Chapter 8: Rewards
In the living room, Wanda, Vision, Tony, Steve, Sam, Rhodey and Clint were all waiting when Loki and Alex arrived.
"I am sorry for taking so long and making you wait, masters," said Loki to everyone while kneeling in the corner. Alex kneeled beside him.
"Loki, for now on, you don't have to call any of us 'master', I just expect you not to call us names. That goes for you too, Alex. And second, you don't have to kneel, except when Thor is here. And that's only if Odin's raven is with him."
"He really kneels all the time," asked Clint.
"I have barely seen him stand," said Rhodey.
Understanding he should not be on his knees right now, Loki sat on the floor.
"By the way, you are allowed on the couches, and chairs, and basically, you can sit on normal seats," said Tony.
Sam shifted to make room on the couch he was on, enough place for Loki and Alex. The father took his son and sat with Alex on his laps. But he was still tense.
"Wanda, I believe that you finished the reward system," said Steve.
"Yes. So Loki, Alex, we have implemented a system of rewards. So, you can earn gold stars for good behaviour, but you can also lose them. And you can exchange your gold stars for rewards. So, for Loki, let's say you go a full day without going into the cell and you finished all your work for that day, you have two gold stars. But, if the work you did is sloppy and very badly done, you lose one star. Alex, if you are a good boy and behave, you will have two gold stars, but if you throw a tantrum, you lose one star. For every task in which you help your father, you also get one star. So far, so good?"
"Yes, miss Wanda," said Loki.
"Yes," said Alex. "But what are the rewards?"
"Let her finish," whispered Loki in Alex's ear.
"Well, when you get enough gold stars, you can exchange them for privileges. For five gold stars, you can have unlimited access to one small toy. But if you have more than five stars, there will be bigger toys eventually. Loki, if you earn 30 gold stars, you can ask for a day off, no task, just free time for both of you. And more price will show up on the list. You can ask Friday for a complete list."
Rewards? So Loki would be rewarded sometimes? It went against nearly everything he had learned in training.
"Do you have any question," asked Stark.
"Yes, mister Stark. So both Alex and I can earn stars, but can I use my stars on something for Alex?"
"Of course, you can," answered Stark. "And to start this, you already have 5 gold stars. It's not much, but you can already get a small toy."
"We can have a toy, daddy," asked Alex, looking at his father.
"But, masters, misters, we haven't done anything yet to earn those stars," said Loki.
"Let's call it a starting bonus," said Stark. "So you will know that if you behave, you will have more."
Loki knew the whole system was an incentive for him to behave. He already swore to himself he would behave, but he also wanted Alex to have toys. And is he could understand the rules of this house and the system, he could have days off.
"So we have a tower of colourful rings, that Alex already played with once, the sphere with the blocks. Alex also already knows that one. We have a few construction blocks. We have a coloring book, a stuffed animal, a set of colourful balls. So Alex, is there something you want?"
Alex was baffled. Never was he asked to choose between options. Loki saw another side to the system. He, Loki, would be the one earning those stars, with the help of Alex. He would be able to give Alex some toys by working. This was like a salary, except the actual salary, but he could save and get more things.
Alex looked at the options. He did not see anything good coming from the stuffed animal, so he looked at the other choices.
"Alex, remember when we were drawing on the floor, in the sand?"
"Yes daddy."
"A coloring book is a little bit like that. You already have the lines, but you need to put colours inside the shapes."
Alex was then fascinated by the coloring book, but Loki realised something.
"How much for the crayons?"
Stark was stunned for a second. He had a box of colourful crayons, but forgot to put it on the list. However, Alex would need those for drawing.
"They come free with the first book," decided Stark. "And I'll even throw a sharpener in the offer."
"Alex, do you want the coloring book or would you prefer something else," asked Loki.
"I want to draw. I love to draw in the sand."
"Okay then. We will use our gold stars on the coloring book," said Loki.
"Great, that's a deal. Now, if you, Loki, finish all your tasks for the day, you earn two stars. And if you, Alex, you behave well today, you will also earn two stars. And remember, for every task you help your father with, you get another star," said Stark.
"So we can have lots of stars? Can we have another toy tomorrow," asked Alex.
"We could also keep our stars and get something even bigger if we wait," said Loki.
"Oh, you should wait until you see the Legos, I'm sure Alex would love those," said Stark.
Stark handed the coloring book and the crayons to Alex and then the sharpener to Loki.
"Can we draw right now, daddy?"
Loki had never Alex spoke that loudly before. And it wasn't even that loud, but it was not a whisper, which was usually what Alex would do. Of course, Alex had screamed before, but it was not speaking.
"That depends on whether mister Rogers has tasks for us to perform today," said Loki before looking at his master.
"Well, I want you to finish making the new bed. And you have to clean the kitchen again today. That's a daily task. You will have to do it after each meal. But you have until eight o'clock tonight to finish all of it," said Steve.
"And yesterday," started Wanda, "Alex took a nap in the afternoon, while you were... At his age, he should take daily nap."
"And more sleep will help him grow up," added Banner.
"Do I have to sleep," asked Alex to his father.
"Yes, you do. You need your sleep. And like the doctor said, it will help you grow up," answered Loki. "How about we go to our room finish the bed and decide whom it is? After, you will have time to draw and colour."
"Okay," said Alex trying to leave for the room.
"But before, we should thank our masters. For the gift and for the reward system," said Loki.
Usually, when a slave thanks his better, it is done on his knees, but master Steve said not to do it again. Instead, Loki bowed and Alex just did as his father.
"Thank you mister Stark for the coloring book and the crayons. Thank you miss Wanda for the reward system. Thank you mister Rogers."
Alex was mumbling everything his father was saying.
"You're welcome. But you earn the book," said Stark.
oOo
Later that day, after dinner, during Alex's nap, Loki had just finished cleaning the kitchen. He had nothing else to do but wait for supper to clean the kitchen again. It just so happens that Clint was in the same room as him.
"Loki, how is it going?"
"Well, I have done my tasks."
"No, not about your work, about everything. About this situation. Tony and Steve told me what I should know."
"It is a lot, Master Barton."
"No, no, you heard Steve earlier, you don't call us 'master'. You can call me mister Barton."
"Okay, mister Barton." Loki hesitated, should he continue answer the question?
"Go on."
"Well, I had time in training to learn everything. But I was trained according to Asgard's use of slaves. It is different here."
"How are you adjusting?"
"It's difficult. I can follow orders, but it is hard. And with Alex's tantrum from this morning, it's making me reconsider. Number of times, in training, I had wished not to fall my invasion, to at least escape, to be free. For the first time this morning, I truly regret what I did in New York. Because of Alex. I know I am a bad person, a villain. My reasons don't matter here, I won't have a throne. But Alex doesn't deserve this. He is a slave because he was born from one. In the past, I had wished to get rid of him, give him to someone else who could give him a better life. And today, I still want to just put him up for adoption. I love him, but I want him away. And I feel like a bad father for those thoughts."
"Loki, I have only known you for a few days five years ago. And I've known of Alex for the last few hours. However, struggling as a dad is something every father, every good father does. It doesn't make you a bad father to want to give him a better life. In my opinion, you are a good father, exactly because you want Alex to be happy."
"As a slave, he can never be."
"Is there a way for a slave to get their freedom?"
"Yes, but it is hard. The king has to rule in that favour. And the slave needs to be irreproachable for years. Of course, the master needs to want it too and make his case. I already know it won't happen for me. As for Alex, I can only hope."
"Listen Loki, that reward system, for what I understood, and your work schedule will let you and Alex get a pretty-close-to-normal life. And Steve will do everything in his power to avoid training for Alex. Also, none of us want to treat him like a slave. So he is only a slave on paper. He can have a normal life."
Clint stayed quiet for an instant.
"You know, my kids help around the house. They clean, they do the dishes, they mown the lawn. They have cores too, and most normal kids on Earth do. It doesn't make them all slaves. Alex can help you without being a slave. And he can have fun. You too, by the way."
"I think that having fun defeat the purpose of the punishment."
"The punishment is to serve us. Maybe in Asgard you can't have fun, but here, you can. And by 'fun', I mean the normal kind of 'fun', not 'take over a planet fun'. Harmless fun."
"I will never try to take over a planet again. And I will be the most obedient slave you have ever seen."
"Well, you are the first I've seen. Loki, you can be our prisoner and still give Alex a good life. I'm sure we will find a way to make it official that both your children are not slaves one day."
