Thor made a good show out of pretending to know what he was doing, he had to admit all this sneaking around business still wasn't his specialty.
He had become better at it, sure! Being better than just breaking in like a bulldozer probably didn't count for that much.
Still though, it was about walking like he just belonged, Thor knew that much, and having Loki with him whom looked as casual as ever helped… Loki was really good at this.
They got to the right area and the right door as Thor leaned towards Loki. "I know the code but we need a keycard," he whispered. "Watch, that card thing they are using to swipe before walking in."
Loki's eyes were on the door as promised and he nodded in understanding.
"That's not enough though, the keycard has identification on it, photo and name. Here's my plan, we lure one of the agents to an isolated place. I knock him out, you take the keycard and use a glamour to look like him," Thor whispered.
Loki's eyes glanced up at Thor.
"That's… a pretty decent plan, isn't it?" Thor asked.
Loki smirked. "Rather simple, not really in any way unique nor brilliant but… serviceable." He smiled. "It sounds mildly amusing." His smile though suggested otherwise, Loki seemed like he was honestly looking forward to it.
Thor nodded. "There's a camera blind spot behind that shed," he pointed.
"Good, then you bring our victim over there," Loki encouraged.
"Me?" Thor asked.
"I would rather like to see how the mighty Thor would carry out such a task." Loki smiled, pure intrigue glistening in his eyes, and in a blink he was gone. Teleported to a hiding spot, no doubt.
Thor sighed, fine, Loki asked for it. That Thor was going to be the one to lure a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent over here meant that he got to decide who it was going to be, and he was going to decide what Loki would be stuck looking like for a while.
Thor grinned as he looked around, hoping to find someone who looked absolutely ridiculous. Perhaps someone with a big afro, Loki would hate that with a passion.
Or someone with absurdly big ears.
Thor looked around… but came out disappointed, he probably should have known, this was a very professional facility. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were only the best of the best.
They were all well trained, well disciplined, wore their suits and uniforms perfectly. Not a single wrinkle in sight… Norns.
Only for a minor second did Thor consider going for a woman but just as quickly decided against it, he would not let a lady lay unconscious on the ground for the next half hour! Even if all the women here were proud warrior women too. Like Natasha.
Besides, Loki didn't even mind shape shifting into women, he usually found it very funny to see other peoples' reaction to it when they finally figured what was going on.
Finally Thor's eyes landed on the best thing he could muster, one of the few people not wearing a suit or soldier's uniform, but a gray overall and pushing a cart filled with cleaning utensils while wearing a tired expression on his face.
It really looked like he was the kind of man whom was just sick of life, well… an ideal target, and Thor stepped forward, remembering how Midgardians addressed each other.
They wouldn't just say Hello friend like on Asgard, instead they would say:
"Excuse me," Thor spoke in a firm voice, recalling how Nick Fury would talk to his subordinates, Maria Hill as well! Would talk in this very firm manner.
The man stopped, then he looked up and groaned. "What?" he asked sourly. "Is it another clogged toilet?" he asked.
"No," Thor replied. "Someone made a mess behind that shed, I want it cleaned up. Now." He used his best professional voice with the last word. That's how Natasha did it when ordering people around.
And the man groaned. "Work for the government they said, it pays well they said. It's not nearly as demanding," he grumbled as he turned the cart. "Fancy agents thinking they are so great, they could clean up their own toilet one of these days."
Well, Thor reflected, good news was this man probably wouldn't mind too much if he lost his job over this.
Finally they were behind the shed and the man looked around. "I don't see a mess," he muttered, then turned to Thor. "Is this some sort of prank?"
Thor sighed. "Forgive me.'' Then he reached forward a hand, touching the man's forehead, mumbled a few words and the man fell to the ground fast asleep.
Then there was quiet.
"So..." Thor spoke. "How did I do?" he asked.
"Decently," Loki informed, suddenly standing there, leaning against the shed. "I suppose you can't deny results. And I will admit, to see you show skills in areas where you previously had none is… Intriguing. First the pocket dimension and now a light sleep spell. They are of course only children's spells, learned by kids at their first class while they still struggle to spell their own names. Still though, to see you using them."
"They are very practical," Thor replied. "I have started to learn the value of even the smallest of tricks, when used right they can turn the tide of battle."
Loki's eyes were on Thor, he nearly seemed to be bristling. "And deception as well… It's the second time I witnessed you using deception too. I shall have to actually be more careful around you."
"Hopefully not, I'd rather you trust me," Thor replied.
Loki shrugged. "Not bad, for a beginner that is."
"Well… I had the greatest teacher in all of the Nine Realms," Thor replied with a wink.
Loki smiled as he looked down, though this smile looked more genuine and honestly amused. "Flattery is but another tool of he who looks to deceive, Thor."
"Truth though, will always be undeniable," Thor replied.
"Heh." Loki looked at him. "Wit." And then his appearance had changed, into the man now sleeping on the ground. Loki bent down and helped himself to the desired keycard, then pushed the man towards the shed and cast a glamor over him so no one could see the man until he moved by himself. "The sleeping spell you cast is weak, we will only have half an hour. One hour if we are lucky."
"Half an hour ought to be more than enough," Thor stated and took a step, Loki in his borrowed appearance stepping after him, only for Thor to halt. "Loki, you probably should take that with you." Thor hinted at the cart with the cleaning utensils.
"What?" Loki asked.
"You are the one looking like one of these cleaning men," Thor stated. "And if we just left the wagon people would notice. You need it!" he stated. "To complete the illusion!"
Loki growled… Loki didn't do menial labor… Ever.
Well, neither did Thor, advantages of being a spoiled prince, looked like Thor would have his revenge regardless and Loki finally grabbed the cart and pushed it. Thankfully his sour faced expression played the part perfectly.
He looked exactly like the guy as the guy had complained about fancy S.H.I.E.L.D. agents not cleaning their own toilets.
