Looking for Loki

Summary - Fury tells the Avengers to find Loki and discover whether or not he has the staff that Von Doom used against them.

"As much as I want this thing under lock and key," Nick Fury began, "I need more proof than just 'your gut tells you.' I'm not willing to risk an...an inter-dimensional incident based on an assumption."

"I spoke to Von Doom and he says that Loki was at his castle before we got there," Natasha explained, leaving out the fact that her 'speaking' to him alluded more to interrogation than anything else.

"A man'll say anything if he's being tortured," Steve crossed his arms.

"Loki was at the castle?" Fury frowned.

"There's no evidence of him on any of the surveillance cameras," Clint said.

"Could he have used...magic to hide himself?" Bruce asked Thor.

"It is possible," the blonde shrugged, "Though I do not know why he would have had cause to be there."

"You trust him?" Fury asked, "Your brother. If he has it, will he use this weapon against us?"

"I would trust Loki with my life," Thor replied. He knew that Loki had his problems but he didn't believe that it made his brother any less of a good man.

"Well, it's not just your life in question," Fury said. "I've been told by experts that this weapon is dangerous. It was made to destroy humanity and I've got the higher ups breathing down my neck because we let it out our sight. It's bad enough that it got Von Doom's attention so it's on our blacklist for good now. I need that weapon and I need it now." *1

"We do not know for sure that my brother has it," the God of Thunder shook his head.

"Then I'm asking you to find out."

"It will not be easy to find him; he may not even be on your planet."

"I thought you said your gatekeeper could see everything," Fury said.

"Not Loki. Not always."

"So he can go where ever he wants and no one can find him and we don't know a thing about him," the director sighed.

"My brother can be trusted," Thor warned, deeply, "And he is more than worthy of your respect."

"Doesn't change the fact that I need that spear."

"He hasn't threatened us with it even if he has it," Tony said. "We didn't even know he was here until his little bar stunt last week."

"If he's been flying under the radar then why'd he screw it all up because of one bar fight?" Natasha asked. "It's too suspicious."

"Sounds like you've got it in for him," the billionaire replied.

"I'm doing my job," she said, simply.

"If you had done your job in the first place you would not feel the need to persecute Loki now," Thor said.

"We didn't know about this thing until after we caught Von Doom," Fury explained.

"I do not like it."

"Easier said than done, huh," Tony sighed, "Find Loki...find someone who can be invisible or turn into anything he wants! How the heck do we even start looking when he might not even be on earth?" he asked, leaning forwards over a computer in his lab. "Can we just scan for anyone not human?"

"If I remember correctly, Loki once said that he can change both his external and internal appearance. If he so chose, he could become human, in a way. I suppose it is why we never discovered his heritage, because he himself believed that he was Aesir, therefore he was," Thor said.

"What? Really? How does that even...okay, okay...well, let's try anyway. He's got no reason to think anyone's looking for him with a giant scanner so why would he bother making himself human or whatever? And he can't have recovered all that much, right? He was looking pretty tired last week, wasn't he?" the billionaire scrubbed a hand through his hair.

"That is true. I wish I understood more about my brother's talents, but I confess, he was too oft ridiculed and not often praised."

"Because he picked magic not brute force?" Tony furrowed his brow, remembering Thor's stories about Loki.

"It is perceived as a woman's art. I know now that such assumptions are wrong, but I wish I had understood it centuries ago. Perhaps my brother and I would not be so estranged now."

"A guy can only put up with so much," the billionaire said. "You and the rest of Asgard didn't really do him any favours."

"No, we did not."

"JARVIS, we're looking for anything not human," Tony announced, "Think we can scan the whole planet?"

"It will take time," the AI replied.

"How much?"

"A week."

"I will ask father and Heimdall, but I do not hold out much hope," Thor said.

"Do it, JARVIS, looks like you're about the only plan we've got," Tony shrugged.

Loki really hadn't planned to stay on Midgard at all but until recently he hadn't been recovered enough to consider leaving. This world had fewer natural portals than any other he'd visited and he didn't yet have the strength to forge one himself, he wasn't even sure it would work if he was recovered anyway.

And in the time he'd spent on Midgard, he'd actually found a few things about the place that he actually deemed worthy of his interest. That was why, two days later Loki was in Germany sitting in a grand theatre in his own private box, as his own person rather than incognito. He was high above the stage which gave him an impressive vantage point. After almost a thousand years of watching the same actors perform the same plays to an audience that didn't seem to ever tire of the repetitiveness, it was refreshing to see new stories. It was yet another example of how he'd never truly fit in Asgard.

Despite the fact that he hadn't intended to spend much time on Midgard, he'd found himself becoming fascinated with just how many distractions people here had. He liked their plays, he appreciated their technology which was far beyond anything Asgard had since it seemed, like its King, to be set firmly in its ways. Yes, Asgard had its own form of science, but on earth, they constantly changed. Nothing on Asgard ever changed and when Loki tried to introduce new things he'd found on one of his inter-dimensional journeys, he had been rebuffed every time.

Of course, the fact that, unlike the Dwarves of Níðavellir, these humans didn't chase him out the second they set eyes on him, worked in their favour too. It hadn't stopped him from pulling the odd prank whenever he got bored though. Just this morning he'd wrapped the Eiffel tower in green, shiny paper and gold ribbon, he'd even put a bow on the top and left a note. He'd admired his work for half an hour, watching as people stopped and stared and took photographs with it. He come to realise fairly quickly that people took photographs of everything.

Perhaps with his brother on the same planet, it wasn't the wisest course of action to be so overt, but he'd been bored and it was in his nature to be mischievous. Loki couldn't help it and it wasn't as though he'd hurt anyone, although that had never stopped Odin from punishing him after such a prank in Asgard. But this was not Asgard, it was Midgard and Odin was not there to punish him. It left him free to do as he pleased and he could only smirk with uncontrollable glee as he planed his next great 'present' for the world in which he found himself.

In Tony Stark's California mansion, Steve Rogers sat lounging in front of the television with wide eyes at what he saw. Both he and Tony were watching with wrapt attention.

"Thor...you might wanna see this," he called out

"What is it?" Thor mumbled back from Tony's kitchen with a mouthful of food.

"The Eiffel tower...its been erm...wrapped up," Tony said.

"What is this tower of Eiffel?" he asked, walking through to where they both sat around the large television screen.

The famous tower had indeed been artfully wrapped like a giant present but now it had all been removed.

"Shhh, just listen," Captain America said quickly.

"...It took over five hours for French officials to remove the wrapping paper and when they did, they found a note. It said, simply, 'To Midgard, from Loki Silvertongue.' Of course, there's been much speculation about who this 'Loki' really is and just how he managed it. One theory is that it was simply an elaborate hoax. Another theory that's proving even more popular, is that Loki is the brother of Thor, a well known Avenger and so-called Norse god of Thunder. If this is true, are we to expect more strange events like this..." the news reporter said.

"Think he did this 'cos he knows we're looking for him?" Tony asked, turning down the volume.

"I do not think so," Thor answered. "It appears he was simply looking for entertainment."

"I can't believe he actually wrapped the whole Eiffel tower," the billionaire chuckled.

"'Tis just like Loki to do such a thing," Thor said, proudly, "My brother is bored easily and he is the god of Mischief."

"Well, we know he's in France, I say we go see if we can't..."

"He will not still be there," the blonde Asgardian told them quickly.

"We have to at least check," Tony said, and so, to France they went. Loki was long gone and so Tony was left with nothing to track, they were forced to return empty handed.

The next day, Loki was in London, once again as himself, no one knew who he was anyway, so it didn't seem with wasting his recovering magic to make a disguise. He discovered exactly what a hair salon was and that, apparently, he had excellent hair for a man. He was informed of different hair products that would hold back his hair without drowning it in a sea of grease which he actually detested but had had no alternative for on Asgard.

As he was walking back onto the street, being waved goodbye from the cheery women inside he could see a fight beginning between a group of furious looking people. He didn't plan on interfering, he planned on walking by an leaving them to fight but when one of them ended up being more or less tossed through the glass front of the hairdressers he'd just been in, Loki figured that it was only good manners to aid them. After all, the people inside had just spent over an hour making sure he had the finest hair in London and not getting vengeance for the destruction of their property would be a poor excuse in manners.

Without warning, he marched over to the rather large man who had landed through the window, grabbed him by the collar of his black shirt and dragged him back out onto the street for all to see. He ignored the stunned glances of the people inside as he threw the man to the ground like a weightless rag doll.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, pretty boy?" Loki was asked by one of the people who had started the fight.

"You wanna pick a fight?" another asked with a grin.

"You all seemed so determined to start a fight I didn't think it mattered whether or not I intervened," Loki replied smugly.

"He thinks he's a wise guy!" someone laughed.

The nameless man Loki had thrown to the ground stood up suddenly and tried to swing his fist at him, but Loki moved quickly to avoid it and he caught the thick wrist in a iron grip. He may not be as strong as a true Aesir, but he was certainly stronger than any human. He once again tossed the man aside and this time, he was knocked unconscious.

"I'm not up against much competition for that title, am I?" he raised an amused eyebrow. "Those people in there were good enough to assist me, I'd prefer it if you didn't damage their premise any further. Continue your argument in the next street, if you must."

"I think we should continue it here," the first man said.

"I wouldn't advise it."

"Tough," one of them scoffed and ran at him, brandishing his fists.

Loki easily threw him aside, spraining the man's wrist as he did so and possibly dislocating his shoulder as well. He tossed a second man into a wall, knocking him out cold, a third he levitated upside down into a bin and the fourth he left lying crumpled amidst a patch of flowers and bushes. After he'd accomplished this in about thirty seconds, the others exchanged a nervous, confused glance.

"What are you?" he was asked.

"I am Loki," he answered simply, "Of Asgard," he added. He supposed it would be too much to explain to these people that he was not quite of Asgard, not quite of Jotunheim, in fact, not quite of anywhere.

"I'm Diana of Lambeth!" a little girl declared happily from inside the hairdressers. She was stood behind her mother who was holding her back from the commotion but she seemed more excited than frightened.

Loki raised an eyebrow as he turned to look at the young girl, "A pleasure," he replied sarcastically.

"Who is this wacko?" people muttered to themselves.

"You idiot, he must be the nutcase what wrapped up the Eiffel tower, they said so on tv, remember," another replied to the remaining people. "He's Thor's brother...he's a goddamn alien!"

"If it helps at all, I see you as the aliens here, not me," Loki smiled, hiding his irritation at being recognised as 'Thor's brother.'

"Forget this, I'm not fighting some crazy magic alien!" one of them said before running off and soon, the fight had dispersed entirely.

With a wave of his pale hand, the broken glass began to piece back together and then it refitted itself back into its frame. The objects inside the salon which had been thrown aside suddenly righted themselves and the scratches and scuff marks vanished without a trace. It took less than thirty seconds for the damage to be repaired and even as he was working his magic, Loki wasn't quite sure why he was being so generous. He'd stopped the fight, wasn't that enough?

"How...how did you...what?" Amanda, the hairdresser muttered to herself, staring at Loki in shock.

With a slight nod of his head, Loki turned and walked down the street, calmly, as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. He wasn't to know that within a matter of seconds, footage of him using magic was being watched world wide, captured by people in the street who had seen him fight.

"Sir, Loki has been sighted in London," JARVIS reported minutes later.

"What...y'mean you found him?"

"Not exactly," the AI said and brought up the footage.

"You gotta be kidding me," Tony scoffed. "Where's Point Break?"

"Mr. Odinson is aiding Steve Rogers in stopping an armed bank robbery in Washington."

"Fantastic," the billionaire sighed.

Around half an hour later, Iron Man landed on the bustling streets of London after JARVIS had managed to lock onto Loki unique, non human signal. "Talk to me, JARVIS, where is he?"

"Loki is currently directly ahead of you, sir."

"There's nothing directly ahead, just a shoe...a shoe shop...you better not be telling me the god of mischief is shopping...for shoes," Tony muttered, ignoring the people around him who were staring in awe.

"It would appear so."

And so, Iron Man walked into a busy London shoe shop, a cacophony of quiet whirling noises accompanying him as his limbs moved on his suit. Luckily it was a large shop with plenty of room between the low isles of expensive shoes of all shapes and sizes, which meant he had an open view of the place.

"Hey," Tony waved to the people around him, some even waved back. "I'm looking for someone...he's, like, this tall," he held up his metal encased hand as he spoke to a young blonde woman at the counter. "Pale, dark hair, probably wearing some kind of weird green and black get up...talks like Shakespeare..."

"Erm...well, I think you might mean..." the woman, whose name badge identified her as 'Laura' looked uneasily across the open room.

She was glancing over at the section which showcased men's boots and Tony gave her a winning smile as the face plates of his suit separated. "Thanks," he said before walking away. "Loki? Hey, Lokster, you here?" he called out happily, "Ah, there you are," he stopped in front of the god of mischief.

Loki was currently sitting on a blue padded seat, one of many in the shop, staring down at two pairs of tall, black, almost combat style boots, his face deep in thought. "Silence," he commanded, "I cannot choose."

"Say what?" Tony blinked, stunned for words.

"The boots, I cannot decide," Loki reiterated.

"Erm...they're both good, I guess...anyway, we've been looking all over for you for like four days and I..."

"I said, be silent."

"This is a really weird day," Iron man grumbled. "Just get both, we've got bigger problems than shoes right now, I..."

"I do not require two pairs," Loki waved a dismissive hand, "And your problems are irrelevant to me."

"My problems are your problems, S.H.I.E.L.D wants to talk to you, that's why we've been looking for you."

"...Why?" Loki asked, slowly looking up at the human.

"I think it's best if you just come with me."

"Are you here to take me away in chains if I refuse?" he asked dramatically.

"God, no," Tony said quickly. "Hey, I saw your work in Paris, I'm a big fan," he held up his hands with smile. "And that guy you tossed in the trash in your fight, that was great..."

"How do you...ah...of course, you mortals and your Internet," Loki sighed.

"Yep. So, are you gonna come with me?"

"I don't see why I should."

"Doomstadt...Castle Doom...freaky spear, staff thing...ringing any bells?"

"I'm afraid not," Loki answered.

"Ah, come on, Rock of Ages," Tony frowned and Loki raised an eyebrow at the phrase. "Von Doom spilt the beans when Tasha clocked him; you were totally there."

"Are you finished speaking now, because most of what you say is unintelligible nonsense to me?"

"Okay, well, how's this? Latveria, Von Doom using freaky spear, you, there, spear, not there now, S.H.I.E.L.D has questions...that any better?" he asked pedantically.

"I'm not sure which was worse, your Midgardian colloquialisms or this...infantile manner of address. And before you say anything else, I've no interest in playing games with your organisation..."

Whoa, whoa, 'my organisation'? They didn't even want me on the team, they're so not 'my' organisation. I'm not even officially employed by them...technically I'm only w consultant," Tony protested. "And I've been told, all they wanna do is talk..."

"You believe that?"

"Well, if you don't have it, what's the problem?"

Loki sighed and though he knew he could just ignore it all and teleport away, he couldn't deny that it was an opportunity. He'd already tried to see what the 'Avengers' knew about the staff when he'd let them find him last week, but he hadn't expected S.H.I.E.L.D to be so interested in it.

"Brother!" Thor leapt to his feet happily and practically ran accords the room and clapped Loki on the shoulders. He refrained from one of his usually bone crushing hugs in view of the fact that they were surrounded by the Avengers and Director Fury. "It is good to see you," the god of thunder declared, "You look well, my Loki. How do you fare?"

"I..." Loki frowned. Thor seemed, once again, to genuinely care about his well being and before he could articulate a response, his green eyes alighted on the director who stood across the room, standing by the wall windows of glass. "Director Fury," Loki greeted with a wry smile.

"You know me?"

"I knew of all the mortals Thor came into contact with," Loki answered, simply. "Though I'm afraid I wasn't left with the impression that you were as dimwitted as many other mortals seem to be...clearly I was wrong."

"Excuse me?" the man scoffed.

"From what I gather I you wished to ask me about an artefact which you have lost, correct?"

"We have reason to believe that you may have it."

"Since I don't even know to what you refer, I can't answer one way or the other."

"It's called Ruyi Jingu Bang," Fury said, turning round a computer screen on a desk so that Loki could see the weapon. "Ever heard of it?"

"No."

"You sure? Because Victor Von Doom says you knew exactly what it was," the director replied.

"Victor Von Doom? What an unfortunate name," Loki said, calmly.

"You don't know him either?"

"I do not. Is that all you wished to know?"

"Well, I would like to know long you plan on staying here," Fury said.

"Why?"

"It's not often we get visitors from other worlds and you haven't..."

"Am I to expect the same courtesies you gave to Thor? You imprisoned him, did you not, when he first arrived?"

"We didn't exactly 'imprison'..."

"But because he chooses to protect you all, you let him do as he pleases. Well, I have no intention of wasting my time protecting you mortals, in fact, I don't intend to stay..."

"Loki, please, you do not need to be hostile," Thor stepped forwards. "These are good people and they mean you no harm."

"So, why have they brought me here?"

"It's not you we want, it's the spear," Fury clarified. "S.H.I.E.L.D has no quarrel with you, Loki. We can live with your little pranks so long as that's all they are but, honestly, we'd rather you didn't do...magic, so openly like you did in England..."

"You should choose your battles wisely," Loki warned.

"I am, that's why all I'm asking you for is the staff you took from Doom."

"I am a god, you weak mortal, you have no right to 'ask' me for anything!"

"You're on our planet now, and people here aren't exactly worshiping you and band of Norse deities anymore. You and any other Asgardian will be treated with respect as long as you're here on peaceful terms, but don't expect anyone to kowtow on the floor," Fury glared at him. "Now, please, hand over the staff," he added in a calmer tone.

"I don't have it," Loki lied expertly.

"Von Doom says you do," Natasha said.

"I have already told you that he is lying."

"How do we know you're telling the truth? You are the god of lies," she replied.

"This is sounding more like an interrogation with each passing second. I do not know what you are talking about, mortals."

"You have asked your questions and Loki claims he that is innocent, you have no right to do anything further," Thor announced. "You lack proof, therefore you can do nothing."

"It's not that simple, Thor," the director admitted. "My bosses are convinced Loki has this thing..."

"That is naught to do with my brother."

"This world you love so much, Thor, is very much like Asgard is it not? Something is lost, therefore it must be Loki's doing...no wonder you love these mortals so much," Loki scoffed.

"Loki," Thor sighed, "They have done nothing but ask you..."

"They turn to me without proof, so you say! Well, I have heard enough..."

"We're not done here, if you leave, I'll have no choice but to detain you. I don't want to, but if I have to, I will," Fury said suddenly.

"Now, you take this too far," Thor warned him.

"Yes, but I can't help but wonder...just how would you detain me? I can easily overpower any mortal, I am impervious to your weapons, I can escape any prison. I have done this world no harm and I am threatened thus on your baseless assumptions!" Loki hissed, taking slow, predatory steps towards Fury.

"My job is to protect this world. Now there's an object somewhere out there that could destroy us all if it falls into the wrong hands again, so if I have to insult an Asgardian prince or two to get to the bottom of this, then I'll do it. I have to."

"From what I've observed, any mortal hands are the wrong ones for any kind of power. You are all fallible and corruptible. You are ill-suited to power."

"So you took the spear to protect us from ourselves, I'm sure we're all very flattered," Fury replied, sarcastically.

"I did not take it," Loki reiterated, slowly.

"And if you did, you'd never admit it, would you?"

"Are you quite finished?"

"Hmmm," the director hummed. "Well," he said, turning around and reluctantly breaking their unblinking starting contest. "Thor was right, we've got no proof other than Doom's say so and and he's not exactly a credible witness."

"Then my brother is free to leave?"

"Yeah," Fury nodded. "But if we do find proof, and if you've been lying to us, the next time we meet, I won't be so friendly."

"I look forward to it," Loki scoffed before he stormed out of the room, making sure to slam the door behind him.

"Loki!" Thor bellowed, running after his brother through the corridor of S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters. "Loki!" he repeated when he couldn't see him.

"What?" the dark haired god sighed, appearing in a blur of green smoke behind Thor.

"Loki," Thor smiled in relief. "I have missed you," he declared before he hugged Loki in his muscled arms.

"So you said," Loki managed to say as the air was squeezed from his lungs, "Now get off me."

"Hah! As usual you seem to heal quickly but it does not stop me from worrying when I cannot find you. If not for friend Stark's voice in the ceiling, we would not have located you. When you did not return for your cleaned clothes after you left so abruptly I asked him to keep them there for you. You must return with me and we can feast!"

"Not everything is cause for a feast."

"Our being reunited most certainly is!"

"He's hiding something," Natasha said to Fury. He was sitting at his desk and she, standing before it in his otherwise, deserted office.

"Look, I'm not exactly thrilled about letting this guy run lose all over earth, not with the things we know he can do but...we got no proof," he shrugged. "He hasn't done anything to put him on the blacklist...hell, he was shopping when Tony found him. If he didn't take the staff then I get why he was so defensive. It's easier to wanna believe he has it, because if he doesn't then we're back to square one."

"Well, what's next, then?"

"Doom could have had someone...or one of his robots hide it..."

"We searched his castle, we didn't find it."

"I'm beginning to hate this damn thing already..." Fury sighed, heavily.

Late at night, Thor's 'feast' was well underway. Tony's lounge had been commandeered as it so often was since the Avengers had first been formed, but joe, it was littered with beer bottles and cans and empty food packets with pizza boxes stacked precariously in the centre if the coffee table.

"Yeah, whosoever, be he worthy...whatever, it's a trick," Clint threw back his head as he drained the last of his drink.

"It is much more than that, my friend," the smiling god of thunder declared as he placed Mjölnir onto the table amidst the beer bottles.

"It's a trick," the man reiterated.

"Then, please, be my guest," Thor gestured to the hammer.

"What, really?" Clint starred before he jumped up.

"Clint, you've had a tough week, we won't hold it against you if you can't get it up," Tony said seriously.

"Y'know, I've seen this before, right?" the blond archer slurred before he tried, single handedly, to lift the hammer. "Gah...I still don't know how you do it!" he exclaimed hen he failed.

"Smell the silent judgement?" Tony asked.

"Stark, by all means!"

"Alright...never one to shirk from an honest challenge," the billionaire shrugged, standing up. "It's physics," he explained, gripping the handle.

"Physics?" Banner scoffed.

"Right, so if I lift it, do I get to rule Asgard?" Tony asked seriously.

"Yes, of course," Thor nodded.

"Oh, Odin will be pleased," Loki sighed. At first he had chosen to sit apart from them all, he had no desire to 'party' with Thor's friends again. It hadn't gone so well the first time he'd tried to fit in with his brother's friends so he didn't expect it to this time either. Though, he had to admit, watching the mortals play their drinking games was entertaining and before he knew it, Thor had brought him over to sit next to him on one of the sofas and the blonde Asgardian seemed determined not to let Loki out of his sight.

"I will be reinstituting prima nocta," Iron man announced before attempting to lift the hammer. When it didn't move he tried using both hands and strained until his muscles were burning. "I'll be right back," he said and returned wearing the right arm of his suit. After a minute or so he had to admit defeat and he backed off, but not before Tony attempted to lift it once more. "Gah!" he cried when the small thrusters on his arm piece exploded in a flash of bright light and broken shards of metal.

After Bruce failed, he slumped back down on the floor and Natasha gave him a mock, sympathetic pat in the back.

"Go ahead, Steve, no pressure!" Tony cried.

When he tried to raise the hammer, Thor was slightly apprehensive when it actually moved a fraction of an inch and the smile fell from his face instantly. Luckily, he was reassured when it moved no further and he let out a relieved laugh. Even Loki couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in surprise.

"Come on, Cap, it moved!" Clint shouted, clapping his hands in excitement.

"Hah, nothing!" Thor declared happily when Captain America gave up a second later.

"But you had it!" Tony sulked.

"Oh, no, that's not a question I need answered," Natasha declared when Bruce looked expectantly to her.

"On the handle, it's imprinted. Whosoever's carrying Thor's fingerprints is, I think the literal translation," the billionaire stood up.

"Yes, well, that's a very interesting theory," the god of Thunder said.

"And we happen to have a shapeshifter, right here," Tony continued as he looked over at Loki.

"No," said shapeshifter muttered, without even turning his head.

"Oh, come on!"

"No."

"Aren't you curious?"

"I said, no," Loki reiterated. He knew now why Mjölnir would never obey him; it was because he was a Frost Giant. He believed that a weapon of the Aesir would never work for their enemy. If he tried to lift it now, he'd only humiliate himself and he had no desire to look like a fool. It was why he had sought out the weapon that Doom had found. He wanted a powerful weapon of his own but this one he couldn't even use properly anyway, so he'd wasted his time and power for nothing. He already felt like a fool and he didn't want Thor's new band of friends to have reasons to laugh at him, regardless of what those reasons were.

"Spoil sport," Tony grumbled, throwing himself back down onto the sofa, dejectedly. "I don't know why you won't even...mhmmm...hmmmm..." he broke off with a worried look.

"Did he drink too much?" Natasha scoffed when Tony began clawing at his mouth.

"Tony?" Bruce frowned.

"I...mnhmmmm...opmmmmm...moufffffff..." the billionaire could only hum through sealed lips.

"Erm...what?" Steve asked.

"Loki?" Thor turned to his brother with a small smile.

"He wouldn't stop talking," the dark haired sorcerer shrugged.

"Hah!" the god of thunder laughed.

"H...hhhhhh! Wh...hmmmm...hhhhh..." Tony continued to protest as best he could but Loki seemed not to care or even hear him.

"How long'll this last?" Steve asked.

"As long as I wish," the dark haired sorcerer answered.

"I think it's kind of an improvement," Natasha grinned.

"Hhhhhhhh! Noooooo...mmmmmmmmmmmmm!" Tony cried.

"Hah, hah, brother!" Thor exclaimed, clapping Loki on the back with enough force to knock the smaller man forwards. "Well met, indeed!"

"It's merely a simple spell," Loki shrugged, after a moment to recover from the fact that he was being praised. After a lifetime of being ridiculed for his trickery, even the smallest of compliments left him feeling stunned.

"Erm...maybe you should let him speak now," Steve said, trying to hide his smile, unsuccessfully.

"I disagree," the sorcerer replied.

"He can't drink if his mouth's closed, either," Clint laughed. "Which means he won't be needing this," he said, reaching over, unsteadily, to swipe the billionaire's bottle of expensive alcohol.

"Hhhhhh!" Tony cried. He suddenly leapt across the table at Barton, reaching for the stolen bottle but it was held out of his reach.

"Loki, perhaps you should, end this before friend Stark began a drunken fight in his armour," Thor chortled, not sounding much opposed to the idea.

"Would that be such a bad thing?" Loki asked, innocently. After a moment, and with a wave of his hand, he emitted a green light.

"I swear to god, Barton, if you don't...hey! I'm back!" Tony yelled, happily.

"It was good while it lasted," Natasha shook her head in mock sorrow while Thor laughed loudly.

"I have no idea how you did that but do it again...please," the billionaire sighed, finally with a smile at being reunited with the drink. "I don't know what I'd do with my morning martini," he sighed.

"You drink martinis in the morning?" Steve asked.

"No...I just wanted to say morning martinis. Sounds fancy, doesn't it?"

"Sounds like you have a problem," Captain America replied.

"That's what my doctor tells me, but I don't tend to listen," Tony shrugged. "Anyway," he continued after slouching back down on a sofa. "Y'know...everyone saw you doing...magic, or whatever you wanna call it...on the Internet when you were in England. If you were going for incognito, you kinda failed," he told Loki.

"Doesn't matter," the darker haired man shrugged elegantly. "I won't be staying," he added.

"Why not?" Bruce asked.

"You wouldn't understand."

"Where will you go if not here or Asgard?" Thor asked his brother, concern brimming from his blue eyes. "I must spend increasing amounts of time at home, father needs..."

"I don't give a damn about what your father needs, Thor!" Loki hissed.

"He is our father."

"How I feel on the subject hasn't changed, don't force me to repeat myself," Loki turned away, unable to see just how hurt Thor seemed.

"He misses you."

"Liar."

"He asks after you whenever I venture home."

"Thor..."

"And oftentimes I have nothing to tell him," the blonde Asgardian continued.

"Which I am sure, pleases him greatly. You are a fool, Thor, if you think he cares. Odin Allfather would sooner care for a rabid bilgesnipe than he would for me," Loki said, thinking of the time he'd recently been held captive by mountain trolls. His magic had been bound and he knew that Odin and Heimdall had been able to see him, and they hadn't helped him to escape his tormentors. They hadn't cared at all.

"Why do you think this, my brother?"

"What's a bilgesnipe?" Clint muttered to Natasha who simply shrugged back.

"I have my reasons," Loki replied to Thor.

"Tell me these reasons, Loki, you can trust me, I want only what is best for you."

"You should have learned by now, that I trust no one...and neither should you. So, when next you return hom...to Asgard, have Odin tell you about Vanaheim," Loki said cryptically.

"Vanaheim?" Thor frowned.

"And the Mountain Trolls. Threaten him with Mjölnir if you must, but have him tell you whatever the cost."

"Very well, I shall," the blonde nodded, "You are certain he will know what you..."

"He'll know," Loki muttered.

*1 I took some liberties in saying that the staff was made to destroy humanity.