Chapter 6: Jack in the Box

"Get Fury on the phone!" Stark shouted racing out of the room.

Pepper shook her head and sighed. She looked at their guests. "Sorry about that. If you will excuse me a moment…"

"Sure, we shall be fine," Loki replied. He lifted his wine glass up in a toast.

Thranduil was staring that the television. "What is that box?"

"I believe they call it a visiontelly. Mortal communication device, although some of the things that they see on it… " Loki huffed. "Crazy, just crazy!"

"Actually, it is called a television. And I quite agree with you about what is on it," Jarvis' disembodied voice added. "Mostly it is a waste of time."

"Then why do they have this… telly-vision?" Tauriel asked.

Loki shrugged. "We shall have to inquire when Tony returns."

"So, that man in the box, you know him?" Thranduil asked.

Loki grinned. "Yes, he worked for me the last time I was here. Almost managed to get the Tesseract working." His face screwed up into a frown. "Then my brother showed up and spoiled all the fun."

"What is he doing?" Thranduil asked, continuing to stare at the television. The news report was still showing Selvig running around Stonehenge naked.

"Perhaps it is a courting ritual? He is naked after all," Sif said.

"Strange, if it is. I find it not attractive at all," Tauriel sniffed in derision.

"Neither do I, but then, these mortals are strange," Loki replied.

Stark burst back into the room, trailed closely by Pepper, speaking rapidly as he walked in. "Fury doesn't know what is going on. Hasn't a clue where Jane Foster is either. She's not been seen for days. I've got to go over there."

"She's with my brother," Loki replied quietly.

"Thor? She's with Thor?" Stark demanded. "Where?"

A mischievous twinkle appeared in Loki's eyes as he considered his response. "Last seen, they were vacationing on Svartalfheim. I take it they haven't returned to Earth yet?"

"Svartalfheim? Where the hell is that?" Tony shouted as he started pulling things out of his desk and tossing them into a duffle bag. "And vacationing? They picked a hell of a time to go on vacation!"

Loki shrugged, deciding not to go into details. He still wasn't sure what had happened since he was clearly alive. "Definitely not near Hel. Don't want to go there myself. Hela is not exactly the sanest woman alive."

Sif snorted. "That is an understatement!"

"Hela?" Pepper asked.

"Uh, she's in charge of Hel. I think that is where I sent Kurse. Thought I ended up there myself, only I woke up to find I'd discovered Middle Earth," Loki replied.

"Middle Earth only exists in books and movies. Tolkien wrote them. Remember? I was telling you about that before Jarvis interrupted us," Stark replied, slamming the desk drawer. He glared at Thranduil, before replying to Loki. "Who is he really? Did you pick him up in Central Park?"

"No, as I stated. I ended up in Middle Earth. Thought I was dead, but wasn't. Then Sif showed up and 'poof', we appeared in your Central Park surrounded by the park guards. Why does the park have guards?" Loki asked.

"Because of kooks like you," Stark snapped. He shot a look at Pepper. "Listen, honey. I gotta go to England, see if I can figure this out. Fury doesn't have a clue what's going on with Selvig, but he's got some of his equipment out and is running around shouting about saving the world from some event."

"But, Tony…" Pepper jerked her head towards their guests. "What about them?"

"Can you keep an eye on them till I find Thor?"

"Tony, I have to fly to Los Angeles in an hour… for work, remember?"

"Take them with!" Tony grinned.

"Right… take them? Seriously?"

"Jarvis?" Tony shouted.

"Sir?"

"You are in charge. Keep our guest entertained while we are gone," Tony ordered. "Maybe show them some hobbit movies, just don't let them get out. Got it?"

"Of course. Are you taking the Mach 8 prototype?" Jarvis asked.

"Yes, time for a test flight. Is it ready?"

"Indeed."

Tony walked out on the patio and held out his arms.

"Oooh, this ought to be interesting!" Loki grinned.

"What?" Thranduil hissed.

"He gets all dressed up in this metal man suit and flies around. Rather impressive for mortal technology," Loki replied. "Watch." As his words died away, pieces of metal came flying through the room over their heads racing towards Stark.

Tauriel drew her sword. "What sorcery is this?"

"His," Loki smirked.

Fully dressed in his latest version of his Iron Man suit, Stark saluted his guests and lifted off the terrace.

"Now, I am really sorry, but I must leave for Los Angeles. Jarvis will take care of you while I'm gone. If you need anything, just ask him," Pepper said. "He knows how to reach me. I will be back in a few hours."

"Bye!" Loki waved as she walked out the door.

"How come she does not fly off like he did?" Sif asked.

"The suits are designed for Mr. Stark only. I have scheduled the Hobbit movies for you to watch on the television, as he suggested, followed by the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Would you care for something to eat while you view it?" Jarvis asked.

"Hobbit movies?" Thranduil asked. "What is a hobbit movie?"

"A movie is a form of entertainment. In this case, it is based on the book of the same name. There are three of the hobbit movies, and then another three of the sequels. That should keep us all busy until Ms. Potts returns," Jarvis explained.