Hello, my pretties.
Sorry for being a bit late again, I really need to try to get back on track for Wednesdays, as I liked them being Loki's day, even if we can't reproduce the cool little Twitter Loki image here. Plus him hijacking Óðinn's day is just awesome 😈😇
Anyway, enjoy kid Loki!
"Welcome back, Sir," JARVIS greeted as Tony walked out of the Quinjet.
He'd opted to fly in it rather than on his own to see all of the interactions with Little Prince. Most of it had consisted of introducing Loki to the team and giving him a highly abridged version of how and why he and Thor were on Earth.
"Hey, J, everything okay?" Tony asked.
"All is well, though Director Fury and Agent Hill request your immediate presence in the Avengers conference room," JARVIS replied.
Of course they did.
"How are they feeling?" Steve questioned.
"They are rather... ah, emotional."
Tony snorted at the word choice. Angry, upset or shocked was probably more like it and likely all three.
"I have also managed to have the first set of clothes for Prince Loki priority shipped and they are on the Óðinnsons' floor," JARVIS continued.
Tony blinked, but then understood at once.
"Thanks, J," he said, before looking to Thor. "Do you want to get him changed and then join us?"
This allowed the rest of them a few minutes alone with Fury, before they had to deal with Loki being present.
"Aye, my thanks, friend Stark," Thor replied, heading straight for an elevator.
"What are you-" Clint began as soon as it closed after their resident Space Vikings.
"Moment, darling," Tony interrupted. "JARVIS, did you get the second bedroom on that floor kitted out?"
"Yes, Sir, to the colors black, green and gold," JARVIS confirmed.
"Good."
"Good?" Clint demanded. "Really?"
"We know Loki's smart," Bruce replied. "He'd noticed real quick if he had no bedroom when he was supposedly staying with us."
"Good point," Natasha said. "Let's hope he doesn't realize there's nothing personal."
"He's got a pocket dimension," Tony reminded her, still not quite able to believe it.
Oh, the things he could do with his own personal pocket dimension!
"Let's hope he can't reach it now," Cap commented, as they got into the elevator themselves.
"I don't know," Clint said. "Might be a good way to get ours hands on the Tesseract."
Tony could see the idea electrified the others as much as it did him.
To be able to study that...
He pondered the thought as the lift descended.
"Where is he?" Fury demanded the moment they had all entered the conference room.
"Getting a change of clothes with Thor," Steve replied.
"We thought you might have a few things to say before Thor brought him in," Tony drawled, already opening a packet of dried cranberries. "Things not suited for little ears."
"So you believe it's real?" Hill asked, looking at him.
"I can't see the point of it not being so."
"Espionage? Infiltration? Assassination?" Fury threw out.
"Please, this is the guy who can turn invisible and teleport," Tony rolled his eyes. "If he really wanted to do any of those, he hardly had to de-age himself. He could have done it just fine as an adult."
"Tony has a point," Bruce said. "It's rather an elaborate play for something so simple. And predictable."
"That's why I don't believe it to be so," Natasha added. "When has Loki ever acted predictably?"
"Depends on your definition of predictable," Clint muttered.
"Do you think he's faking it?" Fury demanded, eye darting to Legolas.
"Much as I hate to say it, no," Clint sighed. "Though none of us could have foreseen Loki turning into a kid, as soon as he did, those would have been the predictable reasons. Besides, I was watching him the whole flight back and, not only was he acting like a kid of his age, but there's no way adult Loki would have gravitated to Thor like he did."
"I concur," Natasha stated, immediately. "While he was clearly trying to be brave and strong, there was a deference to Thor and an inherent sense of trust in him. He took all of his cues from Thor as regards to us and our trustworthiness."
"Captain?" Fury questioned.
"I don't know much about kids, but I have seen no signs of the old Loki, nor of anything sinister," Steve replied.
"Meaning if he's faking it, he's got you all fooled."
"Yes, Sir."
"So now what?" Hill inquired.
"He stays here," Tony declared, immediately.
No way was he letting SHIELD get their grubby, little hands on a helpless, child magician with who knows what kinds of other special abilities.
Over his dead body.
Enemy or not, that fell into fishy treatment bordering on outright torture, depending on what they decided to do.
"Stark-" Fury began.
"How could you possibly protest that?" Bruce demanded, a note of steel in his voice.
Though there was no hint of green anywhere, Tony could see both assassins and Cap stiffen. How long was it going to take for them to come to trust Bruce? Outside of the incident with Loki's first scepter, their friend had never lost control and they all had in that particular incident, so it didn't really count.
"Either Loki's faking it and you don't want him on the Helicarrier, or he's not and then you'd need to babysit him," Bruce continued. "Or did you have something else planned for a seven-year-old boy?"
"He's not seven," Fury retorted.
"Same difference," Tony snapped. "He looks seven too, which would make for a very sympathetic figure with the public if it ever came to that."
"Just what are you saying, Stark?" Hill asked with a frown.
"That if you try to do anything with him that you shouldn't, I won't hesitate to go to the media with it," Tony spelled out.
He didn't care if it wrecked his relationship with either SHIELD or the other Avengers, but there were lines Tony would not cross and, anything even remotely resembling torture- particularly of a child- was most definitely one of them.
"It will not come to that," Steve stated, giving Fury his own stern look. "Loki stays here as long as he's a child."
"And do you all agree with that?" Fury questioned.
"Yes," Clint immediately replied, and Tony was a little surprised to see Legolas meant it too.
Clearly, some things could trump his deep dislike and hatred for Reindeer Games.
Good.
Any further discussion on the topic was halted by Thor entering the room with Loki, who was now walking instead of being carried.
Tony had to admit JARVIS had done a good job with the clothes. Not only did they seem to be a great fit, right down to the shoes, but the colors and style seemed to work really well too. The kid had on black slacks with black shoes, which, surprisingly, weren't sneakers. And, yeah, Tony could see why JARVIS might have chosen to avoid those, as the idea of Loki in sneakers was just too weird to contemplate. Over the slacks, Little Prince now wore a light, cotton button down shirt in emerald green, of course, which really made those big eyes of his pop.
If the media got wind of this, and pictures of mini-Reindeer Games got out, they'd have a very big problem on their hands; as he was just far too adorable for his own good.
"Director Fury!" Thor boomed a greeting. "Agent Hill, please meet the little version of my brother, Loki."
Phew. For a second there Tony had been sure Thor was going to just say meet, and he really didn't want to have to deal with a suspicious little tyke. He sincerely doubted Loki had been any less sharp as a kid than the adult version.
"Hello, allies from Miðgarðr," Loki said regally and, wow, now Tony was jealous.
Just how the hell did a seven-year-old command such a regal presence? Or, well, such a royal one, he supposed in which case it made a hell of a lot more sense, except for the fact that Thor didn't possess even an ounce of it.
"Loki," Hill replied with a smile.
It nearly made Tony wince as he caught the slight tightening of the kid's eyes. After Karnilla's insistence on being call queen, he could only imagine what a break of etiquette just the use of a prince's first name was by those who did not know him.
"Would you like us to change how we address you?" Tony asked. "Given you no longer remember who we are?"
There, that was entirely the truth and yet didn't exactly say that Loki had granted them permission to use his first name sans title. The tyke was the God of Lies, supposedly, so Tony wasn't sure if that meant he could detect them really well.
"Nay, I will adjust," Loki replied, after a moment of thought. "I am the one who changed."
"By stepping before the Lady Natasha to save her life!" Thor proclaimed. "'Twas an honorable act, Brother."
Ah, so Thor really was going with that. Tony had wondered. A quick glance at the others showed them to be uncomfortable, but, short of telling Loki the truth, it was the best explanation. And, who knew, it might even be true. It definitely seemed like Queenie had either overstepped her bounds or had completely forgotten the average human lifespan and so not realized just what that spell would do to Natasha. Karnilla had not seemed to be trying to kill them before, rather the opposite in fact, given how much she had clearly been pulling her punches until that fateful moment.
"Why were we fighting the queen of Nornheimr?" Loki asked. "And who is she?"
"J?" Tony prompted.
The screen came to life and JARVIS brought up a bunch of photos of her on her own.
Little Prince frowned as he looked at them. "Why is she attacking Miðgarðr? Are you at war with Nornheimr?"
"No," Steve responded. "She is working with a rogue Ásgarðrian. They seem to have made a deal which involves her attacking us, though she has made it clear we are not at war."
"Does the rogue have access to the vault?" Loki asked, looking at Thor.
"Aye," the big guy seemed startled. "Why?"
"It may be why she is aiding them. Nornheimr has long wished for the return of the Norn Stones."
"Stones?" Fury questioned in disbelief. "She would attack us for some stones?"
"They are objects of great power," Thor explained.
"'Tis why Father took them from Nornheimr, as he felt they could not be trusted to use them wisely," Little Prince added.
Oh boy. Tony didn't even know where to begin with that. A quick glance at Natasha showed she shared his concerns with that. Though the gleam of interest in her eyes told Tony he might need to keep an eye on her and Rock of Ages. It was clear she was going to try to pump him for information on Ásgarðr.
Well, if Loki allowed it, which was not a given.
"Aye," Thor confirmed, oblivious as usual to the sudden tension in the room. "If Karnilla has them now as a result of this deal, it would not be good."
"We should return to Ásgarðr to check," Loki stated. "And I can see Lady Eir."
"Ah."
The desperate look Thor shot them made Tony want to laugh. If the big guy thought this was bad, then he was going to be in trouble over the next few days.
"You can't go back to Ásgarðr at present," Bruce stepped in. "The Bifröst was damaged and hasn't yet been fixed."
"The Bifröst, damaged?" Loki repeated in shock. "How?"
"I... ah... had to break it," Thor admitted. "With Mjölnir."
"You broke a ten-thousand-year old marvel of engineering and seiðr which no one knows the precise workings of anymore?"
Well, when you put it like that, it did sound really bad. Yet Tony was most impressed with the amount of censure and scorn Little Prince could inject into a seven-year-old's voice. Wow. He couldn't even begin to imagine what he'd been like as a teenager if this was kid Loki!
"'Twas pointed at Jötunheimr and locked into the active position!" Thor protested.
Loki frowned. "I thought you wished to slaughter all of the frost giants? Was that too fast for you?"
"Whoa! Whoa! That's genocide you're talking about," Tony exclaimed. "That's not cool!"
"I did not say I agreed with it," Loki frowned. "Merely that Thor had wished to."
"Loki," Thor said as he crouched down and turned his brother to face him. "I was wrong. Very wrong. One cannot kill an entire species."
"Father and grandfather did with the myrkálfar."
Tony closed his eyes at the words, before he glanced at Fury and Hill. He really hoped that SHIELD was having serious second thoughts on Ásgarðr 'cause, Thor aside, it was sounding less and less like the kind of place that Tony wanted to be allied with.
Because, seriously? Genocide?
As a whole world or species?
"'Twas different," Thor argued. "They were trying to plunge the Nine back into darkness and kill us all."
Okay, if that was true, then maybe there might have been some justification for a war, but a genocide? Tony had yet to hear of a situation where everyone down to the last man, woman and child was so involved as to be considered enemy combatants. No, there was something fishy about this.
"The important thing is that the Bifröst is broken and you can't simply return to Ásgarðr," Natasha interjected. "Is there any way for you to get a message back to them?"
"Heimdallr," Clint replied. "He can hear you, right?"
"Aye, friend Barton," Thor agreed. "I will ask him to inform Father to check the vault, but I fear Loki may be right. Karnilla would most likely have requested the stones' return in exchange for her aid."
"Wouldn't their absence have been noticed?" Hill questioned.
"Nay, there is much in the vault, and none may venture in there unless strictly necessary."
Which would only have worked to Reindeer Games' advantage.
"Meaning a lot of other things could have been taken too," Fury said. "What else of importance is kept there?"
"The Infinity Gauntlet," Thor replied.
The what now?
"The Casket of Ancient Winters," Loki added. "And the Tesseract."
"Nay, both of those are no longer there," Thor countered. "They were both lost."
"Lost? How does one lose two such precious artefacts?"
"The Casket was stolen by... the frost giants, and Father had moved the Tesseract to Miðgarðr as too many had come to know of its presence on Ásgarðr."
Loki seemed to ponder that for a moment. "'Tis best if the true location of the Infinity Stones remains hidden," he agreed.
"Infinity Stones?" Clint asked. "Is that like the other stones?"
"Nay, the Infinity Stones are far different from the Norn Stones," Thor replied. "They are far more powerful."
"Mayhap," Loki qualified.
"Oh?" Fury questioned.
"In the right hands, the Norn Stones can give one control over life and death, but those who can wield them are few."
"And the Infinity Stones?"
"More powerful if combined, but there are more and most cannot survive touching one, let alone wielding it. 'Tis why they are hidden in casings such as the Tesseract."
"The Tesseract is an Infinity Stone, Brother?" Thor sounded shocked.
"Aye, the Space Stone," Loki confirmed, looking surprised. "You truly did not know?"
"Is that why it can open portals?" Tony asked.
Loki nodded.
"And the others? Can they do that too?"
"Nay, each controls a different aspect; Time, Soul, Mind, Reality and Power."
Wait, Soul?
The very thought freaked Tony out a little. He was a scientist and didn't really believe in souls or spirits, so to find out like this that they might exist was rather disconcerting. Did that mean this stone could manipulate them?
If so, how the hell did he defend against that?
"Did you say mind?" Clint demanded, sharply.
"Aye," Loki looked startled.
Tony cursed. "The jewel in the scepter emitted energy not altogether dissimilar to the Tesseract."
"What are the odds that the Mind Stone would appear right when the Tesseract is on Earth?" Steve asked. "And wielded by the one who sought the Tesseract?"
A silence enveloped the room for a few moments.
"Hill," Fury said.
"I will ensure the scepter and Mind Stone are properly secured," Hill replied and vanished.
"Thor, who would seek out the Infinity Stones or be able to wield them?"
The brothers exchanged a glance that made Tony's stomach drop.
"I can think of but one," Thor replied.
"Aye," Loki agreed. "The Mad Titan, Thanos."
Out of the mouths of babes... or at least kids. I admit that I had far too much fun having little Loki say all the wrong, or all the right, things here. So many secrets coming spilling out, making the Avengers reconsider so much of what they thought they knew about Thor, Óðinn and Ásgarðr!
And no wonder the TVA was so worried about Loki variants, just look how far off course this Loki has already gotten things. The Avengers now have a name for who's after the Infinity Stones. Not to mention having learned about their very existence!
Old Norse:
seiðr - witchcraft, sorcery / a type of sorcery practiced in Norse society during the Late Scandinavian Iron Age - i.e. magic
myrkálfar - "dark elves" (or "dusky elves" & "murky elves")