Loki felt his nerves tingling as Thor read the text aloud. Was that really the way he had thought, as a seventeen-year-old? Was there even any escape from the fate he'd had, before?

"Thor?" He asked in a small voice.

The Thunderer was wiping tears off his face somberly. "Yes, brother?"

"You haven't… given up on me, have you? You want me to live, still, right?" Loki anxiously pleaded.

Thor stood up, taking a deep, shuddering breath. "Of course, Loki. If you wish to live, who am I to stand in your way?"

Loki was quiet, silently agreeing with his brother. Thor immediately left to fetch the blood from Asgard, and Loki was left with the Avengers, again. To distract himself, he uploaded his consciousness into one of the suits, and began helping Tony in his laboratory. He was working on one of the cars, giving it what he called a "tune-up". Loki was sitting nearby, keeping him company, and handing him the occasional tool that he needed.

"So, you're going to be real boy, Pinocchio." Tony mentioned at a lull in the conversation. "Are you excited?"

Loki shrugged in fake-indifference. "I don't know."

"You're nervous!" Tony grinned, wiping a grease-covered hand over his brow.

"No! What would make you think I'm…" Loki protested, before trailing off. "Honestly, yes."

"It's okay, Rudolph, there's nothing to be afraid of." Tony grinned. "I've been a person all my life and it's never hurt me." He paused. "Oh, wait… there was that one time…"

Loki waited patiently.

"And the other time…" Tony continued, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "Okay, come to think of it, it sucks, being human. But it can't be much worse than being a robot!" The engineer grinned cheerfully, and rolled himself back under the car.

Loki thoughtfully drummed his metal fingers on the concrete floor to the beat of the rock music Tony had requested. "I've never seen my Jotun form, before."

"What's that?" Tony rolled himself back out from under the automobile.

Loki fidgeted restlessly. "I've never seen my Jotun form, before." He repeated. "Well, if I have, I don't remember."

"That's okay." Tony shrugged. "I haven't seen mine, either. Monkey wrench, if it pleases your Snarkiness?"

Loki burst out laughing. "Anthony, you don't have a Jotun form!"

"I don't?" Tony looked betrayed. "Aw, man…" He snapped his fingers in disappointment. Loki distractedly handed the wrench that looked nothing like a monkey to the engineer. It was interesting what names the mortals came up with for their tools. It seemed they looked at an object, and thought of the thing it was least like, and named it that. As an example, a garden hose looked nothing like a pair of pants. And the machine that made pop tarts was called a toaster, so it seemed the most logical conclusion.

"Seems all the awesomest guys have one, now days…" Tony mused. "How much would you say one of those Jotun forms costs?"

Loki snorted in laughter, again, as Tony grinned, and returned to his work. Leave it to Anthony to calm his rattled nerves, and to make even the most frightening of concepts humorous. That was the best thing about the engineer, he was always joking around. Loki had always loved a good joke, and there seemed no end to Anthony's. He was also the one who took Loki's own practical jokes the best, while the captain, or Clinton would remain slightly bitter for hours, Anthony would only laugh his head off, after the first few seconds.

"Anthony?" He asked. "Is everything a joke to you?"

Tony let out a muffled chuckle. "Funny things are."

"So, what isn't funny?"

Tony hummed thoughtfully. "Angry Pepper."

"Your… intended?"

"Girlfriend." Ton corrected. "Come to think of it, I actually make fun of her, when she's mad, so… never mind. Angry hippos."

Loki was a bit stunned. "Hippos? But… they look so harmless."

"Looks can be deceiving, my friend." Tony scooted back out. "Needlenose pliers?"

Loki handed him the tool. "What do they do? Kill you with cuteness?"

Tony shrugged, returning to the underside of the vehicle. "I don't know, but they're the most dangerous animal in Africa, supposedly."

"Yikes." Loki shuddered. Literally, because, just then, the entire tower shook as Thor landed on the roof.

"Thor's here!" Loki cheered, jumping to his feet, but then paused. "I'm scared."

Tony stood up, and laid a greasy hand on Loki's metal shoulder. "Hey, Lokes. It's gonna be okay. You're gonna be great, and you're gonna love it."

Loki squared his shoulders resolutely. "Alright. Here goes nothing, I suppose."

With that, Loki clumped heavily up to the roof, where Thor was waiting, staring at the tiny vial of blood in his hand.

"Hello, Brother." Loki greeted him, startling him from his thoughts.

Thor raised his eyebrows. "Are you ready?"

Loki shrugged slightly. "I… not really."

Thor nodded in understanding. "You want to go through with this, anyway?"

Loki nodded, and the two of them, in silence, made their way down to the ground floor. They stepped out onto the sidewalk, and, without uttering a word, walked side-by-side through the streets. "You have a blanket?" Loki finally spoke up in a quiet voice.

"I have my cape." Thor explained. "I didn't wish for any of Anthony's blankets to be soiled from being outdoors."

"I see."

They made their way to Central Park, so that they could have a patch of real ground, not concrete, to crush the vial on.

It was a solemn moment, as they stood together, the vial of blood in the grass before, waiting to be crushed under Thor's boot.

"I'm frightened, brother." Loki admitted. "What if there's a miscalculation?"

"From you?" Thor laughed heartily. "No way."

Loki chuckled nervously. "If you say so…"

Crunch! Went the little glass bottle, and the world went black.

There was a deep, velvety darkness for what seemed a long time. Loki had been unconscious, before, and it wasn't exactly like that. This was warmer, more secure than sleep he'd ever felt. He could feel a slight tingling in his extremities, after a few moments, and a dim light appeared before his eyes. Gentle, yet strong hands were gripping his shoulders, gently, insistently shaking him. The darkness receded, the warmth vanished, and was replaced by an uncomfortable chill. He was wrapped in something… soft, and thick.

"Loki, Brother…" A deep, worried voice met his ears, but he couldn't open his eyes. It seemed as there were heavy weights on his eyelids, on everything, really.

"Wake up, Loki, please!" The deep voice begged, and Loki associated that voice with safety, with comfort, a twinge of jealousy, but that voice meant… it meant home.

With a great effort, Loki peeled his eyelids open to see the face of his brother, peering anxiously into his face.

"Loki!" He cheered, a disbelieving smile pushing past the worry and concern.

Loki smiled softly, weak from the transformation, and unable to lift his head. "Th-Thor."

His brother lifted him up in his arms, tucking the red cape securely around his body. Yes, his body. All the memories of the previous two weeks rushed into Loki's head in a moment.

He was a man, again.

*Stubbornly ignores my flaws so that you guys will, too*

Second to last chapter!

TheOnlyHuman.