Loki smiled again as he found himself exactly where he had meant to teleport from Paige's house. Thor's room in Stark Tower. Of course, no one but his oaf of a brother would be able to see him. Not even the infuriating mechanical butler. Once Thor decided to show up and speak to him, he would have only a few moments before someone heard from the computer and decided to crash their party.

He settled on the bed and waited patiently. It didn't take long.

Thor barely squeezed through the door, some form of Midgardian sweet smearing a line beside his mouth. He stopped short and sucked in a deep breath. "Loki."

"Oh, you do remember my name? How daft of me to think you might have forgotten."

"This is the second time I have thought you dead. It no longer amazes me that you are not."

Loki chuckled as an alarm sounded. "The Iron Man's machine will have told him I am here. We have not long."

Thor reached a hand for him, but Loki shot up a green shield around himself and even Thor's giant mitt couldn't penetrate it. Thor backed off. "I am told you have taken a Midgardian woman from her home. This seems unlike you, brother."

"Not really. Think back on all I've done. I am not one to follow a pattern."

"I thought you above this."

"Then think again."

Thor sighed heavily. "Please, Loki. Do not harm her. There are those who care about her, and they would be devastated."

"I will not harm her." Loki was a bit surprised that Thor would think that of him, but it played into the torment he wished upon the giant buffoon. So he took his chance and added on to his sentence. "After all, why would I harm my favorite plaything?"

The look of shock and horror on Thor's face was satisfactory. He took a step forward. "No, Loki. Please."

Loki could already hear the Metal Man's footsteps in the hall, which signified his time to retreat. For now. He dropped the shield and was gone long before anyone intruded on their privacy. He wasn't in a mood to battle all the Avengers again. He didn't think he ever would be. At least, not all at one time. Many of them were stronger than they looked.

/

Drake raced after Stark, but arrived too late. The alarms silenced as quickly as they had begun. Drake gripped the doorframe of Thor's room. "Was he here?" He already knew the answer. "Was he?!"

Thor sank onto his bed and buried his face in his hands. "His magic is stronger than when last we met. I could do naught to detain him, try as I might."

Brooke appeared in the doorway and narrowed her eyes. "Bad magic. Bad magic was here."

Thor nodded and kept his head down.

/

Kitania wasn't really sure what had just happened. Somehow she had gotten here, to this giant penthouse suite, and Demetri had left. She was strangely okay with that. Oh, and there was a talking computer. She did a 180, trying to recalibrate to the situation at hand. She decided questions might be in order.

"Um, SID?" She asked, hoping the computer would talk to her. It may not be human contact, but it was contact. "You still there?"

"Of course, madam." SIDNES replied. "Do you need something?"

Kitania beamed. "Oh. My. Gosh! You are so cool. Anyway, yeah, does D have any junk food or something sugary around here? I cannot tell you how much I want a cheesecake."

"There are snacks in the pantry and fifty-seven percent of a chocolate cake in the refrigerator." In the kitchen, doors to both the pantry and the fridge opened. "Help yourself to whatever you desire. And, if I may inquire, what may I refer to you as?"

Kitania smiled and dove for the refrigerator. "Oh, um, Kitania's fine. And is it okay if I eat all fifty-seven percent of this?" She slid the cake from the fridge and licked her lips. "For which I will probably need a fork."

A drawer containing silverware slid open. "I am not sure if Master Demetri would be pleased with that. His mother made that cake, a rare accomplishment for her."

"Hey, I heard that!" a woman's Russian-accented voice shouted from the other room. "Careful, SID. I'll deprogram you."

"My apologies, Doctor Sara. This is Miss Kitania."

Doctor Sara Avril walked into the kitchen carrying a large box. She had neck-length brown hair and was still wearing her lab coat. She set the box down on the table. "Pleasure to meet you, Kitania," she said with a smile. "You a friend of Demetri's?"