers. I used a yellow-green color, with brown and dark green earth tones throughout. The boots slip off easily, and as you can see, the cloak folds up into a pouch to hold all the clothing. It can be hidden behind a tree or in the long grass until he needs it again.
"And now . . . are you ready? Come on out, Logar!"
The lights dimmed, and smoke curled up from the floor as the handsome model garbed as Logar made his grand entrance.
"Dry ice," Tony said. "Nice touch."
"The primary colors I used are green and gold, with some black leather armor. Bad guys get the best outfits, don't they? The boots have three-inch heels, to give him a little more height and make him seem imposing. And, of course, the cape! Let's see it!"
The model turned around slowly, letting the full-length black cape swish around him.
"Nice, isn't it? It's weighted at the bottom, so it won't blow around too much, but it's light enough not to be a burden if you've got a long day at the con. I also gave him this signet ring, which Bill will pass around later for you to get a good look at, and the design is replicated in several places on the outfit itself. And, of course, Logar's Staff of Power!"
Bill held up an elaborate walking stick which, with the push of a button, transformed into Logar's symbol of ultimate power. The design was a bit reminiscent of the Tesseract scepter, but not enough so that the average person on the street (or at the con, or the Ren Faire) would recognize it.
"One small caveat," Tessa said with a wink. "The staff unfortunately contains no actual magical power. But it's a nice prop, isn't it?"
"I love it," Loki said. "I love how you've brought everything and everyone to life like this. Thank you so much."
"Just promise me," the costume mistress said, "that I get to read this book at some point. From what I've seen, it looks fantastic."
Loki was amazed when he entered the ballroom, seeing his creations come to life. Tessa was truly a miracle worker; the finest Asgardian crafter couldn't have done a better job with the costumes, tailoring them to be practical as well as fashionable.
"You all look wonderful," he said. "I have something for you." He passed around the packets of papers he was carrying under his arm. "This is the first chapter of my novel-the first revision, anyway. It's all I have for you at the moment."
"Interesting." Tony read the first paragraph aloud. "'Nikos knew there was trouble the moment he stepped off the coach; his finely tuned sense of danger had picked up some undefinable wrong note in the air, and he couldn't wait to find out what it was. He adjusted the patch over his eye, which had been lost in a battle with the last remaining dragon in the kingdom, and waited for someone to come and tell him exactly what was going on. Fortunately, his subordinate, Coul, did not keep him waiting long.' This is good stuff. Where did you learn to write like this?"
"Just from reading," Loki said. He took his helmet off-he hadn't liked the crown that Tessa had made to go with the suit (too spiky) and had substituted his own horned headgear-and sat down. "I've always read a lot, as far back as I can remember. My mother encouraged my pursuit of intellectual activities. My father . . . not so much."
"What about our father?" Thor asked. He was carrying an enormous cake box in his arms. Loki tried to peek through the clear cellophane window, but his brother moved aside. "Not yet! We wait for Lady Bettina and Lady Ginna."
"They should be along any minute," said Bruce.
Sure enough, the ladies turned up a few minutes later, in full costume. "We had to change," Betty explained. "I wasn't about to ride the subway dressed like this, so I stuffed it into a bag and changed when I got here. Hope it's not too wrinkled."
"You look lovely," Bruce said. "Not wrinkled at all. I love the boots."
Pepper, meanwhile, was admiring her husband's outfit. "I don't remember seeing this during the big fashion show."
"She didn't have it ready yet."
"Plus you tinkered with it a bit."
"Yes, I did. I just added a few little gadgets here and there."
"Will you show me?"
"What, all of them? Then we wouldn't have any time to party!"
"Yes, are we starting this party, or what?" Loki grumbled.
The ballroom door suddenly banged open. "I hope you weren't thinking of having this party without Nikos, Coul, and Lady Marta."
Fury strode into the room, followed by his two subordinates. All of them were in costume.
The God of Mischief gaped at them. "How did you know about the party?"
"I know everything you people are up to. I got in touch with that Tessa woman, who was more than happy to make our costumes for us."
"I especially like the hook for the crossbow," said Coulson, fingering a flap on his belt. "I didn't bring it, of course, but I like the idea."
"You . . . you would come to my birthday party? But I killed you!"
Coulson shrugged. "Bygones."
"I have a present for you," Fury said, handing Loki a wrapped gift the size of a shoe box.
"You shouldn't have. I mean, you hate me. Why would you-"
"Just open it."
Loki did so. On top of what looked like a pile of papers was a New York State driver's license in the name of John R. Lawson. The date of birth was April 1st, 1986.
"So I'm twenty-eight," he said, setting the license aside. Underneath it was a passport in the same name, and a Resident Alien card giving his country of origin as Great Britain.
"We have identity papers for your wife and children, too," Fury said, "if they decide to move here."
"Why are you doing this?"
"Because we're stuck with you, no matter what, so we might as well make the most of it."
"Here." Tony gave Loki a small rectangular box the size of a sunglass case. "Mine kinda goes with theirs."
Loki opened it and found a set of keys. "What is this? You're giving me one of your cars?"
"No, it's your car now. The blue Mazda. I'll teach you to drive it as soon as we get it registered and everything."
"I . . . I don't . . ." Loki was near tears now, though he would never admit it. "You would . . . do this for me?"
"Like it or not," Bruce said, "you have friends now. Friends who are willing to dress up like this just to make you happy. You've come a long way from the person you were before. That's what we're celebrating today. That's what birthdays are all about."
"Wow." Loki looked around at the people who considered themselves his friends. "I don't know what to say."
"Bring on the cake!" cried Thor.