A/N: ...and I didn't know there was a doc-limit in the storage thingie. Crud. Read and review, please and thanks!
Disclaimer: See previous chapter(s).

**Note**
Be aware that the Infinity Stones haven't been properly identified in the MCU yet. All my information has come off Wikipedia; I will adapt the story as more information about the Stones is revealed in the MCU.

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Part 3: Information
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"You what?!" Quill yelped, the rest of his group going still at his side. Loki smiled innocently. "I led an invasion on Earth. Or pretended to. Thanos wanted me to retrieve the Tesseract whilst leaving Earth to his mistress-Death. I did recover the Tesseract, naturally, but I kept it safe and ensured that the Avengers-" with a nod towards said group "-were able to 'defeat' me and take me back to Asgard."
Gamora stepped forward, mimicked by Natasha who hadn't taken her eyes off of the other assassin. "You have one of the Infinity Stones?" the racoon groaned. "Oh, not this again..."
Loki paused before answering, eyeing the little tree person, which has squeaked "I am Groot!" in a nervous tone of voice. "Yes."
Clint snorted and grumbled, "He has more than one." Loki glared at his former minion and hissed mentally, [Just because I can not lie to you and the others living in the Tower, does not mean I wish to tell every little thing to these people. Especially since they *all* carry traces of another Stone.] Clint swore and rubbed at his temples. "Stop doing that!"

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Duskstar rolled her eyes as the archer before stating, "The Aether is also safe." Gamora let out a breath. "If the Stones are safe anywhere, they are safe with the Mage of Yggdrasil." Quill snorted. "And that's this guy? What makes him so special?" To everyone's surprise, it was Drax who answered. "The Mage is very powerful, bound to all the Realms. But my people believed him to be a myth-that one being could channel the power of the world tree, it is absurd." Rocket snarled slightly. "You people make no sense. World Tree? What the heck is that!"
Duskstar moved closer, eyeing the racoon with interest. "This Dimension and all others, of course."
Quill scowled. "And what's with the talking cats?"
The Clan let out an annoyed hiss, causing Rocket to whirl around with a yelp when Sparrowflight appeared behind him, her long black-ringed tail lashing. Duskstar sent her a sharp look and the she-cat settled with a slight shrug. The shadow-gray she-cat then addressed the grimacing Quill. "We are Loki's...helpers."
"Way to be vague," the human (ish) male muttered. Tony sighed. "You'll get used to it. Why don't we all take this inside? I could use a drink."

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The had moved to one of the common rooms-the same one Hulk had smashed Loki in, years ago. Tony, Bruce, Steve, Thor, Clint and Natasha sat and stood on one side of the coffee table, which was now host to Groot's pot, while Drax, Quill, Rocket and Gamora had arranged themselves on the other side. Loki stood between the two groups, scrutinizing the newly proclaimed to be 'Guardians of the Galaxy' as Gamora wrapped up their tale of adventure. Duskstar had chosen to scramble onto Loki's shoulder, the residual energy surrounding the newcomers putting her on edge. Fawnstep sat next to Groot, also unsettled by the purple haze shifting under the Guardians skin. Bladeclaw and Sparrowflight were stalking Rocket in a friendly manner, while Lilyfire was amusing herself by settling on Gamora's lap-all the alien assassins attempts to remove the pale ginger she-cat had failed. Echosong, Crow's Cry and Ravenstrike had settled at Loki's feet, and Larkwhisper and Hawkclaw had settled with Quill and Drax, respectively.
"You're us," Clint sniggered, causing Thor to furrow his brow in confusion and Quill to protest.
"No, I agree with Legolas," Tony mused. "Gamora is Clint and Natasha, Quill is obviously me, Drax could be Steve and Thor, and Groot is Bruce-y!"
"What about me?" Rocket's bristled fur and proud stance couldn't be taken seriously by the others, not with Bladeclaw and Sparrowflight batting at his tail. "You could be Clint actually." At Clint's disbelieving look, Tony held up his hands. "Hey, if you wanna be a green lady from outer space rather than a cybernetic racoon, be my guest. I won't judge." The room broke out into chuckles, the initial tension between the two groups slowly fading. "About this Stone. Where is it?" Loki asked, focusing his emerald green eyes on the Guardians.
"Why do you want to know?" Rocket asked suspiciously, finally scrambling onto the table and snarling at the siblings when they started to follow. Fawnstep fixed them with a stare and they backed off with twin sighs. Fawnstep flicked her tail at Gamora. "She said it herself-those Stones are safest with Loki, and we should retrieve it before someone else steals it. And this..Nova corp. doesn't really sound all that secure. They could betray that knowledge." Quill's eyes slid to one side before coming back to rest on Fawnstep, a cocky grin on his face. "Not telling."
"You just did." Ravenstrike dead-panned. "The Stone is still with them, isn't it? Idiots," she sighed.
"Hey!" Quill protested, standing and glaring down at the cool-eyed black she-cat. "They're good people."
"But people can be bought," Loki pointed out quietly, absently rubbing his fingers together as the Aether's red-black glow slithered under the skin of his throat.
"Why does your skin change color? Are you diseased?" Drax wondered even as the Avengers turned to frown at the Trickster. "Are you well, brother?" Thor asked, moving to stand as the cats instinctively closed ranks around their patron. "I am fine, Thor. I simply am more powerful than before, and that power is going to manifest itself. Thanks to my Clan," Loki gave them a fond look. "I am no longer in danger of blowing a fuse, as it were. So long as I do not go long without using magic, there is no danger-and since I am connected to all the Realms, I am always using some level of power." there was a pause, and then Natasha stated, "That isn't really reassuring, Loki."
Fawnstep decided to speak up. "I've been keeping an eye on Loki's magic. Honestly, gaining the other Stones would probably help-they were once all one thing, so having them all together would help balance him out. Trust me, we've discussed this enough to know how to handle any flare-ups."
Ravenstrike spoke up as well. "We already know where the Stone is, and we are going to get it. It's just a matter of formality-we don't want to cause problems between us and you. Last thing we need is for there to be a rift between the people Guarding the Galaxy, the Avengers of Earth, and the guy who can not only harness all the power in this Dimension and it's Realms but every other Dimension any of you could think up."
"Well, when you put it that way...Yep, it's with the Nova corp. You'll need Nova Prime's genetic signature in order to get into the vault though." Quill pointed out, privately deciding that there was no way Loki was that powerful...but to be helpful, just in case.
"What does Nova Prime look like?" Duskstar asked, jumping off of Loki's shoulder in preparation. "Just think about it," she added as she gathered the cats around her. As one, the Guardians thought to the pale woman with the odd hairstyle. An instant later, a familiar gold-green shimmer glided over Loki's skin as he shifted. Rocket scrambled back, paws going for a weapon he didn't have. "That is just freaky, man."
"I am Groot," agreed the tree-person, bending to get a better look. Loki-or rather, Nova Prime-gave Groot a curious look before speaking, voice also different. "I would like to speak with you more when we return-I had thought all the denizens of Planet X were dead." And with that, Loki and the cats vanished.
"Fun guy." Quill mused, to which Tony agreed emphatically.
"You have no idea."

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Sunpool perked up from her place next to the Nursery, watching Silver, Shade and Hawk when she felt a surge of knowledge come over the Clan bond. The dark ginger tabby hurried to the Speaking Rise and let out a yowl to gather the other cats. Swift-Eyes was the first to arrive, soon followed by Owlwings, Rageheart, Dovefeather, Shadowflame, Shadowflicker, Featherwing, Ripplestone, Mintyflower, Storm, Silver, Shade, and Hawk, with the kittens staying close to Storm as they sensed the importance of the meeting. Sunpool was at ease in front of her Clan, and quickly began speaking. "Everything is fine-a group of people, the Guardians of the Galaxy, came to Earth. They are at Tony Starks-the Avengers are keeping an eye on them. They had found another Stone, so Loki and the others are going to go get it. They'll bring it back home before returning to the Tower. If you weren't with the Clan when we were dealing with the Tesseract and the Aether, all you really need to know is that there are six Infinity Stones, and each have been around since the beginning of Yggdrasil. They are capable of granting complete control over Space, Time, Power, Soul, Reality and Mind. The Tesseract is the Space Gem, the Aether the Power Gem. They are retrieving the Gem of Reality. Loki's the only one capable of keeping and using them all safely; he has already absorbed the powers of the first two, and their empty Vessels are safe here in camp. Loki wants us to keep an extra eye on them-they are in Duskstar's den." Rageheart's sky-blue eyes widened in recognition, remembering when he snuck a peek when the cats first moved into their new Camp. Sunpool ended the meeting.

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TBC