WHAT? Two updates in one day? HELL YEAH! lol. Just lemme know what you guys think.
A week had passed in peace. Nick Fury had assigned separate therapists to Loki and Tony both. Loki's therapist visited every day, while Tony had to leave to go see his. Loki also now had a house arrest anklet attached to his left leg, and a parole officer that visited every other day. Fury had decided that Loki would serve house arrest until his therapist decided otherwise, then he'd be put to work with community service until his powers were returned. Loki hadn't argued at all. Currently Loki was seated casually on the kitchen counter, orange ringlets up in a bun, reading a compendium of H.P Lovecraft. By now no one even gave a second glance to Loki's strange reading habits. At one point Tony had made a joke about how Loki was like a cat, climbing unto whatever he deemed comfortable at the time. Tony wasn't home at the moment; he'd been called off by Pepper to do something that he didn't think was important at all. As far as Loki knew, the others were enjoying the lovely summer day in the pool; another reason Loki had decided to stay indoors with the air conditioner. Tony had absently told Loki that he was expecting some guests later today, but hadn't given any further information than that, so Loki figured Steve would handle it. Tony came into the kitchen and placed grocery bags unto the counter. Loki looked up, wide eyed; startled by the sudden intrusion,
"That was fast," He commented, then glanced at the microwave clock, "You've only been gone an hour."
"Yeah, like I said, it wasn't that important." Tony was removing the contents of the bags unto the counter. Loki hopped down from his perch and smirked at Tony,
"More likely it was important, therefore you didn't feel like sticking around to be held responsible for something." He chuckled. Tony grinned at him,
"You know me well." He said while sliding a few items across the counter at Loki, "I took the liberty of stopping at the store to buy you some things that you might find useful for the time being." Loki assessed said items; there was a toothbrush, a hairbrush and various hair accessories like headbands or ponytails, and a large decorative…thing…that resembled a pair of scissors with flat blades. He picked up this last item and looked at Tony in confusion,
"It's called a flat iron." Was Tony's response, "You plug it into an outlet and turn it on, then these two ceramic plates…" he pointed while speaking, "...heat up to like 400 degrees. You put your hair through it like this…" He suddenly reached up and pulled Loki's hair out of its containment then placed a strand between two of his fingers to demonstrate, "…and the heat will straighten your hair." He concluded. Loki looked impressed,
"Thank you." He said. It would be nice to not have to share Thor's hairbrush anymore, or toothbrush for that matter; he made a face at this thought. And it'd be nice to have straight hair again. Steve entered the kitchen and smiled at them, then got himself a soda from the fridge,
"How'd it go?" He asked Tony,
"Eh." Tony responded with a shrug. Loki laughed before collecting his new items and leaving the room to put them away. He stepped into the living room and froze in place as there were two people sitting on the couch that did not belong there. One was a rather short and hairy man with a fat cigar in his mouth and hair on his head that stuck up like ears. The other was tall, lean, and…well…BLUE. Loki silently placed his things down on a side table and went back into the kitchen to stare at Tony in confusion, Steve and Tony stopped talking to regard Loki with joined looks of concern. Loki's eyebrows pulled together as he pointed his thumb in the direction of the living room,
"There are strangers on your couch. And one of them is…blue." He told them. Steve laughed,
"Oh yeah. Wolvie's here with Nightcrawler." He said to Tony. Tony hopped off the kitchen stool,
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" he whined as he went into the living, Steve and Loki trailed behind.
"HEY GUYS!" Tony threw his arms out in greeting, and both men smiled at him and got off the couch to hug him. Loki stood rather uncomfortably by the door. The men spoke amongst each other for a few minutes, catching up on events that had happened in their separate lives. Tony turned to Loki and gently grabbed his elbow, pulling him closer to the group,
"Guys, this is Loki. I told you about him, he's the one we're trying to help. Loki; this is Wolverine, or Logan," He gestured to the short, scruffy man and Logan only grunted in response, "And this is Nightcrawler, or Kurt. They're from the X-Men." Loki couldn't stop staring at Kurt; he was as tall as Loki, with skin the color of dark indigo, and eyes like molten gold. Kurt stepped forward with startling speed,
"Guten tag, my friend!" He was as loud and enthusiastic as Thor, with a heavy accent that Loki was sure he recognized, he was extending his hand out to Loki. Loki glanced at it and was taken further aback to see that this man hand only three fingers, Kurt saw Loki's reaction and gently pulled his hand away,
"I'm sorry." He said softly, as if he'd offended Loki somehow, and Loki saw this look of heart-broken rejection in the other man's golden eyes,
"NO!" He suddenly grabbed Kurt's hand in both of his, "I am sorry. I didn't mean to hesitate." He smiled honestly at Kurt and the man's face light up like it was Christmas morning. This man was obviously very uncomfortable with his own appearance, Loki thought, and despite his sweet, cheerful disposition there was fear and uncertainty guiding his movements. He was like Loki, unsure if others will accept him and terrified of rejection- of being alone -yet knowing that there was little he could do to change the ways people looked at him. Loki decided he'd be kind to this man, and perhaps learn something from him.
"So…you know magic?" He asked Kurt, Kurt laughed lightly and shook his head,
"Nein. Not at all." Loki cocked an eyebrow at him, "I have a friend. She is a very talented sorceress. I am hoping that she shall be able to help you." Kurt explained. The other three were talking among themselves when Thor came in from outside, he was soaking wet in just a pair of shorts, but regardless, he crushed the three other men in a hug and they all groaned in unison,
"HELLO friend Wolverine!" He bellowed, "It is wonderful to see you again!" he released them. Kurt and Loki were laughing at them. Wolverine didn't seem to really care that he was all wet now,
"Yeah, nice seeing you too, Blondie." He grumbled. Loki figured that that was just Wolverine's natural disposition. Wolverine was lighting up another fat cigar, Kurt sighed at him,
"How dare you smoke those disgusting things in Tony's expensive house…" Loki flinched as Kurt snatched that cigar from Logan's fingers before it touched his lips and flung it through the open back door, all faster than Loki could blink. WOAH, he thought, how incredibly fast this man is. Loki wondered if Kurt had ever used throwing knives. Logan didn't even react to Kurt's sudden movement; he just looked up at him,
"Sorry MOTHER, where are my manners?" he said with heavy sarcasm. Tony was making "tsk tsk" sounds while waving a finger at Logan and the others laughed. Logan punched Tony in the arm. Kurt threw his arm around Loki's shoulders and Loki yelped out loud at the man's sudden closeness, but Kurt didn't seem to notice,
"Let us go in another room, my friend. Perhaps we will be able to speak in peace then." He was laughing and gently guiding Loki to the kitchen. Loki noted that Kurt had obvious trouble pronouncing "TH" in his speech, and thought it sounded rather amusing. Kurt jumped up unto the kitchen counter and crossed one leg over the other,
"As I was saying earlier," he began as Loki took a seat behind the island. Kurt's tail was idly twirling around the counter's edge, "I have a good friend who performs magic. Her name is Amanda, she resides in Limbo. She is the reason Tony called me, hoping that I could get her to change you to your natural state." Loki looked up from watching Kurt's tail,
"Really? Interesting. And how do we intend to go to her?" He wondered, Kurt chuckled,
"WE do not. I shall go to Limbo and retrieve her. I've gone to visit her many times." Kurt explained. Loki still looked very confused,
"How can you get there?"
"I teleport!" Kurt exclaimed.
"But, you said you don't know any magic." Loki argued.
"It is not magic. I am a mutant, and teleportation is my birth-given ability."
"Then why can I not go with you?" Loki really wanted an opportunity to see Limbo. Kurt frowned,
"I cannot. I haven't the power to carry someone through inter-dimensional travel with me. The strain would most likely kill us both." He sounded very disappointed by this fact.
"Oh." Loki was bummed, he'd really wanted to go, and was pretty sure that this house arrest band wouldn't have much effect on him leaving the dimension.
"So when will you go get her?" He asked Kurt, hoping to move things along quickly. Kurt's smile returned,
"Whenever you are ready!" He said. Loki stood up,
"Then immediately, please." He realized he sounded pretty desperate, but didn't care, "I'd like to meet her, and find out if she can even help me or not." He explained. Kurt didn't seem bothered by his forwardness,
"Of course!" He leaped off the counter, "Just let me speak to my companion and I shall be off." They returned to the living room to find everyone sitting around on the floor, drinking beer and laughing loudly. Kurt sat down by Logan and began speaking into his ear, Logan was shaking his head, then waved at Loki, ushering him to come closer,
"Sit down, Red! Relax. Have a beer." He threw a can at Loki. Loki looked appalled, but Kurt spoke for him,
"Logan…he needs our help. And he is correct in the fact that we don't even know if Amanda can help him. We should find out now." He was explaining. Logan grunted and wrapped an arm around Kurt's slim waist, holding him in place,
"I say no. I say, sit, relax. It's only lunchtime. We got all day." He was looking at Loki. Kurt sighed and gave Loki a very sad look as if to say "I'm so sorry". Loki just smiled softly, he figured Logan was right and there was no harm in waiting a little longer. So he sat next to Thor and opened his beer. Their summertime relaxation was rudely interrupted by an alarm that resonated through the mansion, and all the Avengers groaned loudly. Kurt and Logan cracked up.
"Off to save the world then?" Logan asked, they were all getting up from the floor.
"Probably not." Steve said, "Probably just a bank robber or AWOL killer robot. But regardless…" He stuck his head out the back door to address the others that were still in the pool, "AVENGERS! ASSEMBLE!" He shouted. Thor was twirling Mjolnir in anticipation; he had easily "magicked" himself into his armor and now waited for the others to be ready. Nightcrawler was pulling uniforms out of a backpack he must have brought with him,
"Shall we join you?" He asked Captain America. Steve smiled,
"Of course! The more, the merrier." Steve clapped him on the shoulder. In a few more minutes all the Avengers stood ready, along with Nightcrawler and Wolverine. Kurt turned to Loki,
"Will you come with us? Even though I realize you can't fight." Loki was shaking his head, he stuck his leg out and showed them the little, black box strapped to his left ankle,
"Oooo." Kurt and Logan winced in unison, as if they completely understood Loki's suffering.
"I am sorry, my friend. I promise we shall return when the trouble is dealt with." Kurt smiled. Loki nodded and waved to them as they rushed to the Quinjet hanger,
"Good luck." He said, and then he was alone in the big mansion. He momentarily considered turning on the news to see if whatever trouble there was would be shown, but decided against it, then picked up his book from earlier and sat down on the couch.
Tony really hated it when Steve was right. Apparently Reed Richards had tried to make a robot that would be able to combat Victor von Doom's Doombots more effectively, but he unfortunately, accidentally made it too smart. So it decided to rebel; and if you can ever count on Reed to make something of quality, it's when he's building a killer robot. Thankfully it was just ONE robot. If Wolverine could just get close enough to it, it would be metal mincemeat, but it kept blasting Logan in the face whenever he got too close. Despite his best efforts, Tony couldn't stay focused on the fight, his mind drifted to thoughts of Loki and worry about the fact that they had left him alone. Tony was really afraid they'd get home to find the poor man dead with a bottle of vodka in his hands. Tony had been struck to the ground twice now, and didn't have a clue as to what was going on. He groaned,
"Can this be over already so I can go home to him?" He mumbled to himself, but of course his internal microphone was on and Clint was the first to quip in,
"Get home to who?" He chided.
"Loki?" Peter joined in. Tony groaned again.
"Boys. Focus." Steve commanded. Clint was helping Tony up off the ground again,
"Hey, I think we totally got this handled. So if you really wanna go check on him…" He said and Peter was nodding. Tony caught Steve's eye and he was giving him a "don't even think about it" look, but Tony smiled,
"Ya know what? I totally will. Thanks guys. Be careful." And with that he was gone, jetting off over the buildings and back toward the mansion. Steve sighed in exasperation.
Tony stumbled into his workshop and out of his armor, and then continued to stumble up the stairs and into the living room. The sight he found made his heart skip a beat. Loki was curled on the couch, hands tucked under one cheek and knees pulled up to his chest, asleep. His book had fallen in a heap on the floor so Tony gently picked it up and placed it on the coffee table. He sat down on the floor and just watched Loki for a few minutes. No one could ever argue that Loki was the pinnacle of beauty, flawless in every physical way and even more so when he was asleep. Maybe because sleep brought peace to his features, instead of the usual pain and sorrow that Tony saw there. Tony laid his head on the couch, forehead barely touching Loki's, and softly ran his fingers through the ginger curls till he found himself falling asleep.