Notes: I'm so sorry this chapter took so long- I have nothing against real life but it does sometimes interfere with my fic writing. This should be the last H!Loki-only chapter before we get back to everyone else.

Regarding Loki's history in Puente Antiguo- I can't remember whether I posted about this in notes to fic chapters or in separate posts on my fic LiveJournal, so I want to clarify how that episode happened in this particular universe. A while back, someone who used to follow my fic on LJ commented on the death and destruction this Loki had wrought in Puente Antiguo. I didn't argue with her, but I actually should have made a couple of things clear about this universe.

See, in the theatrical release, we actually didn't see the Destroyer kill any humans. All we actually saw was property damage by the Destroyer, then the battle with Thor's friends, and then the confrontation between Thor and Loki-via-Destroyer. In the final, theatrical, version of the story, the only person we see get hurt is Thor.

I realize that it's totally reasonable to assume there were people killed and we just didn't see it. However, in the Housemates universe, that's not what happened. In my mind, and so in this universe, Loki escalated throughout his final rampage, culminating in the attempt to destroy Jotunheim.

To me, that means the worst thing he did on Midgard was temporarily kill Thor. To my mind, killing a whole lot of innocent civilians would be worse, and therefore, in this universe, he didn't. I'm not going to argue with anyone who has different ideas about that section of the movie, but within Housemates universe my interpretation is what happened. So, while the citizens of the town would have been quite rightfully shaken and very angry when word got out Thor's brother was responsible for all that damage, expense, and terror, the fact nobody was killed or seriously injured means they're not as implacably angry as, say, many of the Jotnar.

Warnings: None needed.

Chapter Fifty

As they drove back toward Puente Antiguo, Loki and Stan passed the wreckage of many Doombots, apparently destroyed singly by the airborne Avengers. Stan rolled down the window on the driver's side of the pickup and leaned out to scan the sky. This really did not impress Loki as a safe way to operate a motor vehicle, but he said nothing. In the first place, the road was perfectly straight and they appeared to be the only vehicle on it. In the second, it seemed less than grateful to criticize the human who had rescued him and provided him with this blanket.

And in the third place, of course, having just transformed himself into a dragon for the purpose of battling flying robots, Loki felt his own claim to prudence was hardly unassailable.

"Yep, I think that's all of 'em," the old man remarked, drawing his head back in and making a correction to the pickup's course. "All right, let's see what's going on in town."

Not too surprisingly, the centre of town was still and very quiet. Rather more surprisingly, it was also devoid of the sort of wreckage Loki associated with the collateral damage caused by superhero battles. This, and the remains of destroyed Doombots on the route into the town, suggested the defenders had been successful in their efforts to knock down the bots before they reached their target.

The only signs of activity Loki could see were three white cars sitting in the main intersection, blue and red bar lights flashing on top. Despite superficial differences from the police cars he was used to at home, it was obvious what these were. Three armed police officers stood near the cars, holding what looked like an informal debriefing on the incident.

Loki's heart gave a hard bump when he realized who the officers were speaking to: standing in the midst of the group was the red-and-golden form of Iron Man, facemask open to reveal the face of Tony Stark. With a flash of panic, Loki realized he was still unable to immediately tell whether this was the Tony Stark who was his friend.

And then the panic gave way to relief as two more figures stepped forward: the angel-winged agent Loki did not know, and the blessedly familiar one of War Machine, Lt-Col Rhodes' serious face looking out of the suit's open mask. No extra Rhodey had come over from the other reality, therefore this was the Rhodey he knew and could trust. The angel was in Rhodey's company, therefore it followed he was no threat to Loki, either.

Stan stopped his pickup at a respectful distance from the police cars, turned off the engine, and opened his door. Clutching the blanket around himself, Loki reluctantly followed suit, stepping onto the concrete of the pavement, which was cooler on his bare feet than the black tarmac of the street itself.

"Hey, Chief," Stan called, in the breezy tone of one who expects his every appearance to be not only welcomed, but eagerly anticipated. So might Thor be, four thousand years hence.

In response to his call the officer who had been quizzing Iron Man looked around with a concerned frown. "Stan, what are you doing here?"

Stan inclined his head toward Loki. "Thought you might need to talk to the dragon."

"Do what?" the chief said, her expression confused as she and her colleagues turned to Loki, who instinctively tightened his grip on the blanket. He smiled tensely and sketched a slight bow in their direction.

Tony Stark, with a sudden penetrating glance at Loki's anxious face, said loudly,

"A dragon's nothing. You should have seen what he did to celebrate Kwanzaa this year- turned himself into Anansi, the spider-god with the head of a man. Scared us all half to death."

Tony. The three police officers looked more confused than ever, but Loki found himself suddenly able to breathe. His next smile in the direction of the superheroes was almost genuine. Tony winked, Rhodey smiled back, and the angel repeated, "Anansi?" with a curious glance at the other two.

"Is that right?" asked the chief of police, addressing Loki. He was unsure whether the question was rhetorical, but before he had to decide how to respond the chief gestured toward her car. "Mind having a seat while we talk this over?"

She opened the rear door and Loki could see the back of the car was fitted out as a sort of cage. His heart gave a thump and he almost protested, but given his history in this town he felt that would be inappropriate. The best compromise he could find was to sit on the back seat and then, before the police officers could shut him inside, awkwardly turn so that he was sideways, facing out the door with his feet resting on the lower doorframe and a careful fold of blanket caught between his knees. Seated like this he must remember to lean forward so as not to strike his head on the top of the door frame, but he would be able to defend himself if anyone attempted to close the door upon him.

The chief of police seemed unconcerned with Loki's small rebellion. It occurred to him that she- of average height for a human woman- simply preferred to look down upon him as she asked her questions, rather than up. His actual seated position was of less importance to her than the fact he was indeed sitting, and therefore below her eye level.

It was a perfectly natural gesture of authority. It also, as it happened, suited Loki's own purposes: he rather badly wished to present himself as harmless, and sitting at a level below the police officer's eye-line- particularly clad as he was in nothing but a blanket- created exactly the impression he needed.

(It occurred to him there was an unpleasing irony in trying so hard to manipulate these humans into believing he was innocent when he really was innocent, but the thought gave him an anxious feeling for reasons he did not quite understand, and so he banished it from his mind.)

The police chief studied Loki as though contemplating how best to begin her interrogation. Loki had been on the receiving end of a great many disapproving looks in his life, and at one point had considered himself rather an expert in them. He had of late begun to suspect that on occasion he might have perceived disapproval where none was intended, and three or four years ago this might have been one of those occasions. The three police officers did indeed look very serious, but under the circumstances that much was understandable.

It would be even more understandable after he told them who he was, but for the moment Loki tried not to read anything dire into their expressions. There would be plenty of time for that in a moment.

The chief of police folded her arms, body language familiar to Loki from television programs about police agencies and their work. Her tone when she spoke was not friendly, but neither was it hostile:

"I'm Chief Benally. These are Officer Begaye- " with a nod toward the taller of her subordinates- "and Officer Lujan." She paused, a clear signal for him to identify himself. With a feeling rather like one about to rip the plaster off a wound, Loki obeyed.

"I am Loki Odinson." He was forced to admit to a tiny, craven hope his name would mean nothing to Chief Benally and her officers. The hope sputtered out as the stern expressions intensified. All Chief Benally said, however, was:

"Thor's brother?"

"Yes," Loki replied, keeping his voice small and meek. How many centuries had that question rankled, implying as (to him) it did that the connection represented his only value to the speaker. How proud he had been, to be known as the son of Odin, but at the same time how resentful to be brother of Thor.

He was, as the humans would say, over it now- was properly proud of both relationships. But Darcy's behaviour toward him, when first they met, indicated that Puente Antiguo knew it was the brother of Thor who had wrought destruction on their town. Of course, Thor had addressed him as "brother" when he faced the Destroyer, when Loki had-

Stop that.

The point was, Thor had stood in the middle of the street, speaking to his brother by name. Jane and her friends had witnessed the whole scene, the apology (which in Loki's fevered state had felt not like an apology but one more attempt at control, just like the king and queen- Calm down, Loki; be quiet, Loki; do what we want of you, Loki; be a good pet monster, Loki-)

Stop.

Jane and her friends, and probably many other townspeople Loki had paid no attention at the time, had seen and heard the whole thing. They would have talked about it afterward, until the whole town knew who had launched this craven assault upon their peaceful community. Even if Jane now said kind things about him- which was likely, assuming she spoke of him at all- her words would hardly change the opinions of those he had terrorized. Loki made himself as small as possible as he waited for the chief to continue.

By this time, of course, he had some familiarity with Midgardian police. It therefore should not have surprised him when Chief Benally simply nodded in acknowledgement and asked,

"And that dragon we saw was you?"

"Yes," Loki admitted.

"And turning into a dragon struck you as a good idea- why, exactly?"

In Loki's opinion the question answered itself, but he had better sense than to say so. In his most respectful tones he enumerated his reasons:

"The threat to the town was airborne, so flight was necessary in order to fight them. The form I took needed to be large enough to create a significant obstacle in the Doombots' path toward the town. And, time being of the essence, it needed to have weapons capable of destroying a large number of the bots in a single sweep." He shrugged within the blanket. "The most obvious creature I would think to become was a dragon."

"What exactly do you mean, 'time was of the essence'? You're referring to the speed they were traveling at?"

"Yes. Also, it takes a considerable amount of magical energy to maintain a shift into a different form," Loki explained. "The greater the difference between the assumed form and my own, the more energy is needed. I knew I would not be able to maintain a form so large for more than a few minutes before my powers were drained."

"So you're pretty much powerless right now?" Chief Benally's voice was expressionless, but Loki found himself wishing she had not been so quick to grasp that particular point. Resisting the urge to cast an appealing glance at Tony and Rhodey, Loki schooled his face into a look of calm.

"For the moment, yes. My powers recover very quickly," he added, hoping he sounded less defensive than he felt.

"But if there had been another wave of Doombots you would have been in a lot of trouble," said the chief.

"Yes," Loki conceded, a little surprised at her choice of focus.

"And if you'd changed back while you were in the air, you could have gotten hurt," Benally went on, voice and expression still neutral.

"Indeed," Loki replied, choosing not to enlighten her.

"Pretty risky," Benally noted. Loki shrugged within the blanket.

"It was necessary." And then he addressed the obvious point, the one around which Loki felt they were both dancing: "I did a great deal of damage here a number of years ago, so I wished to... I wanted to..."

"Hmm," said Chief Benally, when Loki trailed uneasily off. "Well- "

Before she could say anything else, Thor landed in the middle of the intersection- followed immediately after by Thor. The arrivals were about as subtle as... as a dragon in the front garden, but Chief Benally merely blinked, while her two subordinates looked mildly interested at the sight. Their reactions were so reminiscent of Agent Coulson that Loki momentarily wondered whether their friend might originally hail from this Land of Enchantment, himself.

Both Thors made for the knot of people and police cars, both looking fierce- although demonstrably not for the same reason. Tony, quick despite his heavy suit, stepped hastily forward to intercept the other Thor, the wrong one. Rhodey cast a sharp look at Tony and then moved to support him, at which the angel also joined in.

Loki's real brother took in the situation as he strode forward, and his expression changed to an approximation of the open, friendly one that had always opened every door for him in Asgard and beyond. Loki had rather forgotten that he, Loki, was not in fact the only member of his family who could manipulate people and situations to his own advantage.

He had small leisure to reflect on the idea, because just at that a black vehicle with a badly damaged front grille came flying down the road as though it was on the track at Silverstone, screeching to a halt next to Stan's pickup. The driver's side front and back doors opened, and the one on the front passenger side, and out spilled Pepper, Jane, and Darcy.

"You can't arrest him!" Jane shouted as she ran up. "He was only trying to help!"

"He was," Darcy echoed. "Totally a good-guy dragon. Badass, but good guy."

Pepper, who somehow maintained the impression of walking with poise and calm even though she, too, was running, added,

"It's true. He's the magical consultant for the Avengers, he actually came here on purpose to help, and- "

Chief Benally raised a hand, and everyone fell silent. "No one is being arrested," she said evenly.

Yet, Loki mentally amended, but the chief went on, still calmly,

"I wanted to find out what happened here, so I had a few questions for your friend."

"He's in no condition to answer questions!" Darcy protested. Watching her, Loki was confident she was defending him not primarily for his sake, but out of the pure love of a good dramatic situation.

Which, of course, meant she fit in perfectly among iron-clad superheroes, the almost-God(s) of Thunder, a being got up like a heavily-armed angel, and a sorcerer who had just turned back from a dragon. Disposed to enjoy the show, Loki concealed a smile behind a corner of the blanket just as Darcy pointed (dramatically) at him and declaimed,

"He's in shock. Look, he's got a blanket."

Loki was fortunately able to stifle his startled giggle in time. Darcy, glancing over to see whether he had got the reference, looked pleased with his reaction. Both of them sobered as the police chief fixed them with a stern look.

Which was when Thor spoke up:

"I very much regret the circumstances. You see, we- the Avengers- are engaged in an investigation, and I fear this attack was an act of retaliation by the subject of that investigation. My brother used his powers to come to your defense, and Iron Man and I followed." He offered no explanation for the extra Thor, and the chief apparently decided she did not need to know. Thor went on, "My comrades and I can offer all the explanations necessary. I wonder if you would permit my brother to withdraw somewhere private so that he might dress?"

Bless him.

"We have your clothes in the car," Jane added quickly. Bless her.

"I'll get them," Darcy announced, and hurried off to do so.

Chief Benally glanced at Loki, then indicated a low building on the opposite corner of the street. "Police station is over there. Sergio, escort him." Officer Lujan nodded. Benally turned back to Loki. "We would have been in an awful lot of trouble without you. I'm pretty sure I'm speaking for the whole town when I say we're grateful for the help."

"It was owed," Loki mumbled.

"It was," Chief Benally agreed. "And I can't speak for the town this time, but you can probably call that paid for."

Loki swallowed hard. Then he rose to his feet, with as much dignity as could be mustered by an unsteady being clad in nothing but a dusty blanket, and bowed.

"Thank you," he said quietly. Benally and her subordinates nodded back.

Darcy came back just then, clutching a rumpled bundle of clothing, and Officer Lujan gestured Loki to follow him. Darcy showed no inclination to hand over the clothing, nor Lujan to take them. Under the circumstances Loki really did prefer to keep both hands on the blanket, so all three went into the police station together.

Officer Lujan, now the official questioning was over, became positively affable as he escorted Loki to the small, bright lavatory at the back of the building and asked whether there was anything else Loki needed. Loki briefly considered asking for a cup of tea, but decided such a request would be presuming too much upon the new friendliness between them, even if the police officers had tea and a kettle. He politely declared he was fine, took his clothing from Darcy, and locked himself in the little room.

Officer Lujan might have stayed near the door or withdrawn entirely- he did not speak, so it was impossible to tell. Darcy, however, remained outside the door, where she talked almost without pausing to draw breath.

"So do you do that all the time? Change into dragons and things?"

"Dragons? Almost never," Loki called back. He wrapped the blanket around his waist as though it were a bath towel, and used foamy soap from the dispenser to wash his dusty face and hands. The result was muddy streaks on his neck and forearms, but before dealing with them he cupped his clean hands under the stream of cool water and drank until he no longer felt as though he had swallowed half the desert. He was aware of Darcy continuing to speak outside the door, so when his thirst was satisfied he called to her, "I beg your pardon, I could not hear you."

"I said, so if you fell into a big lake or something you could just turn into a fish, right?"

"Right," Loki agreed, because it was simpler than trying to explain what he actually had done the last time that had happened to him, and besides he was not sure whether Agent Coulson would appreciate his telling the story.

"Or a bird? Not if you fell into a lake, although I guess you could turn into a duck, I hear you're good at ducks- "

"Sorry?" Loki called back, momentarily confused.

"I saw the episode of Ellen," Darcy replied, and Loki belatedly recalled the incident at the television studio. It seemed like a very long time ago. Darcy went on, "If I could change shapes I'd probably be a bird all the time."

"I also enjoy being a bird," Loki understated, "but it can be complicated when one has cats." As he spoke, Loki used soap and paper towels to clean the mud from his neck and forearms. The rest of him would have to wait, but he managed at least not to make the mess any worse.

"That could be a problem," Darcy agreed. "So can you turn into anything? Like, a... a minotaur?"

"Of course not," Loki replied, as he began hastily to dress. "There is no such thing as a minotaur. Thank you for bringing my clothing. You really do not need to remain with me, if you would prefer to rejoin Jane."

"Oh, she's fine without me for a minute," Darcy replied breezily. "Hey, are you sure you don't need anything? If you don't mind me saying so you looked a little wobbly out there. Sure you don't want a jolt of sugar or something? There's a vending machine, I could get you a Pepsi if it'd help."

"Actually, I would very much appreciate that," Loki admitted. He felt much better for his drink of water but was still light-headed enough it seemed wise not to bend over to tie his shoes, and he knew from experience that, in the absence of tea, any beverage containing caffeine and sugar would be helpful.

"Be right back," Darcy called, from somewhere down the hall. Loki closed the lid of the toilet and sat on it to deal with his shoes.

He was drinking the frosty cola as he followed Darcy back outside to rejoin the others. Chief Benally and Officer Begaye were just closing out their conversation with the Avengers. Thor and Tony looked over as Loki emerged from the police station.

"Ready to go?" Tony called.

"Just a moment," Loki replied, looking around for Stan. He jogged over to the pickup, extending the folded blanket to the old man. "Thank you. I very much appreciated the help."

"No trouble. We all need a hand sometimes," Stan said mildly.

"Some of us more often than others," Loki replied with a sheepish smile, and turned back toward his friends.