- Chapter 12 -

"Jarvis, where's Loki?" Tony picked up the tablet again and frowning at it again. It was probably for the best that Jay took the kids to the park. This wasn't going to be a nice conversation. He had the long-standing suspicion that Loki had been misleading him. He ground his teeth again. Tony needed to talk to her about this. For better or worse, he needed to know what happened. His teeth ground together a little more. He should've already known.

"Madam is in the gym sparring," Jarvis replied smoothly.

"What? She's still in there? Ok, thanks," he looked up from the tablet. Tony headed out of his workshop into the grey concrete hallway that led to the dark brown stone stairs up to the hallway leading to the living room. He crossed the wide living room to another small, spiral stairwell leading down to the rooms that were embedded down the cliff face. Down the dark brown stairs he went, to short hall with the gym at the end. It was the top room placed down the cliff face. Each room was connected to the stairwell by a short hallway that was tiled in dark brown stone that matched the rest of the house. The walls and ceiling were done in a smooth cream with lights embedded in the ceiling. Tony could hear music blaring before he got there. A smile crossed his face at that. He introduced Loki to rock'n'roll years ago and she'd loved it ever since. Loki was an incredibly musical being. Specially designed higher quality speakers were installed all over the house, as well as better sound proofing in every wall just to accommodate her love of music. As he approached the carved wooden door it slid sideways into the wall. Tony stepped into the gym.

Soothing cream-colored paint covered three of the walls and ceiling. Flat lights were embedded in the ceiling. The fourth wall was nothing but a bank of floor-to-ceiling windows. These windows had a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean's blue waves. The dark wood paneled floor was completely bare. All of the equipment was missing again. Even his red punching bag which was normally secured from both the ceiling and floor was gone. Only the closed ports for the anchors were left. Loki had moved it all out of the way to make room for the brawl that was currently rolling around the room. She was facing off against five constructs. Each construct was humanoid and about the same size as Thor. They were all featureless and made of what looked like solid ebon stone.

Normally Tony loved watching Loki spar. She always wore a black set of Asgardian sparring leathers that he loved to peel off her after she was done exercising. The calf-high leather boots laced up the front and leather vambraces were just accents. It was the form fitting pants that were both soft and flexible that he loved. They encased her supple legs in an enticing fashion. The leather vest that was laced up the front and cut to perfectly fit her was his favorite piece of the set. It moved perfectly with her slim waist but gave just enough so that he could see her breasts moving. They were pert and fit perfectly into his hands. She fit him as perfectly as her sparring vest fit her. That vest won Loki more than half of the spars between the two of them. Tony was more than man enough to admit that his wife's figure was distracting. His brows furrowed slightly as he noticed her wearing the odd black mask that she liked to spar in. It was a form fitting mask that covered her entire head and neck. Runes that Tony didn't know yet were embroidered into the fabric. Even from a distance the power of the enchantments thrumming in the cloth was palpable. She always said that it was just a training tool. Tony decided that he was going to find out what it was today. It was a far more palatable idea than the reason that brought him down to the gym to begin with. Maybe she'll train me with it, he thought hopefully. He was always impressed at how easily she moved without being able to see. The training it took to move so effortlessly was even more impressive to Tony. She was moving so fast that many of her motions were blurs in the air. He tapped his foot in time to the music as he waited for her to finish.

.-.-.-.

The simple but amazing sight before Frigga caused her to sit motionless again. She couldn't believe that she didn't know about this. Her gaze was fixed on the mask on the woman's head. She hadn't seen something like that since she was a little girl. Her father trained with one, she was sure of it. However, her father had only been able to wear it for a few minutes, and only for meditation. She glanced to Odin and saw that he was watching the fight just as intently as she was. He recognized the mask as well. Frigga couldn't remember her father ever actively fighting while wearing it, or even moving from his meditation. "Frey, did you know of this as well?"

"No, I didn't. Although it does begin to explain how she's been able to defeat me in a spar every time she visits." Frey wondered many times how Loki became so talented in combat. Loki was never the one to dominate in the sparring ring. That was Thor. Frey smiled as he remembered the first spar they had after she came back. He challenged Loki to spar not to harm her, but to aid in healing. She needed to regain some strength. It was easily won, and he'd gently chided her for not giving enough effort. There was a flash of anger in her eyes, and Anthony called out from the viewing seats, "Stop playing with him, Loki." He puzzled over that statement for less than a second before he was sent flying through the air sideways end over end. Loki had beaten him in every spar since. He didn't mind. It was rather enjoyable sparring against someone who could challenge him. Even his Master-At-Arms couldn't challenge him anymore. He didn't have the thin skin that his nephew had. Thor took it as a personal insult if he lost a spar. It was a fact that Frey used to discipline Thor when he misbehaved. Frey questioned Loki on how she'd suddenly become so much stronger. The prospect of being right was just too tantalizing to ignore. He had to know. Thor was always the stronger warrior. Loki's pursuits had always lain in the scholarly realms. Loki skillfully dodged his questions many times before finally answering. She stuttered when she answered him. Frey hadn't understood until he accepted that Loki was truly embarrassed. It was her own abilities embarrassing her. "I've always been this strong," Loki told him quietly, then turned and all but run from him. Frey could see how uncomfortable Loki was, and they'd never discussed it again. It was conformation of a sort of what he'd thought for many years. Not explicit confirmation, but a tacit confirmation that he considered to be enough to let her alone about it since she was so uncomfortable. He was patient. He could wait until she was more comfortable speaking on it.

When Loki had turned up alive, and living as a woman, Frey began to think down certain paths again. He'd always known of Loki's true heritage, it never bothered him. Though they lived on different realms, he and his beloved sister had always stayed close. Frigga wrote to him many times about how ill Loki was as a child. She thought she'd have to mourn Loki before the boy reached adulthood. Frey had thought, as Frigga had, that Loki's prolonged illness as a child was simply the product of a young Jotunn adapting to a significantly warmer realm than they were born into. It lasted so long, hundreds of years, and was specifically an illness effecting Loki's innards. No amount of healing seemed to be able to permanently be rid the boy of it since they couldn't find the cause of it. The boy's innards inflamed badly for no discernable cause, then things began coming apart. He'd always suspected that there was something triggering the periods of illness that was itself unaffected by the illness it triggered and so looked healthy enough. As a healer, it was always a maddening situation. At his beloved sister's request Frey searched for the true nature of the illness when even he couldn't find the cause of it in Loki's body. What he'd found about the illness and its possible links to Loki's immense magical potential changed the way he viewed many things, not just Loki. It gave him another powerful reason to want to take back the gilded sword pin. He waited and watched for the signs for years. When very few came, Frey thought he must have been mistaken.

Loki coming to back him as a woman caused Frey to look for the signs in earnest. Again, there were none. Then Loki defeated him in a spar so quickly that he barely had time to blink. It was shocking, especially considering how ill Loki still was. Frey had to know, so he questioned her, incessantly so. When Loki fled, Frey put a hand over his eyes and chuckled to himself. It was so obvious what Loki was, why Odin took her from the temple. He should've realized why he never saw any signs. Loki was too cautious to swing that kind of power around carelessly. She was too protective of her family to harm them unintentionally. Frey spent the evening berating himself for his own stupidity and wondering how his beloved sister hadn't known. It took much consideration for him to decide that Frigga didn't know. His sister was just too honest with her affections. She wouldn't have stood for Loki to be raised as such had she known. There was only one other option then. Odin deceived her as well.

"You spar with magic, Uncle Frey?" Thor asked. That surprised him. He'd never been able to defeat Frey in a spar. He hoped that someday he would be able to. His Uncle Frey had hundreds of years of battle experience, and that was just too difficult to overcome. It was well known in Asgard that Thor was undefeated in the sparring ring for more than three centuries. He refused to count Master-At-Arms Tyr in that, for sparring with him was akin to sparring with his father. He wasn't going to win that bout and he knew it. However, he still hoped to be able to overcome his Uncle Frey at some point. He never had.

Frey laughed, "You know I don't, boy. Nor does Loki." He ignored Thor when he turned at look questioningly at him.

"It must not be working properly," Frigga said quietly. Even to her that didn't sound right. Loki was no fool. He wouldn't use something broken.

"Oh, I think it is, sweetling," Frey said. He rested his elbows on the table and leaned forward to watch. Loki always did love to dance.

"What is it, mother?" Thor hoped that she might answer him.

"A Masquerade of Shadows, and it shouldn't still exist," Frigga said quietly. Where exactly her son acquired such a powerful artifact was going to have to be discovered. She worried over her son using something so powerful while being unwell. There were many things she worried over now.

It shouldn't still exist, and Loki has no business having it, Odin amended his wife's statement to himself. He was going to have to take it from Loki when he was returned to Asgard. Then he was going to find out how his son came into possession of it. An artifact of the power wasn't something that belonged in Loki's hands.

A small smile crossed Steve's lips. He was watching something he hadn't thought possible. Whoever this woman was, she was small and still facing and downing opponents twice her size. It upended what he'd seen so many times over, making him reevaluate his own experiences. He'd never had a problem being a shield for the small and the weak. He prided himself on being there for those who couldn't help themselves. It was nice, however, to see someone small who could take care of themselves. His smile waned for a moment as he wondered if this was Loki, and if maybe magic was involved. It didn't look like it though. This looked like years of hard work by someone who he hoped wasn't Loki in disguise.

.-.-.-.

Much to Tony's delight Loki danced swiftly between multiple opponents. Every move led smoothly into the next. A kick to the stomach of one construct led to her rolling over that same construct and into a spin towards another target. The spin ended when her left elbow struck the next construct's jaw, knocking it sideways. When another construct rushed her, she planted her left foot and stepped back with her right, avoiding the incoming blow. As the construct's right fist sailed by her face she grabbed its forearm and pulled it towards her while punching directly into the center of its chest. It fell backwards, landing harshly. Tony could see the indentation from Loki's fist over where a real person's heart would be. She spun out of the way of another construct. The spin became a kick that knocked the legs out from under a third construct. The second construct leapt at her, and she dodged. Its own momentum was used to send it crashing into the wall. Loki dove out of the way of the fourth construct when it tried to grab her shoulders. She rolled neatly into a ball and popped up by the fifth construct, driving her fist up into its jaw. The construct's head snapped back with a loud crunching noise. Tony watched the construct fall to its knees. It hit the floor a moment later. The construct's chin rested flat on the floor since its neck was still bent at an unnatural angle.

When Tony looked back to Loki she was upside down over one of the constructs with her hands on its shoulders. She spun her legs and twisted as her momentum carried her back to the floor with her hands still firmly gripped on the construct. As her feet landed, she hauled the construct over her head to throw it into one of its brothers. They landed in a heap on the floor. It was then that Tony saw the first construct sit up. The indentation in its chest pushed out until it was gone. The construct rose to rejoin the fight. Tony realized that Loki had probably been sparring the entire time she was down there. Something must have been wrong for her to spend more than her normal hour exercising.

It was times like this that he wished she had the same whispers as he did. His seidr whispered out his thoughts unless he kept tight control of it. The constant heat of his ever-burning inferno of rage and self-loathing managed what he couldn't control yet. The scars to Loki's seidr core tightly controlled her whispers without her having to do a thing. He could always feel her presence but could never hear her thoughts. Tony was starting to suspect that she'd used it against him as well. I don't want to talk about this again. He looked back at the black mask she was wearing. I really shouldn't stall. I should just get this over with.

Loki spun again, almost to swiftly to see, behind one of them. She kicked the back of its knees to bring it down. Once its knees hit the floor, she took its head in her hands to snap its neck. She taught him much of the same hand-to-hand combat that she was now using. It was the very first use of the Learning Spell between them. He had the training to be efficient in a fight, deadly even. Loki's training honed that. It was hundreds of years of experience that made his wife not only deadly, but beautiful to watch. Loki moved so swiftly that the constructs had a hard time even laying a hand on her. Jarvis always picked great music for the fights, so they looked like a choreographed sequence from a movie set, which confused him. He didn't know why she wanted the music when she didn't seem to hear anything with the mask on.

As much as Tony loved watching Loki, he deeply loved watching Loki, he also had a very pressing need to speak to her about things. He flared his seidr outwards for just a heartbeat before pulling it back. It was enough to let Loki know he was there since she wouldn't hear him any other way.

Loki stopped dead in the middle of the constructs just as one song ended, and another began. A small wave, disintegrated them back into emerald seidr before instantly curling it into her core. The fight stopped but the music continued. The singer began his bold-as-brass song, screaming out "I'm ALIVE! ALIVE!" Punchy lyrics flowed swiftly after that, making it clear to the listener that they needed the singer's help. The song went on, flaunting the singer's alive status.

Loki walked towards him from the other side of the gym; popping the latches on the neck of the mask as she walked. She pulled off the mask and looked up at Tony, "Hello, Love."