Author's Note: I cannot express how TERRIBLY SORRY I am that you've had to wait so long for this chapter. I am so so sorry. But I'm a senior in high school, and I'm taking two AP classes at the moment, and I have college crap to worry about. I'll try to be better about updating, I promise. As always, review! Tell me how you feel, what you think, etc etc. -Rinn

Chapter Five
Burnin' For You

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The intensity in the boy's eyes burned like the sun. He was staring at the small gadget, sweat pouring down his back. Small electrodes were stuck here, there, and everywhere, all over his fair skin. The calculator was floating. That much was obvious. Not only that, but it was floating in the clear sight of his father, Dr. Bruce Banner aka The Incredible Hulk, and his uncle, Mr. Tony Stark aka Ironman. Loki was scared. What did this mean? Why could he do this? Maybe there was some strange magnet inside his skin; yeah, that seemed plausible in his fourteen year old mind. Finally, he couldn't take it any longer, and the calculator clattered down onto the metallic lab table.

"I-I'm sorry," he stuttered. "My brain is going all fuzzy-"

Bruce walked over to wrap his arms around his son, who seemed to be on the verge of tears. Loki buried his face into his father's shoulder, and let them fall. What am I going to do? he thought. What am I going to tell Peter? Or Mom? Or Chloe?

Tony cleared his throat. "That's enough for today. Loki, Peter's working on his homework up in his room... I'm sure he'd love some company."

Loki sat still as his father pulled off the electrodes, and slowly tugged on his long-sleeved Matt&Kim shirt. He shuffled onto the elevator, and pushed the button for Banner floor. Once the doors had closed, he let himself break down again. He was a freak of nature. A loser. He didn't deserve to be around people.

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Peter: Hey.
Peter: Loke? You said you were gonna come up and hang out...?
Peter: You aren't in your room...
Peter: Are you okay?

Loki had taken a shower, and came back to find his phone beeping incessantly. Peter had sent him four messages over the last couple hours, and Loki knew that he should go and explain, explain to his boyfriend what had happened and the test that the two older men had performed and how scared he was. But he could do that in person.

He dressed comfortably in his favorite sweatpants and fuzzy green socks and a Broadway Musicals Through The Ages t-shirt. He tucked his phone in his pocket and headed up.

Peter acted just as Loki assumed he would.

"Ohmygod Loki are you okay? I was so worried and I tried calling you and texting you and your mom said she didn't know where you had gone and your dad and my dad just POOF disappeared and I was really scared and-" Peter stopped talking when he noticed the tears trailing down Loki's cheeks. He carefully stepped towards the younger boy. "Loke? Baby, what's going on?"

All Loki could handle was to step forward and wrap his arms around Peter's neck, burying his face into Old Spice smelling flesh and just letting Peter hold him.

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Steve listened to all that Tony told him, and heaved a heavy sigh. "I guess we all knew that there was a possibility of Loki's powers returning. And think about how stressed the kid's been, with all the added schoolwork. And him and Peter finally told us about their relationship, that they kept a secret for a very long time. These powers that he's showing, may be symptoms of stress."

"Bruce's pretty broken up about it." Tony sipped at his coffee. "You should've seen how scared he was, Steve. Loki started to cry. I just... I didn't know what to say, or do."

Steve gently kissed his husband. "Family Dinner Night, that's what we need. Call for Chinese, Tony."

The Avengers Family only had All Family Dinner Nights when something bad was going on, or something stressing needed to be discussed. Tony sent out a mass text to everyone, both adult and child, to tell what time to be up in the penthouse. He then called their favorite Chinese restaurant, that had the best in all of New York City.

By the time the clock struck 7:15, everyone was seated around the large table. All was quiet, with whispers being passed back and forth between teenagers, and Peter stroked Loki's palm with his thumb, and the adults all looking at each other solemnly. The food was served, but no one ate much.

"Loki," Bruce started, looking across the table at the boy, "There's something that we have to tell you."

Loki nodded slowly.

Tony cleared his throat. "Actually, Bruce, it might be better to start with the clip..." Bruce nodded, and Tony activated the holographic television image. The clip started. It showed a man with godly powers, sneering, cursing the citizen's of "Midgard," and wearing a helmet that resembled reindeer. What most irked the teenagers, however, was how much of a likeness there was between their Loki and that man on the screen. That man was cruel, evil, and manipulative; their Loki was sweet, loving, and kind. "Loki, do you remember us telling you about... about the man who tried to sacrifice our world..." Loki's eyes widened. "Loki... that was you... but not you, at the same time... goddamnit, Bruce, do you have a better way to explain this?"

"Loki, you have to understand that I am your dad, and Darcy is your mom, but your soul is that of Loki of Asgard, the god who tried to take control of our planet," Bruce explained slowly.

"No..." Loki started. "No, that can't be true!"

Darcy started to cry. "We love you honey, more than anything in the world. We didn't want you to have to find out this way-"

Loki stood up, fuming. "YOU'RE LIARS! ALL OF YOU! I HATE YOU AND I NEVER WANT TO SPEAK TO YOU AGAIN!" He ran from the room.

"Loki, come back!" Peter ran out after him.

Matthew looked at the clip, and then at the adults around him. "Wait... that man and Loki share the same soul? That makes no logical sense. That Loki's soul was obviously tainted with evil. Loki... He's not like that at all."

Thor ruffled his son's shaggy blonde hair and smiled sadly. "No, our Loki is not like that. But they share one soul, one bond, all the same."

Markus intertwined his fingers with Chloe's beneath the table, and watch her expression turn more and more sad by the minute. Things were not well in the Avengers Family. Not well at all.

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Loki was hiding up on the roof, where he knew Peter wouldn't find him. Red hot tears of rage were pouring down his cheeks, and his cheeks were scarlet. The door opened, and Loki turned around, ready to scream at whoever it was. It was Steve, looking calm as always. He leaned against the wall and simply looked at his nephew.

"Your parents are worried." He said. Loki scoffed. "Peter's worried as well. Tony's trying to calm him down." At that sentence Loki got a little sad, because he never meant to hurt Peter. "Loki, your mother and father tried two years to have a child. You were their miracle. They weren't lying when they said that they love you."

"I know-"

"And you aren't that man on the screen. You may have been once, but that was a past life, kiddo. This is now."

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