Sorry for not having this up yesterday, things got away from me a bit!
Oh, temperature conversion for the listed measurements are in the end notes :)
"So you didn't find that a little anticlimactic?" Tony questioned, glancing over at Natasha.
"A good thing, I'd think," she replied, crouching down beside Cap to check his pulse.
"Yes, but if anything, it raises even more questions."
"Did they leave?" Bruce asked.
"Yeah, it's safe for you to come back," Tony responded. "Steve may need medical attention."
"On my way with the paramedics."
"Did the adults make it to you?" Natasha asked.
"Yeah, they're with the kids and the cops now."
"Good," Tony said. "I'll go check and see if Clint's feeling any less enamored with our latest alien invader."
The groan over his comm was hopeful and when Tony flew up to where he'd left the archer, it was to find him perched on a big branch, head in his hands.
"I take it you're feeling better?" Tony asked, not unkindly.
"Go away," Clint muttered.
"Not sure if you've noticed, but you are up an ice tree and while I call you Legolas, you're not quite that nimble."
With a sigh, Barton looked up at him in abject misery, so Tony flipped up his face plate to allow Clint to see he was being serious.
"Nothing bad happened, all you did was give Natasha a bit of a workout, which she totally deserved after what she did during training last week."
An aborted laugh over the comm backed up his argument, and Tony could see the archer relax a fraction.
"Besides, think of how easily we'll be able to make Cap blush now," he added on for good measure.
That got a small smile, before Clint's brow furrowed. "What happened to him? Did you put him up a tree too?"
"Nah, I knocked him out."
"You did what?"
Tony shrugged. "It was that or test a repulsor blast on him. Don't worry, JARVIS did all the calculations based on Steve's medical files."
"You've been wanting to do that, haven't you?" Clint asked.
Tony merely gave the archer an innocent smile as he closed his face plate and flew closer so he could grab hold of him.
"Let's get you out of this tree," he replied instead.
Bruce and the paramedics were there when they rejoined the others, so Tony left Legolas to them and he flew over to Thor who stood beside his frozen hammer with a perplexed frown on his face. Not wanting to have to deal with multiple conversations at once, he deactivated both his and Thor's comms from the others.
"Wow," Tony whistled as he saw the readings JARVIS gave him for Mjölnir. "What the hell did Loki do?"
Unlike the rest of the iced-up winter wonderland, the ice around Mjölnir was seventy-three degrees. Kelvin.
"I do not know," Thor growled. "He does not possess the proper authority to take Mjölnir from me, yet she does not respond."
"Wait, take her from you?" Tony asked, flipping up his face plate once more.
"Aye, 'tis what happened when I first came to Miðgarðr. But only Father possess the ability to break the connection."
Huh, Tony did vaguely remember something of that.
"Power or authority?" Tony asked.
"Bo-" Thor began, before he cut off with a frown. "Mayhap only the authority."
"You sound uncertain."
"Before I would have said both, but Father said the false Tesseract Loki had in his possession when we captured him was a working of great power and skill, and it bore Loki's seiðr and only his."
"Are you sure? Someone like Karnilla couldn't have helped him?"
"Nay. Seiðr is unique to its wielder... like those prints of fingers mentioned in your TV tale."
Magical finger printing? Tony wondered if he could do anything with that. Well, at least once he made any sort of headway in the magic detector he was working on, but it was hard without being able to get any good readings of Loki's magic while it was being performed. The thought had always been just to detect magic, as there had only been one person who used it, but now... well it was something else to consider and he made a mental note to add it to the project specs when he had a chance.
"Okay, so basically Rock of Ages has somehow cut you off from Mjölnir when he shouldn't be able to?" Tony checked.
"Aye."
"What about the ice itself? Queenie seemed to think Loki had done something quite interesting with it and the readings I'm getting from it are different from all the rest of the ice."
"I believe 'tis permaice," Thor informed him, showing the palm of his right hand, which was blackened and cracked.
Tony winced in sympathy. "You tried to touch it."
Crouching down beside it as best as he could in his suit, Tony leaned close to inspect the ice itself, feeling the cold radiating off of it even with all the other ice around. Unlike that which was all around them, this ice had a different quality to it; sharper and purer almost, though its coloring was different too.
"Thor, would you say there are hints of green in the blue and purple?" Tony asked, mind already racing.
"I had not noticed, but, aye, I can see what you mean, friend Tony," Thor replied.
"All of the magic I've seen Loki do until today has been green or green-gold."
"'Twas not today?"
Tony frowned. Sometimes he wondered how Point Break had survived so long given how unobservant he could be. Though he supposed indestructibility was probably a big help.
"No, it was more blue," Tony waved off, it was a point for another time. "Can Loki lift Mjölnir?"
"Nay," Thor said, suddenly looking uncomfortable. "He has never been deemed worthy enough to do so."
Worthy enough? Point Break had just admitted Óðinn could decide who was able to wield the hammer or not, so what did worth have to do with it? Well, other than one man's opinion. Tony felt a pit form in his stomach as he suspected he already knew the answer to that particular question. If you put this together with a teenage Loki feeling it necessary to back door every cell in his father's dungeons...
It was a problem for another time. First, they had this one to deal with.
"What if rather than cutting off your authority to control Mjölnir, he's simply interfering with it?" Tony suggested. "Making it so Mjölnir can't... hear you as it were."
Stupid magic and magical objects.
"I do not understand," Thor replied, brow furrowed.
"What if this ice, this- what did you call it?"
"Permaice."
"Yeah, what if the green we see is Loki's magic? What if he infused the ice with it? Wouldn't that make it seem to Mjölnir as if Loki were trying to wield it instead of you?"
Thor's eyes grew wide as the big guy considered this, before he looked at Tony and nodded.
"Aye, I suppose it would," Thor finally said. "By doing so he has found a way to make Father's protection work against us."
A specialty of Loki's from what Tony had been able to witness as of late. Both with words and deeds.
"So all we need to do is wait for the ice to melt. JARVIS, how long will that take given the current weather forc-" Tony cut off as he took in the sudden dejected slump of Point Break's shoulders. "What?"
"Permaice is called thus as 'tis permanent ice. It does not melt."
Oh. Well.
That did rather change things, especially in light of any simmering resentment Reindeer Games might feel towards Thor over the whole 'worthy' thing Óðinn had set up. It looked like Central Park had gained a new tourist attraction for the foreseeable future, though they would need to keep people back from it given the condition of Thor's hand.
"JARVIS, we're going to need twenty-four seven security surveillance of Mjölnir and the area until we solve this little problem," Tony ordered. "Also, any ideas for things to try."
"Of course, Sir."
Even as his AI replied, Tony raised his right hand, indicating for Thor to stand back.
"I doubt this'll work, but it's worth a try," Tony aimed at a corner of the ice and slowly fired up his repulsor.
As he'd feared, the energy bounced off the permaice and hit the ground a bit further along, easily blasting away that ice.
"Stark? Everything okay there?" Natasha called out.
"We've got ourselves a sword in the stone situation here," Tony replied. "Or rather a hammer in the ice one. A parting gift of Loki's."
"How bad is it?" Bruce asked.
"I'm pretty sure Mjölnir is staying here for the foreseeable future. Well, unless we're lucky and Reindeer Games hasn't anchored it into the ground."
Thor snorted, a wry twist to his lips. "Loki does not make such oversights in his plans."
Yeah, Tony hadn't thought so.
It was all that Tony could do not to fall asleep where he sat as JARVIS replayed the highlights of their latest fight with Loki for Fury and his contingent.
Over the past sixteen months since the invasion, both the Avengers and SHIELD had fallen into a pattern. Fight Loki when he showed up and then debrief afterwards, discussing everything ad nauseum. Then wait and repeat, over and over again. The only slight break in this endless cycle had been when they finally managed to catch Loki for the second time, and that time they'd been able to hold onto him long enough to send him back to Ásgarðr with the contraption Thor had arrived on Earth with. But even that hadn't lasted long, and they'd all gone right back to old habits upon Loki's triumphant return to Earth.
The only slight variation had been that Tony had started insisting on holding the debriefings in his tower with Fury and Hill either coming to them or teleconferencing in. He'd done it so he could at least have the comfort of a good chair and snacks while they talked, but he'd used the excuse that JARVIS couldn't easily stream his suit's data on the Helicarrier. It wasn't really true, as it would be the work of a few minutes to get JARVIS sufficient access to SHIELD's systems, but he didn't have to tell them that and while Fury was all for having the Iron Man video footage, he wasn't giving an inch on his security. Or so Fury thought anyway.
So, the tower it was.
"Just how many views do you have?" Clint asked when the video switched to the thermal view.
"Many," Tony replied lazily, before a thought reoccurred to him. "Hey, why does Loki show up so much cooler than everyone else?"
Helpfully, JARVIS froze the footage on a shot that had both Loki and Thor in view. If anything, Point Break actually appeared warmer than a human, so that made Reindeer Games' apparent coolness even more confusing. Whereas Thor was a solid red verging into white, Loki was mostly green with only some yellow. Tony knew the guy liked green, but this was a bit ridiculous.
"What temperature is green?" Natasha asked.
"Low to mid-eighties," Tony replied.
"Normal body temperature for a human is about ninety-seven to ninety-nine," Bruce added.
"And red?" Fury demanded.
"Normal body temperature if you were imaging someone naked," Tony explained. "So for Thor to appear red while dressed in his armor, well he has to run significantly warmer than the rest of us."
"So why is Loki so much colder?" Clint inquired.
Thor sighed, looking at the thermal image of his brother with a frown. "If you recall, I said Loki was adopted."
"Yes," Hill prompted.
"He's a different species, isn't he?" Tony asked, not sure why he hadn't thought of it before.
The evidence was all there, he was normally better than this. He could only assume Thor's constant insistence on calling Loki his brother had kept him from thinking of it.
"Aye," Point Break confirmed, unhappily. "Loki is a frost giant."
"Giant?" Steve repeated. "He's not that much taller than the average human and he's shorter than you."
"Father says Loki is a runt and he thinks 'tis why he was left out in the elements to die. That is where Father found him at the end of the war with Jötunheimr, and why he decided to take him in."
"Jesus," Tony breathed.
Who the hell left their kid out in the elements to die? He knew it happened in various places on Earth, but he'd really hoped that was something humanity would grow out of as they evolved. To hear that other societies off-world did it was not encouraging.
"His birth parents tried to kill him?" Steve checked, an appalled look on his face. "Simply for his size?"
"Exactly how tall are these frost giants normally?" Fury demanded.
"More than twice the size of myself," Thor replied. "Though there is variation in their heights, as with any other species."
Yeah, in that case Tony could see how Reindeer Games could be considered a runt. Still, it felt odd to think about given how he'd had to look up to meet that crazy gaze during their little chat in the middle of the invasion.
"Why does he still look human?" Clint questioned. "Do all aliens essentially look alike with differences in size and abilities?"
"Nay, Loki looks as he does due to his shape shifting abilities," Thor explained. "Father says Loki shifted as soon as he picked him up. Mother believes 'twas a defense mechanism, meant to entice Father not to simply leave him on the ice."
Despite himself, Tony couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy now. No baby deserved to be in that position, no matter what kind of bastard they might grow up to be. Kids weren't born evil.
Which, of course, begged the question of just how and why Loki had turned out the way that he had. Given some of what Thor had already told them of life on Ásgarðr, Tony could already make a few educated guesses. Still, the fact remained that Thor hadn't turned out the same way. So either there were additional factors which applied only to Loki, or it was all down to simple personality differences. He didn't need to be told how important those could be, yet it didn't quite feel right. He was missing something important.
"So what does a frost giant look like then?" Natasha asked.
"They are blue skinned with red eyes, both their irises and what for us is white," Thor began.
"Wait, solid red?" Bruce questioned.
"Nay, you can still see the two parts, but they are both shades of red. The frost giants also have lines on their skin, a darker color, which look like scars. Their faces are also grooved, and their teeth are more fang-like than ours are."
The description made Tony swallow. That definitely did not sound like someone he wanted to come across in a dark alley, even when Loki-sized.
"I assume what Loki did to the park is because they have an affinity with ice?" Hill asked.
"Aye. Though I have never seen it used thus before," Thor frowned. "They are also able to form ice spears on their arms or make the ice spike upwards to stab those they are fighting against. 'Twas done to one of my friends when we were on Jötunheimr."
"So they were both potentially toying with us," Steve stated.
"What do you mean?" Fury questioned.
"It's something Tony and Natasha commented on about Karnilla during the battle, that she appeared to be toying with us. If Loki is capable of everything which Thor has just described, then it begs the question why he didn't utilize any of it when fighting us?"
Silence enveloped the room as they all pondered the question, not liking any of the options which occurred to them. Tony was pretty sure he was the only one considering it in the grander context of all of his previous questions and doubts. He'd need to consult JARVIS and run a few scenarios before bringing it up with the others again, particularly with Fury involved as he knew it wouldn't go down well with the head of SHIELD.
Tony motioned for JARVIS to continue playing the video feed.
"Tell me about this love spell," Fury demanded as soon as it ended. "And how do we protect against it?"
"I do not know," Thor replied morosely.
"What do you mean, you don't know?"
"Seiðr is not something I have studied at length, 'twas always Loki's strength and passion."
"Are you saying we're defenseless against it? That any of my men could be ensnared and walk right into work and do whatever this Karnilla wants them to?"
"Nay, the spell she used is far more limited. It requires close proximity to her to endure."
"Which fits with what we experienced," Bruce said. "Both Clint and Steve regained full control of themselves after Loki and Karnilla left."
"I hate magic," Clint growled, hands gripping the edge of the table so hard his fingers went white.
For once Tony kept silent, not even able to begin imaging what the archer felt just now.
"Why didn't you warn us of this spell, Thor?" Hill demanded.
"'Tis not one my brother has ever used," Thor shrugged. "It did not seem relevant."
"Not relevant?" Fury growled. "What else haven't you told us about?"
"In regards to seiðr? Much. There are vast amounts of spells and workings, many of which I have little to no knowledge, and the rest of which I know only the barest essentials. Loki spent centuries learning his craft and, while incredibly powerful, there is much even he still does not know about seiðr."
"So, basically, it's something one of you could spend your lifetime studying and still not know everything about it by the end?" Tony concluded.
"Aye."
Yeah, Tony could see why Thor had not informed them of this particular spell. It wouldn't have seemed relevant at the time.
"I think we'll need to operate on the assumption that anything is possible when it comes to magic and those who use it," Steve stated.
"As regards Karnilla herself, is there anything more we should be aware of?" Hill asked. "In the video you said she comes from a world outside of the Nine?"
"Aye, a protectorate of Ásgarðr's we help to defend as 'tis the best point from which an attack on the Nine could be staged," Thor responded.
Given that, Tony could see why the All-Daddy would take a particular interest in it, but Karnilla's reaction had made it quite clear Nornheimr took a very different view of things from Ásgarðr. It wasn't hard to find similar parallels within human history.
"You may wish to be careful when speaking about things like that with Queenie," Tony said, looking at his friend. "She clearly takes it about as well as Loki does when you call him brother."
The big guy winced, but seemed to concede the point.
"Arguments of colonialism aside, how likely is what she said to be true?" Natasha asked. "About her not wishing to invade Earth and simply being here to help Loki?"
"I do not know," Thor admitted, shoulders slumping. "I have never witnessed her interacting with Loki outside of our joint visits to Nornheimr. I was not even aware of their romantic interest in each other, though it may have been restricted due to their positions at the time."
"Huh?" Clint intoned.
Tony rolled his eyes. "The queen of one Realm and the prince of another? That would break so many royal etiquette rules and cause all kinds of interplanetary conflicts without some kind of proper courtship."
"Half the time I forget you're actually aware of proper protocols," Natasha commented.
"Aware, yes. Care to follow them? That's another matter entirely."
"Clearly."
Tony feigned being hurt.
"What about the hammer?" Fury demanded. "How long until the ice melts?"
Thor sighed. "It will not."
"Turns out permaice is, well, permanent," Tony added. "We're gonna have to think of another way to get it free."
"Of course we do," Fury muttered, rubbing at his forehead. "I don't suppose your brother left you any clues, Thor?"
"Nay."
"I've already hired a security contingent to ensure no one touches it," Tony informed them. "But public interest is going to be intense."
Even as he said it, JARVIS helpfully brought up a view from one of the security cameras on scene. As Tony had known would happen, there was already a small crowd near Mjölnir despite the police attempting to keep everyone out of the park due to the flooding that was starting to develop as the rest of the ice melted. Once that was dealt with, the crowds would only grow and grow as word got out and people came from further and further out for a chance to see Thor's hammer up close and personal.
"We need to get it out of there," Hill stated.
"Loki will not have made that easy," Thor warned. "I would expect the permaice to go deep into the ground."
"So we dig it up."
Natasha snorted. "I believe you'll find the mayor very much against that idea, purportedly due to the damage it will cause the park."
"Purportedly?" Steve questioned.
"Money," Tony replied simply. "Just you wait and see, even if he can't find a way to monetize the viewing of Mjölnir itself, he'll be very much against its removal as all the tourists flocking in to see it will do good business for the hotels and restaurants."
"It's a weapon, not a damn tourist attraction!" Fury snapped.
"No, Tony was right earlier, at the moment it's a sword in the stone and the only reason most people won't touch it is the frostbite," Bruce spoke up. "Though I'm sure there will be those who are confident in their ability to circumnavigate that particular problem."
Tony pulled a face; his science bro was right. "JARVIS, double that security detail."
Poor Thor, he's lost his trusty hammer for the foreseeable future. Still, it's better than what Hela did to it!
I don't suppose anyone who sketches is looking for inspiration? I'm dying to see a version of Thor's swor- hammer in the ice! Pretty please?
So, as I know most people don't use the Kelvin temperature scale, 73 Kelvin is -200 Celsius or -328 Fahrenheit. The reason I had Tony think in this scale is because it's often used for scientific purpose and is the official temperature of the International System of Units. Therefore he thought in Kelvin here, even as he spoke in Fahrenheit before and after.
As regards Loki's body temperature: 80-85 Fahrenheit = 26.7-29.4 Celsius
Normal human body temperature: 97-99 Fahrenheit = 36-37 Celsius