Such Fragile Creatures

by Kemurikat

The Avengers re-imagined! LOKI falls to Earth and awakens in a mortal form. Thor decides to pursue his love for Jane Foster. The fledgling Avengers team takes shape. Asgard & Midgard collide in ways unexpected! AU. Multiple (and some unexpected) pairings. OC. Warning: bad language & mature subject matter. Myth & Movie. -WIP-

4. Of The Past and Present

*Avengers Fan-fiction by Kemurikat*

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Such Fragile Creatures: Act 04 - Of The Past and Present

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A metallic dark-blue Porsche Panamera Turbo S sat waiting for the well-dressed trio as they exited the Stark mansion. A smiling, bulky-looking man the women had never met before stood casually beside the vehicle, leaning against the right-hand passenger door.

"Ladies, meet Harold Hogan. 'Happy,' this is Miss Jane Foster and Miss Darcy Lewis." Stark said, introducing his two female companions the minute they were all within earshot.

"Pleased to meet you both. Just call me Happy," Hogan replied, shaking the hands of his lovely new acquaintances. So, this is the Jane Foster Tony's going crazy over. As always, the guy can sure pick 'em.

He held the door open for Ms. Foster, gesturing for her to sit in the vehicle's passenger seat. The minute Foster was inside, he did the same to Darcy Lewis, ushering her into the seat behind Jane.

"Boss, you sure you don't want me to drive tonight?"

"I'll give you a call if I run into any problems," Stark replied with a grin and entered the driver's seat. He took a brief look at the vehicle's dashboard, adjusted everything to make himself comfortable and revved the Porsche SUV's engine loudly, a look of approval on his face. "Make yourself at home, Hap," he winked and purposefully peeled off in a spectacular cloud of burning rubber.

"Where are we going?" Jane asked curiously as they blazed a trail along Pacific Coast Highway One.

"You'll see," Stark said cryptically.

---

"She can't swim, you idiot!" Alvi yelled in a panic, running hastily toward the pool.

What have I done? Loki thought in alarm.

Without a moment's hesitation, Loki jumped into the water, ignoring the sharp jabbing pain from his right shoulder and left hand as he swam toward a sinking Bryn. She was wide-eyed and struggling when he wound his arms around her waist from behind, kicking madly with his feet and legs toward the pool's surface.

Alvi had jumped in moments later, hauling both him and Bryn to the shallow end and onto the pool's steps.

Gritting his teeth and grimacing, Loki coughed and curled into a ball, his body naked again from the loss of the towel around his waist which now lay at the bottom of the pool.

"Cough it up, darling, you'll be fine," Alvi said soothingly, rubbing Bryn's back as she expelled the last of the water from her lungs. He glared at Adam who was curled up beside them.

"Here, let's get you out of the water," Mars said as he tried to help their guest.

"Don't touch me," Loki hissed, glancing menacingly at Mars with red-rimmed eyes. "Leave me...be." The terrible throbbing from his recently unbandaged injuries had made him nauseous, his vision scattering into a million sparkling white stars.

"Adam?" Bryn said weakly, turning to face him. He jumped in to get me...even if he knew he might...shit. "Don't move him. Lemme have a look first."

"What are you doing?" Alvi asked, perturbed. "You nearly drowned."

"How the hell was he supposed to know I couldn't swim?" Bryn argued back, her voice hoarse from the strain of coughing so hard. "It's okay, Adam, it's me. I just want to have a look. Make sure nothing got broken again."

Loki uncurled himself slowly onto his back, grimacing as he propped himself against the steps with his legs, his body partly buoyant from being halfway in the water. His eyes were tightly shut but he could feel Brynhild's gentle, probing fingers on his most painful injuries. Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked at her. "Forgive me...had I known...you couldn't swim, I would not have...pushed you...into the water," he labored to say, wincing in pain.

"Guess this proves you're not a mind-reader," Bryn replied with a small smile. "Doesn't feel like you broke anything but your bruises just got, um, bigger and meaner-looking."

"That's fine," Loki rasped dismissively, gazing up at the darkening sky.

"Come on, let's get you dried up and into some clothes," Bryn said gently. "Otherwise, I'm gonna start to think you're allergic to pants."

Chuckling weakly, Loki was immensely relieved of two things. The first was that he hadn't re-broken any of his bones and the second was that he'd genuinely understood Brynhild's joke, having recently acquainted himself with the word 'allergy.'

He gritted his teeth when the humans did their best to help him stand and leave the pool. He then felt a warm, dry towel as it was wrapped around his waist by Mars. Under the circumstances, Loki had to admit that along with their generous hospitality, his mortal body was well cared for here. Also, he had grown rather accustomed to the trio of humans and hadn't detected any sinister motivations beyond their eagerness to help him recover from his injuries.

There's nothing I can do but watch and wait. I will stay with them as I heal, study and learn everything I can about Earth and the limits of my new form.

I haven't much choice.

---

It was an Italian restaurant called Pecorino's, a tiny, unassuming place with a red-tiled roof, wedged between a white stucco modern art gallery and a beige-colored building with Roman columns on San Vicente Boulevard in Los Angeles. Jane hadn't known what to expect when she and Darcy were escorted to the restaurant's main entrance...and it certainly wasn't the sight that greeted her eyes when she stepped past the threshold.

The interior was warm and elegant, with a simple, old world, European charm. The left wall looked like it was torn out of an old brick house and decorated with paintings and a large, golden rectangular mirror. The roof was warm white with large oak beams running across it, the same wood and finish used on all the tables and chairs. The lighting was incandescent, much like the feeling of soft candlelight from beautiful wrought-iron chandeliers and several table lamps. Red curtains hung on brass fixtures that were drawn to separate parts of the restaurant for different functions.

There were also a surprisingly limited amount of tables inside the restaurant that screamed Reservation Only and on a Saturday night, for the restaurant to be completely empty, it meant that Stark had bought out the entire place for a private dinner.

Jane's heart rate increased with some anxiety.

They were lead to a nook at the back of the restaurant where a table was especially prepared for them, the black table cloth draped over it was a clear indication since all the other tables were covered with white linens.

"Miss Potts will be out shortly," a smiling man with a thick build and a chef's uniform told them the minute they took their seats.

"Mario, this is Miss Jane Foster, her friend and associate, Miss Darcy Lewis," Stark said. "So, what's on Raffaele's menu tonight?" he added, eager to hear what his favorite chef had prepared for them this evening. Mario then promptly described their special five course dinner along with recommended vintage wines that complemented each delectable dish.

"Perfect. You and your brother have exquisite taste," Stark said proudly.

The man simply nodded humbly and walked toward the kitchen.

Soon, a statuesque blond clicked her way toward their table from behind a curtained area of the restaurant.

"You're looking lovely as always, Pepper," Stark stood to greet her, the two giving each other a warm hug. "Jane Foster, Darcy Lewis, meet Miss Pepper Potts, a dear friend and colleague to whom I owe...well, everything."

Pepper showed a hint of confusion when she glanced at Stark. She'd never been introduced in that manner before. He was acting a bit strange tonight. Glancing at the two young women sitting at their table, her eyes settled on Jane Foster's lovely face and wondered if her presence was responsible. She was somewhat familiar with Jane's personal profile but she'd have to review the young woman's file. From what she could recall, Foster seemed just as brilliant as Stark, though not as widely known or published within the scientific community.

"Pleased to meet you both," Pepper replied, shaking their hands firmly.

As Mario approached them and presented their appetizers, Jane noticed the frequent curious glances she received from Pepper.

The evening progressed with an excellent dinner - the best Italian food Jane and Darcy had ever tasted - along with good conversation and a generous amount of red and white wine.

"I think I've had enough to drink, thanks," Jane giggled, covering the top of her wine glass with her hand to prevent Stark from refilling it. "You trying to get me drunk?"

"Now, why in the world would I do something like that?" Stark replied innocently. "Sorry. I'm usually with people who have a high tolerance for liquor. Especially here." He re-corked a bottle of vintage red wine and placed it back in the metal chiller. "I think I've had enough for tonight too."

At that statement, Pepper stared at Stark. The man was definitely acting strange tonight. Stark, practicing restraint? It was very unlike him! She began to suspect that there was something other than professional courtesy behind Stark's invitation to Jane Foster.

Jane caught Pepper glancing at her again and it began to make her uncomfortable. What was the woman's problem? Unless...she and Stark were involved more personally in private. It was the only logical explanation...and since Stark had the nasty reputation for being a playboy...great. That was the last thing she needed, getting involved in some crazy 'love triangle' with Stark at the center. She definitely had to gets some facts straightened between them before things got out of hand. Besides, she was still in love with Thor.

"Will...Pepper be joining us on the trip back to the mansion?" Jane asked with a smile, addressing Stark.

"Um...not that I know of," Stark answered, confused. He looked at Pepper who was just as baffled. "Why'd you say that?"

"Well, if you'll both pardon me for saying it, in my opinion, the two of you make a cute couple," Jane observed. She caught Darcy's sharp look that said: 'What the hell are you doing?'

When Stark and Potts looked shocked, Jane regretted her words.

"I'm sorry. That was totally inappropriate of me to say out loud. Now I know I've had too much to drink," she said apologetically, flushing slightly with embarrassment.

Rather than the reprimands Jane expected to receive from her comment, she and Darcy sat staring at both Stark and Potts who were laughing so hard they could barely breath.

"I guess...I guess we do make a 'cute couple', eh, Pepper," Stark managed to say, wiping tears from his eyes.

"Yeah, maybe in a totally different lifetime," Pepper giggled out, clutching her stomach. "That's sweet of you to say, Jane, but no, Tony and I aren't a couple. We'd drive each other crazy."

"Nah. Pepper and I are just too much alike but we'll remain close friends for the rest of our lives," Stark said, looking at Pepper fondly and giving her a warm kiss on the cheek. She blushed slightly.

"Oh, I see," Jane said, a bit disappointed and a little worried. "I'm really sorry. Will you excuse me? I-I need some air." She abruptly stood up and briskly walked toward the front entrance of the restaurant and out the double doors.

Stark, worried, followed after her.

Crap, Darcy thought, nibbling at her lower lip.

Pepper then turned her attention to Darcy, who visibly gulped.

"Mind telling me what's going on?"

---

Dinner was healthy and satisfying as Loki remained behind after his human caretakers refused his offer to help them clean up the food dishes. Wearing only a pair of comfortable camouflage-green lounge pants, Loki stood against the railing of the Bourgeoisie building's roof staring at the busy human city of nighttime San Francisco below him. His right arm was in a light sling, his left hand wrapped in flexible bandages. He'd reluctantly agreed to endure another 24 hours of being a mummified invalid if it made Brynhild less worried about him. For the moment, the persistent female knew more about his new human body than he did.

Resting his chin on his left forearm on the railing, Loki sighed as the inevitability of his new fate slowly sunk into him. When he was immortal, he'd never seriously pondered things like death, old age or sickness since there was no real need to. It was true that death for an immortal was possible but in order for that to happen it would take a near cataclysmic event, say for example the coming Ragnarok, to truly destroy them. (In his case, diving face-first into a cosmic maelstrom or so he thought) Death, at least for him, was not something to be feared. However, in his current mortal human body...death was now a constant companion along with sickness and old age. The fragility of his new existence was...daunting. Loki admitted to himself that what he...dreaded most was neither death nor sickness...but old age. As a mortal, he could no longer sustain his youthful appearance by eating Iduna's golden apples. The thought of seeing his mortal body slowly wasting away was...terrifying.

His eyes caught sight of an old man several meters below him, hobbling along carefully with the assistance of an elaborate, four-footed metal cane that he held before him. From the brightly lit street, Loki could see that the old man had long, shaggy white hair, saggy, wrinkled skin and dirty, disheveled clothing as he walked along the sidewalk with much difficulty. People on the street were giving the old man ample room to move around but were generally avoiding him. It also looked like the man hadn't bathed in months. Were the old and helpless of this world simply left to fend for themselves?

Just behind the rumpled old man was a well-dressed couple. They were happy, holding hands and were similarly advanced in years as the solitary old man that inched along in front of them. When the couple neared him, they too gave him a wide girth when they walked past him. Perhaps the old man was an exception.

"Whatcha looking at?" Bryn asked as she stood beside him on the tips of her toes, looking down at the street below them. When she rolled back on her heels, the top of her head only reached to just below his chin.

From her wet clothes she'd changed into a tight, black, spaghetti-strap tank top and 'Daisy Duke style' beige cargo shorts with rhinestone-accented black Birkenstocks.

"Do you see that old man over there," Loki said, trying to point with his bandaged left hand. "Why is he so dirty and why is everyone avoiding him?"

"Oh," Bryn said sadly. "Poor guy, I think he's homeless."

"Homeless?" Loki asked in confusion. "Why would that man be 'homeless?' Has he not a family to care for him?"

Why's Adam so upset? Don't they have homeless people in Iceland? Bryn thought. "Well, I guess this guy either lost his family or they abandoned him."

Abandoned? It was a word that sent a spear of raw emotion straight into Loki's chest. There was a sickening feeling in his stomach and he suddenly felt lightheaded.

"You all right?" Bryn asked, worriedly. Adam looked like he was about to throw up.

"I just...need to sit down," Loki said faintly as he spun around and promptly sat on the concrete rooftop, looking dazed. "I'm fine...I just...need a moment."

"You...still in pain?" She sat down beside him on the hard concrete.

"The pain from my hand and shoulder is manageable," Loki replied softly.

"I...wasn't talking about...physical pain," Bryn said slowly. Crap. Can of worms, girl. What am I doing?

Loki glanced at Brynhild beside him sharply. For a mortal girl, she was surprisingly perceptive. He was normally very adept at disguising how he felt...and yet, oddly enough, his finely honed emotional discipline was slowly eroding in Brynhild's presence. Why her? How could this mortal female even begin to comprehend the magnitude of his pain? He was then reminded of Alvis's warning earlier.

"Brynhild?" Loki began, uncertain whether he should ask her but he was curious.

"Just call me Bryn," she said with a smile, "Brynhild was my grandmother's name."

"Very well," Loki confirmed, amused by the human propensity for informal 'nicknames.' He took a slight pause and a deep breath. "Bryn...has something happened to you recently...involving your family?"

"They told you then?" Bryn answered flatly.

"No. It was I that noticed your sadness. Your guardians only hinted at it and Alvis gave me strict warning that it was a 'delicate matter' and if I should ask you, to do so with 'extreme caution.'"

She smiled warmly and hugged her legs to her chin. They're my 'guardians' now, huh?

"Yeah, Alvi would say that."

There was a momentary pause.

"I...suppose it's only fair that if you share your pain with me...then perhaps, I could share a little of my pain with you," Loki stated slowly. He reluctantly decided that it was the only effective way to coax her to talk.

Bryn stared at Adam in shock. "Yeah...I guess that's...fair." Her strong curiosity about her handsome Science Experiment's past renewed itself. She felt excited and guilty at the same time. Leaning back on her arms, she stretched out her legs and looked wistfully at the sparsely starred sky wishing she was out in the country, sitting on soft grass, the sky filled with stars too numerous to count. Where'd that come from? She laughed to herself. Why was it that whenever she was near Adam, she thought of the wildest things!

"You want to hear the long or condensed version?" Bryn said, before she lost her nerve. Why was Adam's closeness sparking inside her this weird feeling of trust, compelling her to open up to him? Was it because they'd both recently lost their families to circumstances beyond their control?

"Pardon me?"

"I'm just wondering, you know, to be 'fair', if I should tell you my whole story or not," Bryn replied matter-of-factly. "I mean, let's face it...I hardly know you. I'm not the type to spill the whole can of beans to a total stranger." Geez, I'm not that desperate for attention.

"I don't follow," Loki said, flabbergasted. He'd read the definition for what Bryn was doing but the art of Earth-speech 'slang' still escaped him. He needed access to a computer to further his research on the subject, preferably his own.

Oh, yeah. I keep forgetting this guy's a foreigner and takes things literally. He says he's from Iceland, but why does the guy talk like Peter O'Toole's understudy from the set of Lawrence of Arabia, Bryn thought with a laugh.

'Can of beans' aside, Loki noted the first part of what Bryn meant to say. Clever girl, caught that, did you?

"I did say, 'in all fairness', hadn't I? Very well. I would very much like to hear the whole story and in turn, I will tell you mine," Loki conceded. "We're curious about each other and one way to improve upon our status as complete strangers is to talk about our pasts."

Bryn tried not to make a face. Adam sounded like one of her professors at Harvard. She then saddened at the memory and swallowed back a lump in her throat.

Loki caught the flash of pain in her eyes and asked gently, "What happened to your family?"

His direct question made her look away and stare up at the night sky.

"My family..." Bryn began, her voice distant, haunted. "Before I lived in San Francisco, I used to live in Somerville, Massachusetts. My parents were both very successful doctors and they owned this gorgeous clinic on the fifteenth floor of a luxury office building in Downtown Boston. My mom, Tania, was a Pediatrician and my dad, Randy, was a Family Physician. Since I was their only child, I had everything I could possibly want or need. Love, stuff, whatever it was, I had it all. Also, my parents made sure I didn't grow up a spoiled brat, either. My life was...welll, perfect."

She looked at Adam to emphasize her words with an angry, defiant gleam in her eyes. "I know it's conceited to say, but I don't care coz it's the truth." She fought back the tears that threatened to fill her eyes as she looked away and up at the night sky again. "I was studying to become a doctor too. I fast-tracked through high school, graduated with honors and got into Harvard. It was near the end of my second year of Harvard Medical School...when..." Her voice wavered and she choked on a sob.

He felt the raw sting of Bryn's pain and Loki shifted uncomfortably where he sat. Part of him sympathized with the mortal girl. He wasn't a heartless, unfeeling fiend though he had spent a great deal of time splendidly disguised as one.

(Loki had become increasingly silent, secretive and sullen in the time period leading up to Thor's Coronation which was mistakenly interpreted as 'jealously' by Thor's closest friends, particularly by Sif. Moreover, taking into account Loki's recent confrontation with Odin All-Father about the traumatic truth of his real nature, Loki wasn't quite sure of anything anymore.)

Distracted by his own pain, Loki failed to see that both he and Bryn's expressions were exactly alike. They were lost and fragile as a pair butterflies caught in a rainstorm in the wake of tremendous loss and heartache.

"Forgive me, Bryn. It was wrong of me to have pressed you for answers you're clearly not ready to speak of," Loki stated gently, gazing at the sad profile of her face.

"No...it's okay, Adam. I...I want to tell you," Bryn said seriously, meeting Adam's gaze and nearly losing the power of speech in the unfathomable depth of his strangely ageless, emerald eyes. Before he'd abruptly looked away she was on the verge of...something. A hidden truth so...big...that it seemed almost...incomprehensible. Of course, that was a ridiculous idea altogether. Her mind was so muddled at the moment, it was hedging the border of delusion.

Loki was about to say something when Bryn did it for him, returning to the story of her past. He sat patiently and listened.

"My parent's had been putting off this vacation to visit the Inca ruins of Machu Pichu in Peru for like basically ever. So, finally, near the end of my second year of Harvard Med, they finally went. I wanted to go too but I had to concentrate on my thesis for the school year." She twisted to face Adam. "Have you ever gotten a really bad feeling about something that you can't ignore, but at the same time you can't figure out what the hell it is?"

"All my life..." Loki murmured dejectedly, staring at nothing in particular.

Bryn was too caught up in her own story to note the significance of Adam's softly spoken statement.

"This really bad feeling crept up on me when I waved goodbye to my parents as their plane took off. At the time, I thought I was just being paranoid," Bryn continued then frowned. "All it took was one phone call in the middle of Psychopathology class." She let the overflow of tears fall from her eyes as her lips quivered. "That was it...one fucking phone call and my entire world crashes down around me."

She wiped angrily at the wetness on her cheeks and tried not to sound bitter but a large part of her was still raging at Fate for the sudden death of her parents. "Know what the best part was," she added sarcastically through clenched teeth, "turns out my parents owed the bank a shitload of money and the bank, being the fucking bank, took away everything! Like, what does the bank care if I'm homeless or broke, right? At twenty-fucking-two! If it hadn't been for the spending money I saved up tending bar at the local pub at Harvard, I would've ended up living on the streets of Boston scrounging for food in trash bins or in a halfway house getting gang-raped by crack addicts," she ranted.

Loki's eyes widened at the horrific images Bryn's words had conjured in his mind as he stared appallingly at her. There were many words he'd read in the human Dictionary and Thesaurus that, in his opinion, represented the most vile, repulsively offensive crimes that the barbaric population of Earth inflicted on one another. Foremost among the crimes was - May The Nine Waves Curse Them For All Eternity: pedophiles; along with cold-blooded murderers, mob-lynching, public humiliation and execution, to name a few more. Last, but certainly not the least, was the unforgivable act of rape.

(Sadly, they're just a handful of the injustices and incorrigible crimes of humanity that Loki won't realize the broad scope of until he accesses the internet.)

"I was so devastated and angry that I just wanted to get away," Bryn continued. "Get the hell as far away from my old life as I possibly could." She started scratching at the scabs of the healing gashes on her arms. "I used every cent I saved up and bought a first class, one-way ticket to San Francisco." She then grinned triumphantly when she added, "I managed to take one thing with me before I left Massachusetts though. My dad gave me a car, a vintage hotrod that I'm gonna learn to restore and modify someday."

The conspiratorial quality of Bryn's expression thoroughly intrigued Loki.

"It was kind of my personal 'fuck you and thanks for nothing' card I left behind for the bank. I went to my dad's storage garage, drove away in my hotrod and went straight to the airport where a Harvard buddy of mine got me a great deal on cargo prices." Bryn's face lit up with pride. "I even burnt down my dad's garage - I didn't want some fat, slimy bank exec driving around in my dad's favorite car collection that he fixed up and built with his bare hands. Then I took all the documents my dad stored in the safe at home. Good thing he taught me the combo for the safe in case of emergencies. There was some extra money in there too. Anyway, when I landed in San Francisco, I drove around in a daze till the sun went down and stopped my car at Buena Vista Park. I walked around for a bit till I found a bench and sat down." She hugged her legs tightly, her chin on her knees as she spoke softly. "Then it all hit me. That's when I realized that I hadn't really come to terms with what happened to me yet. I broke down right there on a bench in the middle of a public park, surrounded by a city full of strangers in the middle of the night...and that's how Alvi and Mars found me." Her mouth had a small, warm smile. "So, there you have it. That's what happened to my family and how I got here." She turned to Adam and shrugged.

Loki returned Bryn's gaze and stayed silent. The human female had told him quite a tale. It was now his turn to...construct his own...or had he wanted to? He also had the option to tell her the truth in terms she could understand. His internal debate wrangled inconclusively and caused him to unwittingly lean on his injured hand.

"By Odin's Shaggy Old Beard!" Loki cursed loudly in Asgardian. He sat cross-legged staring menacingly at his throbbing hand. Beside him, Bryn laughed herself to pieces. He turned his angry and annoyed gaze on her but instead of instilling fear into the human female, she laughed even harder.

"You...you should...see...your face," Bryn burbled out between fits of giggling as she clutched her stomach tightly, lolling clumsily onto her back, tears of mirth glistening at the corners of her eyes. "Like...your hand...broke itself just to...piss you off," she babbled on. The stars above her swam in happy circles, her stomach aching with delight. "It's...the funniest thing...I've ever seen." She broke down into another fit of helpless giggling, drumming her feet on the concrete at irregular intervals.

At the sight of Bryn in such an undignified state, his annoyance and anger gradually faded as Loki's frown turned into a smile, which then became a wide grin as he eventually succumbed to Bryn's infectious laughter.

"How exactly, may I ask, had my face seemed to you?" Loki asked with feigned superiority.

Bryn lay on her back on the hard concrete as she looked at him, wiping at the tears of laughter that had rolled down her cheeks. She basked in the pleasant afterglow of unbridled amusement, something she hadn't felt in a very long time. "Oh, man, my sore gut." She rubbed her stomach to that effect. When she caught the patient, expectant gaze of Adam looking straight at her, she remembered his question and she slowly brought herself to a sitting position. She then tried her best to answer him.

"Well, let's see. What definitely made me lose it was the way you looked at your hand. It's like you were giving it shit for hurting you coz your bones were broken. Anyway, it's kinda like blaming the sky coz it thunder-stormed on your perfect picnic but you already knew the forecast for a high chance of rain before you left the house."

There was a silly grin on her face.

Is she mocking me? Loki thought incredulously, mentally shaking his head. What a brave and foolish girl. He then impulsively leaned over and with his soft lips gave her a peck on her left temple.

Bryn instantly stiffened, her entire body tingling like she'd been struck by lightning. Her heart nearly thudded to a halt and she held her breath for a long moment, her mind unsure if she was dreaming. Her eyes cautiously traveled toward Adam's face, who sat beside her with a bemused expression, one eyebrow considerably higher up his forehead. She prayed she wasn't blushing.

Did Hot Guy just - ? So much for her attempt at doctor-patient detachment. Then again, that all-important Number One Rule had been chucked out the window the night she'd brought him home from the dumpster. Also, what the hell was she fussing about anyway? It's not like she was an actual fucking doctor!

Then there was her internal debate about the ambiguity of Adam's sexual preference. She was still gathering evidence. Maybe she could rope Mars into finding out for sure.

"Now it's you with a funny face," Loki commented with a small smile.

"Yeah...um, so...uh, what about you?" Bryn floundered, trying desperately to change the subject. "Can you tell me what happened to your family?" Her face was suddenly serious and filled with curiosity. Okay, she was being a wet blanket, it was childish but she couldn't deal with Adam's electric whatever-it-was-kiss right now.

The former immortal's mood darkened and Loki looked away from Bryn quickly. He took an audible deep breath and a long sigh. "May we move to someplace more comfortable?" He looked in the direction of the pool loungers.

"Sure," Bryn agreed and slowly rose to her feet, stretching to pop a few joints back into place. Adam rose effortlessly and padded toward one of the loungers. She saw that he was barefoot. Gotta get the poor guy some flip-flops. Maybe Mars had a new pair lying around somewhere. She'd recently found out that her two guardians had a horde of unused designer clothing and footwear in their master bedroom closet from a few impulse-shopping binges. Mars had laughed when her mouth hung open in reaction to the size of their walk-in closet.

"Um...I'm not pushing you to tell me stuff, am I?" Bryn asked guardedly. Adam clearly wasn't at ease with the subject of his family.

"You've been honest to me about your past, therefore, I shall do the same with mine because no matter the circumstances, I always keep my word," Loki replied softly but firmly as he stood still, looking directly at Bryn.

There was an absolute sincerity to the way Adam spoke. The steady gaze that accompanied what he'd said left no room for doubt in Bryn's mind about the profound truth behind his words.

The minute they'd settled down on their chosen loungers, Bryn turned to look at Adam who'd stood up, pushing his lounger closer to hers with his foot till the hand rests were almost touching and sat back down. When he leaned back to look at the night sky, she was alarmingly aware that only a few centimeters of space separated their hands. She scolded herself for turning into a character from a stupid soap opera.

"Where to begin," Loki replied with a sigh as he stared at the sparsely starred night sky. Pity...how poorly the stars shine at night, obscured by this city's excessively bright electrical torches.

"So...did you get along well with your family before...the, um...big argument?" Bryn bravely asked.

"Yes. Before the 'big argument' with my father and brother...life with my family was peaceful and loving. I shared a close bond with my mother and it was my older brother who my father...favored. It was only natural, you see. After all, the enormous responsibility of the entire house would eventually fall upon my older brother's shoulders, as is the proper Rite of Succession," Loki explained.

"Rite of Succession? Wow. That sounds serious," Bryn commented. Guess they still do that old world family stuff in Scandinavia. Maybe Adam comes from a community of traditional Viking revivalists?

"Yes, it's a very serious matter." There was a sadness to his tone.

"If your dad was grooming your brother to take over...guess there was some tension, huh?"

Loki sniggered. "Tension is an understatement."

"You guys didn't get along at all?"

"It's complicated. Despite our differences and disagreements, my brother and I share an unbreakable bond forged by love and an unconscious understanding of one another. On a whole, Th...we get along." Loki decided that omitting names was prudent and prevented further explanations.

"Okay...if you and your brother got along just fine...what happened?" Bryn asked, encouraged to continue her curious questions as long as Adam wasn't objecting. Glancing at him, he seemed agreeable to her prodding.

"What happened, indeed," Loki said cryptically with a spark of bitterness. "Much like you, a single event changed the course of my life forever. A single event that destroyed my entire world and made me question my very existence. Everything I was taught and everything that I knew...was a lie."

Holy shit. Bryn turned her head to stare at Adam in disbelief and sympathy.

From the periphery of his vision, Loki knew that the human female was staring at him intently and hoping that he'd elaborate further.

"Um...so...were you like...adopted?" Bryn hazarded a guess.

Chuckling, Loki looked at Bryn with amusement. "Not quite. Much worse than that, I'm afraid." He could feel a budding frustration in her as a result of his obscure answers. "How shall I put this..."

He sat up and turned his body to face her, propping up his left leg and hugging it with his left arm while his right leg extended itself as his foot came to rest on the edge of her lounger. He slowly rubbed his lower lip against the bandaged fingers of his left hand as he contemplated what to say next.

Bryn twisted toward him, leaning most of her weight against her lounger's armrest. He stopped stroking his lip when he'd arrived at a satisfactory explanation.

"Where I come from there are nine large villages. My village, where my family lives, governs the other eight. There is one village where its settlers are very unpleasant and generally disliked by everyone. Every so often, this village enjoys causing trouble and it's up to my father to keep the peace. Then, there came a day when this troublesome village decided to attack, nearly destroying one of the more helpless villages of the eight in the area. Enraged, my father drove the troublemakers back and nearly destroyed them in the process. You can imagine the importance of this responsibility and what my father had been carefully preparing my brother and I for since childhood." When Bryn nodded in rapt attention, he resumed his story. "It was in this troublesome village where the pivotal event in my life took place. However, I'm jaunting ahead."

He turned away and stretched out on his lounger, staring up at the night sky.

"You say your dad 'favored' your older brother but he's been training you both to take over?" Bryn observed.

"Yes and no. My brother and I couldn't be more different for the task," Loki replied. "You see, my elder brother, who was raised with the constant reminder that he was to take over my father's responsibility developed an arrogance unmatched by anyone in all nine villages. He's also emotionally impulsive and idiotically brash, always preferring to think with his fists rather than his head."

"So, you're his polar opposite," Bryn stated.

"Correct. Unlike him, I prefer to step back to assess a conflict determining whether any form of violence is needed at all. Peaceful conclusions are the most amicable and thus the more widely accepted solutions."

"Lemme guess, your brother did something drastic and all hell broke loose," Bryn said, glancing at Adam who hid a small smile.

With a little help from me, of course.

"Ah, yes, the significant events that culminated in the inevitable 'big argument' which resulted in my current banishment and exile," Loki singsonged sardonically. "It all began on my elder brother's Big Day, you see. Father was so blindly proud to pass on the mantle of leadership to someone as arrogant and stupid as my older brother. I, being the more practical and levelheaded sibling, devised a bit of mischief to delay my brother's ascendance hoping that the day's events finally brought to light for everyone concerned the mistake my father was about to make."

"You didn't," Bryn gasped, her mouth slightly open.

"Oh, I did," Loki stated with a nod. "During the ceremony I allowed a few willing troublemakers past our defenses from the enemy village to cause a ruckus. It worked splendidly! My brother was so enraged that our enemies ruined his Big Day that he boldly disobeyed father's direct order not to interfere with the standing truce we had with the enemy village. I tried valiantly to discourage my brother but he's annoyingly stubborn. He quickly organized a small war party of four of our best warriors, who conveniently happen to be his best friends. I merely came along as a witness and to make sure that my brazen elder brother didn't foolishly kill himself."

Sitting up abruptly, Loki frowned and turned his head part-way toward his right shoulder. "Don't the two of you know that it's rude to eavesdrop on a private conversation?" he called out loud.

To Bryn's amazement, she saw Alvi and Mars appear timidly from around the corner of a wall on the roof that led to their master bedroom. She agreed with Adam. "How long have the two of you been listening over there?"

"Uh, well...you see, I wasn't too comfortable with leaving you here alone with him so I followed you. Mars saw me and tagged along," Alvi said with a shrug.

"Overprotective much?" Bryn reprimanded as she stood with her arms locked across her chest, staring at Alvi in annoyance when he approached them. "Will you give it a rest already? Adam said he was sorry."

"I truly am," Loki added apologetically as he stood to his feet as well.

"Oh, dear, I'll be right back," Mars said when he glanced at Adam's bare feet and left hurriedly.

"Darling, where are you - ?" Alvi called after his spouse as he scratched his head in confusion. He then turned to gaze at Adam directly and found that he was unable to remain angry with their weird guest for much longer. "Fine. You've forgiven him, that's the main thing," he said in Bryn's direction. "Unfortunately, our Bryn here has a nasty knack for taking home unsavory men," he pointed out, addressing Adam.

"Fucking fabulous, fairy godmother, for magically turning me into a cheap whore," Bryn retorted testily through her teeth.

"Oh, Good Lord," Alvis muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"She speaks rather strong language for a lady," Loki remarked with amused disapproval.

"Don't you fucking start," Bryn glared, rounding on Adam, hands on her hips.

"That's our Bryn," Mars appeared and shook his head, tossing a pair of black Birkenstocks by Adam's feet. "She's got a nasty temper too. I'll apologize for her in advance."

"Excuse me while I go jump naked into the pool," Bryn replied sarcastically.

"You will?" Loki replied with interest as he looked eagerly in her direction.

"Oh, my God," Bryn declared with a roll of her eyes as she threw her hands up in exasperation, turning away dramatically from all three men.

"She'll be back," Alvi replied nonchalantly. "I'm sorry we eavesdropped on you, Adam, but since Mars and I did, I can't help noticing some disturbing details about your story. 'Villages?' 'Warriors?' 'Rite of Succession?' Pardon me for saying so but it's positively Medieval, even for Iceland."

"As I've told you before, I had an eccentric upbringing," Loki reminded him. "The villages where I come from thrive self-sufficiently in a very remote region."

"A part of some twisted cult, are you?" Alvi persisted tactlessly.

"I think I would've noticed the rivers of blood by now from all the puppies and kittens he's been sacrificing," Bryn countered acridly.

"That's enough, both of you. You're embarrassing yourselves," Mars admonished firmly when he saw Adam's flummoxed face. "Let's all have a seat and play nice. I want to hear the rest of Adam's story." He pulled another lounger perpendicular to Adam's and Bryn's and sat down, neatly crossing his legs. "Please, continue. I think it's fascinating."

"I..." Loki said, glancing in Bryn's direction.

"Bryn, dear, have a seat. Don't you want Adam to finish his story?" Mars asked.

"Course I do," Bryn replied, tossing her footwear aside and flopping down on her lounger while glaring daggers at Alvi who hovered nearby. "Adam and I were doing just fine before you guys showed up."

Such a bizarre trio, these modern humans, Loki thought to himself as he sat down. "These are comfortable on my feet, by the way," he stated gratefully to Mars, indicating the new footwear he'd been given.

"I'm just glad they fit you," was his reply, smiling shyly.

"Maybe we can pretend they're not here," Bryn said out loud with a childish pout. She'd thoroughly enjoyed having Adam to herself earlier and wasn't too thrilled with having to share him right now.

"It's quite all right, Bryn. I don't mind the extra company," Loki mollified, smiling. "Having the three of you present saves me the trouble of repeating myself."

"You stopped at the part where your older brother organized a 'war-party' to attack the enemy village without your father's consent," Mars supplied helpfully. "Awfully stupid of your brother, if you ask me," he added.

Loki chuckled at the comment. "It gets better." He was suddenly reminded of a memory from his youth of him sitting in the middle of a small crowd of children. They were staring at him in wide-eyed attention while he enthusiastically narrated tales of his outrageous adventures which included his brother Thor, Sif and The Warriors Three. He was visiting the Realm of Vanaheim...and a little girl with large, sparkling violet-blue eyes was smiling brightly up at him, nestled contentedly in his lap as he played with the platinum-blonde curls of her hair.

...Sigyn...

"Adam?" Bryn asked nervously. This was the second time tonight he looked ill enough to throw up. Mars and Alvi were similarly concerned.

"I...where were we?" Loki said offhandedly, still distraught from the powerful onslaught of long suppressed memories.

Little Sigyn...have you at last returned from your long absence? Alas, upon your Homecoming, I shall not be there to greet you. Please, forgive me, Dearest One.

"Maybe we can finish your story tomorrow?" Bryn suggested.

"I'm fine. Whatever it was has past," Loki spoke with a wan smile and a slight pause. "Nevertheless, shouldn't you three be taking advantage of my mood to talk?" he added playfully, forcing himself to feel better.

"Not at the expense of your health," Bryn stated.

"I shall not be dropping dead as of yet," Loki teased.

"Not funny," Bryn replied, crossing her arms tightly.

"Ssshhh! I want to hear more of Adam's story," Mars replied, wiggling on his lounger like an excited little boy. "Would you please continue?"

"How can I refuse such exuberance?" Loki remarked with a smile that nearly made Mars blush. Alvi sat himself on the same lounger near his life-partner and relaxed on his side with an arm propping his head, a look of skepticism on his face. "Now that everyone's settled again..." he resumed, ignoring the look on Alvi's face.

"Before our war-party could leave our village we had to walk past our Gatekeeper. He's an intimidating mountain of a thing, one could say he was born and bred for such a purpose. I pretended to persuade the Gatekeeper to let our war-party pass but I had secretly conveyed a message to one of my village's guards to send to our father warning him of my older brother's unwise decision."

"Hold on. Why the hell would you do that? You just sabotaged yourself there," Bryn interrupted, confused. "Shouldn't you be, I dunno, covering your tracks?"

"We were all in violation of a strict edict of truce between our village and that of our enemies. It was only proper that my father was informed of this. We deserved to be punished for our completely inappropriate transgression," Loki replied solemnly. "Our laws were integral to the peace and safety of every living being that dwelled within the nine villages. To endanger that balance is malicious and reprehensible."

"If that were true...wasn't it you who ruined that balance, Adam, by allowing your enemies into your village?" Alvi interjected calmly, receiving glares of disapproval from Mars and Bryn.

"Yes, I did," Loki unhesitatingly admitted. "However, openly declaring war on our enemies that day was never my intention." He locked stares with Alvi for a moment.

"Go on," Alvi insisted. Mars and Bryn exchanged uneasy glances.

Unperturbed by Alvi's attitude, Loki resumed his story. "When our war-party arrived in the midst of our enemies, I tried again, however futile, to convince my brother of the foolishness of his actions. For a moment, he relented. We then turned to leave and nearly avoided conflict...until one of our enemies taunted my brother...and that was that." He sighed. "We fought valiantly but there were simply too many of them."

"I can't believe you willingly participated in a suicide mission, Adam! Also, why would your own brother endanger your lives so carelessly like that?" Alvi contested. "A six person 'war-party' against an entire enemy village? Preposterous!"

"You underestimate the bloodlust my brother and his friends possess, Alvis," Loki replied evenly. "On that day, my brother's anger was great enough that he may very well have killed half the population of that enemy village singlehandedly."

"So much for your laws of peace and safety," Alvi commented disdainfully. "How could murder on such a scale be permissible," he replied with rising anger. What the hell kind of place did this man come from? It's like he came straight out of the Dark Ages!

"Oh, there were grave consequences for our actions that day, I assure you," Loki refuted. "Let me answer Bryn's earlier question first on whether I was...'adopted.'" He turned to her specifically. "Sometime during the conflict, Bryn...I was grappling with one of our enemies who then appeared to have...recognized me," he paused with a frown.

Her eyes widened as he turned away.

Loki calmly kept speaking. "Eventually, we were surrounded by our enemies with no hope of escape...but we were spared by the timely arrival of our father. You can imagine how immensely displeased and disappointed he was...particularly with my older brother. As the imminent heir to the ruling village, my older brother had set a very bad example. Naturally, angry words were exchanged between my brother and my father which resulted in my brother's banishment from our village. He was stripped of his title, armor and his weapon and cast out to fend for himself beyond our walls at the mercy of a wild, untamed frontier." His expression had become reflective as the humans remained silent, mulling over his words.

"How were you and your brother's friends punished then?" Alvi asked curiously.

"We were confined to our chambers and prohibited from leaving the village unless authorized by my father directly," Loki answered.

Alvi then muttered something about the punishment being 'too lenient.'

Ignoring the comment, Loki looked up at the night sky and saw the bright trail of a small meteorite as it skidded across the planet's atmosphere.

"Adam, if it was your brother who got thrown out, how'd you end up here?" Bryn asked.

"I was getting to that," Loki said patiently. "After some time had past, my older brother eventually returned from his exile in uncharted territory a changed man and welcomed back into the fold." He paused then looked pointedly toward Bryn. "Do you recall what I told you about someone from the enemy village recognizing me?" She nodded. "I decided to confront my father about that incident." His face darkened. "This is what he told me: long ago, on the day when he'd fought back and nearly destroyed the enemy village, in the rubble and chaos, he found a baby. He claimed that the baby was 'abandoned, suffering and left to die,' but that baby belonged to the ruling family of the enemy village."

His face grew harder as a deep frown slowly formed. Great bitterness and anger coated his words. "He'd taken that baby and raised him as his own son in the hope that one day that boy would be the key to bringing about an 'alliance' and his dream of 'permanent peace' between us and the enemy village." He paused and snickered. "After that pivotal revelation, my so-called father looked me straight in the eyes and said: 'those plans no longer matter.'"

He gritted his teeth and thundered, "My entire existence was nothing more than a fleeting whim in a foolish old man's fantasy!" He'd spat the sentence out with venomous contempt.

When Loki heard the humans gasp with sympathy and shock, he turned away and closed his eyes, leaning heavily against the lounger, unwilling to see the infuriating pity that was sure to be on their faces. He didn't want their pathetic human pity! What he wanted was the location of his enchanted armor and the restoration of his lost immortality! He wanted to find Thor's human woman, Jane, to discover how she'd bewitched his brother, transforming him into the soft, considerate idiot he was now!

He wanted...

"Now I understand why you tried to kill yourself," Alvi spoke slowly and softly, then added rather dramatically, "I for one am glad you hadn't succeeded."

This made Loki open his eyes to stare at Alvis, their faces equally neutral. He was rather surprised to find a certain weariness in the human male's eyes that he hadn't noticed before. A weariness that hinted at a past filled with great pain. What had this human done to create such an inky shadow in the depths of his dark blue gaze?

"Ah, but is it for the best that I survived, I wonder?" Loki doubted casually.

"You wanna go kill yourself so badly?" Bryn exploded as she stood up, glaring at Adam and kicking his lounger roughly with her foot. "We're on the roof. Be my fucking guest and take a swan-dive." She pointed to the nearest ledge with a sneer and stomped off toward the master bedroom en-suite door that led to their penthouse suite. "See if I give a shit."

Astounded by Bryn's reaction, Loki followed the fiery human female's retreat from the rooftop. Her outburst reminded him of Odin's Valkyries. I daresay she'd fit right in as shield-maiden were she an immortal, he mused.

"Sorry about that. I'll go after her," Marius volunteered quietly and stood up to follow Bryn.

Sighing, Alvis leaned back on his lounger, rubbing his face with his hands. "Brynnie, Brynnie, Lord in Heaven that girl's temper...among other things." He chuckled softly for a moment then frowned. "When Mars and I first found her, poor girl was a mess. Of course, there was absolutely no way we'd leave her sobbing her eyes out in the middle of a public park in the dead of night. So, after some convincing - mostly by Mars, he can be very persuasive - she agreed to follow us home. After a large pot of hot tea, my homemade cookies and a party-size bottle of Jack Daniels, she told us what happened to her. Mars and I were heartbroken and we both immediately decided that we'd do everything in our power to help her."

He turned his head to look at Adam and was pleased to see that he was listening intently. "I have a feeling a majority of Bryn's negative qualities stem from the sudden, traumatic loss of her parents and the total obliteration of her entire life as she knew it. She's more vulnerable than she lets on, quick to lash out in anger and tends to push away whoever shows her genuine affection but clings to those who generally abuse her." He sighed heavily and said worriedly, "That's what frightens me the most. The last man she was with almost beat her to death."

Seeing the stunned expression on Adam's face, Alvis shrugged and added, "Sadly, you're not the only one with a monopoly on suicidal tendencies around here. We all do, I'm afraid. Though, varying degrees of it."

"What? Explain this," Loki replied, brows crunching, clearly puzzled. It was confusing enough for the former immortal to have told the humans the truth - at least, in terms they could comprehend - about the circumstances that led him to be in their midst...but to have his pain reflected back at him by mortals who appear to have survived their own mysterious tragedies...it was a phenomenon he hadn't expected at all!

"Since you were gracious enough to talk to us about your strange origins, Adam, I believe it's only fair that Mars and I share ours with you. Although, you'd best hear Mars's story from Mars himself. I'm assuming Bryn's told you about her past?"

"Yes. She spoke to me earlier, sharing the details of...how she lost her parents," Loki answered carefully.

"I see," Alvis said sadly and indicated the empty lounger beside Adam with a nod of his head. "May I?"

"This is your home," Loki remarked with a small smile. He watched Alvis Werner get up to stretch, sauntering over to the lounger next to him and sat down.

Leaning back, Alvis looked up at the night sky, his hands interlocked, tucked at the back of his head. "I grew up in a place called Gracetown in the westernmost part of Australia. I'd wander off by myself for hours when I was a lad, playing along the beach till it got dark and it scared the living hell out of my parents. For the life of me, I never understood why I took such fiendish delight in making them miserable. Always got into loads of trouble. Drove my parents to their wits end. That's why they shipped me off to England to live with my uncle, my mum's older brother. He used to be in the military and they thought he'd be the best person for the job of trying to straighten me out. I had just turned fifteen at the time." He snickered. "If only my parents knew how wrong they were."

He shifted, his arms draping the lounger's arm rests. "Uncle Marty...the man turned out to be as fucking bent as a French whore on a Friday night. I can still remember the mortified look on his face when I walked in on him one night dressed as Marilyn Monroe. He wore silk stockings, a wig, make-up, the whole kitten-caboodle." He chuckled. "Thinking about it makes me laugh every time." He hadn't bothered to check on Adam's reaction. "Without the slightest idea of the scope of his actions, the silly bastard had opened my eyes to a world no impressionable fifteen year old boy should ever be exposed to. After I'd seen him in such a state, there was no real sense in him hiding his true tendencies anymore. He'd walk around the house in women's clothing, took me to parties with his transvestite friends, underground transsexual theatre, burlesque cabarets, drag-queen variety shows, the whole nine yards. It was a crazy year I'll never forget."

He sunk down into the soft cushion of the outdoor lounger. "When I hit sixteen, Uncle Marty enrolled me into the boarding school he was sent to when he was a boy. He said it was 'a place where boys were turned into men.' Obviously, the place hadn't worked on him but it was a good school with a good reputation and many of its graduates went on to become successful in their chosen careers, many in the military. I raced through my academics, got good grades, graduated with honors and, being the naive and adventurous lad that I was, went straight into the military."

He turned and looked sincerely at Adam who returned his gaze with equal intensity. "Some of the things I'm about to tell you, Adam, even Mars doesn't know too much about. You strike me as the sort to keep a secret, so I'm trusting you not to tell anyone. Even Bryn, but most especially not Mars. He's a darling man and I love him with all my heart, so I'd rather not have him worrying about me anymore than he needs to."

"You have my word that whatever you say here will be strictly between us," Loki promised solemnly.

Though satisfied by Adam's formal oath, Alvi continued to stare at the handsome, fair-skinned man seated beside him.

"You doubt my promise to you?" Loki replied, rather offended.

"Oh, no, no. Nothing like that. I just find it weird that I trust you this much. I'm not exactly the type to bare it all to total strangers, you know. This moment's a bit of a breakthrough for me," Alvi said with interest.

"Likewise," Loki answered with a shrug. "I suppose...having the three of you caring for me as generously you do...changes things somewhat."

"I suppose it does," Alvi said with a small smile and leaned back against his lounger. "Now, where was I? Ah, yes. My adventures in the military. What's there to say, really? I had the desire to 'Be All I Can Be' and in my case, I aimed for the Royal Air Force to become a pilot. To my delight, I discovered I was rather good at it. I flew fighter planes, cargo freighters, attack helicopters, took part in rescue operations and reconnaissance missions. When I retired my wings, I dove into Weapons System Operations. Being as ambitious as I was, I inevitably caught the attention of the brass and was recruited into Special Forces for the Royal Marines. Found out I was jolly good at that too. I was a bit mad in those days."

He chuckled. "Most of the covert operations my squad was involved in were peacekeeping missions. Some were fairly routine...others, not so much." He could feel Adam staring steadily at him. "I'm not proud of some of the things I did...but it was necessary at the time. I retired from the military when I hit thirty-three but now I realize that I waited too long. I'd gone through the worst experiences of my life on active duty in parts of Africa and that's when I knew I'd had enough."

Alvis paused and shuddered, his chest tightening with sorrow. He hadn't realized that he'd clenched his fists so tightly, his knuckles had turned white; nearly jumping out of his skin when he felt a bandaged hand had heavily rested itself atop his. When he glanced toward Adam, the beautiful man's steadfast gaze seemed to steady his frazzled nerves. Smiling shakily, he placed his free hand on top of Adam's bandaged one, patting it awkwardly. "Thank you," he said softly and was surprised when Adam smiled slightly at him and leaned back, his left hand remaining where it was. He stared at Adam's bandaged hand for a long moment, grateful that it stayed on his. It was sending him the encouragement he needed to continue with his story. Clearing his throat, he narrated on.

"The things I've seen in Africa...they'll give me nightmares till the day I die. Poor Mars has to live with me waking up screaming some nights. Sweet, tender chap. He'll sit up with me for as long as I need and talk to me till I fall asleep again. He'll sing to me on the worst nights...even if he has no idea where my nightmares really come from," Alvi sighed. "I've led him to believe that I was more of a Reserve Pilot for the RAF. He has no knowledge of my recruitment into Special Forces. Every so often...I take trips out of town to do my 'trade' for a network of contacts. I've disguised the trips as special scavenger hunts to find rare items I need for the club so he won't get too suspicious. Technically, I'm retired...but having friends with benefits is hard to resist."

He had a sad and guilty expression. "Mars has a gentle, angelic soul with a childlike innocence and carefree naiveté I treasure just as deeply as the flesh that houses it. I know I'm being dreadfully selfish and I loathe having to keep secrets from Mars but I wish to protect him. I can't bare spoiling him with my war-stories of absolute horror...or by telling him of my dangerous side trips."

"That's perfectly understandable," Loki agreed, squeezing Alvi's hand slightly.

"You'll tell me if Mars is around, won't you? I'd hate for him to eavesdrop on this conversation," Alvi said nervously.

"I will," Loki reassured him.

They sat in companionable silence for a while, Alvi calmed by the reassuring touch of their handsome guest, Loki staring at the night sky.

"What horrors have you seen, if I may be so bold to ask," Loki spoke, breaking the stillness.

"You really want to know?" Alvi glanced at Adam with hesitation.

"I do," Loki replied firmly, turning his head and looking steadily at Alvis beside him.

"Sure, if you can handle it, why the hell not," Alvi conceded with a sigh, pausing for a few moments. "It's a bunch of bollocks, really, being a soldier. They train you for the mechanics of combat but never prepare you for the psychological consequences of the damage you sustain afterward. They train you to kill in all sorts of deadly, efficient ways with cardboard cutouts and virtual war-games, brainwashing you into hating your imaginary enemies with extreme prejudice. The real test comes on the day when you actually take a life and find out exactly how that feels. Oh, they train you how to blot out your emotions, to feel indifferent towards the whole nasty affair of killing other people...but only the ones whose souls are irreparably evil are the ones that revel in death and destruction. I've met those kinds of men. Even killed two or three at a time when the opportunity presented itself - my personal job satisfaction right there," he snickered darkly. "I think the worst part of being a soldier is getting involved in the chaos of war. War is merciless, senseless and savage. The victims that suffer most aren't the armies that clash at each other from both sides of the fence...it's the civilians caught in the middle. Men, women, the elderly and...oh, Merciful God in Heaven, the children."

Loki saw the man's quaking left hand as it ran briskly along his face and hair, his lower lip quivering. He tightened his grip on Alvi's right hand, ignoring the twinges of pain from his sore, bandaged fingers.

"There were rows and rows of them...all lined up against buildings...their little heads laying in their laps...their little hands cut off and resting beside them..." Alvi whispered with a sepulchral expression, his voice wavering as he relived the most horrible experience he had while stationed in Africa. "Complete monsters! Horrific creatures so evil that they'd murder little children!"

Very unexpectedly, he felt the strong grip of Adam's bandaged hand on his. "Adam?"

Alvis Werner pushed his own distraught emotions aside to examine the younger man seated next to him with concern. Adam's eyes were glazed, distant and there was a look of sheer horror on his face.

"Adam," he called out loudly but there was still no response. Tears had now gathered in the handsome man's emerald-green eyes as they overflowed and trailed down his unblemished cheeks. The bandaged grip on his right hand began to hurt. "Adam!"

Was their guest having another psychotic episode triggered by the horror he'd just described? Fuck!

Cursing audibly, Alvis stood from his lounger, twisting his right hand carefully so he wouldn't further injure Adam's bandaged one which had latched onto him like a manacle. He sat facing the younger man on the lounger who was now mumbling something with his lips that he couldn't interpret. Reaching out with his left hand, he grasped part of Adam's face, shaking and smacking him, forcing him to look in his direction. "Adam!"

"Am I a monster?" Loki whispered, his eyes glazed and glistening with tears. "Am I a monster?" He repeated again, his voice whimpering softly like a child lost in the dark.

"What are you going on about?" Alvi declared loudly, shaking and slapping Adam more roughly this time, hoping to rouse the younger man from the mental fugue he seemed disturbingly mired in. Adam was looking straight at him but the green glaze of his blank stare told him that whoever Adam was seeing clearly wasn't him! "Adam, come on now. Snap out of it!" He shook him roughly again.

"Am I a monster, Father?" Loki whispered distantly, confirming Alvi's fears. "Why did you take me?"

Alvis watched as Adam's face contorted into one of pure pain and suffering. He cursed softly in reaction to it. His fingers wandered to the back of Adam's head as he gripped the man's black hair to steady himself. Shivers of fear ran up and down his spine which twisted his stomach into knots, the frighteningly icy, unhinged gaze from Adam's incredibly green eyes were almost predatory...and genuinely unnatural.

"Why did you take me?" Loki's voice rose steadily, almost desperately. "You should have left me there to die, you stupid, old fool!"

The bandaged hand still manacled to his, Alvis watched helplessly in wide-eyed anxiety as Adam crumpled into a ball on the lounger, keening and weeping uncontrollably.

---

The forty-five minute drive back to Stark mansion was quiet, awkward and tense. Jane had clammed up since she'd walked out of the restaurant, stubbornly refusing to say another word to anyone.

Confused and frustrated, Tony Stark drove down Pacific Coast Highway One in record speed, Darcy clinging to whatever she could hold on to in the back seat.

"What have I done, Jane? Can you, please, talk to me?" Stark tried again, glancing at her seated beside him. She refused to meet his gaze, staring resolutely out the Porsche Panamera's tinted windows. He sighed heavily.

As soon as the Panamera Turbo S slowed to a stop at the mansion, Jane left the vehicle and slammed the door behind her, briskly walking toward the house's main entrance.

Stark chased after her, grabbed her arm and spun her around. "Talk to me!"

"Why the hell did you invite me here? Huh? Why?" Jane yelled at him. "Don't tell me it's about my research because it sure as hell isn't!"

Visibly deflating, Stark scratched the back of his head and stuck his hands in his pant pockets.

"You're right...I shouldn't have misled you the way I did...but it was the only way I could get you over here to meet you in person." He fidgeted uncomfortably where he stood. "I like you, Jane Foster. I think you're brilliant, totally underestimated by everyone, especially by S.H.I.E.L.D. and I want to help you in any way that I can to further your research. You're onto something big. You've had first contact with immortal beings from another universe and you're the only scientist in your field of study who can prove it." He heard someone sharply clearing their throat. "I'm sorry, you and your lovely assistant Darcy here."

Jane was struggling with what to say. There were too many emotions in her head simultaneously trying to gain control of her mouth. Stark's direct offer to help her with her research was a dream come true. With the man's nearly unlimited and uncensored resources, she was sure to make unprecedented progress. At the same time, Stark's confession that he 'liked' her wasn't sitting too well with her.

"Are...are you serious about helping me with my research?" Jane ventured to ask.

"Completely," Stark replied, gazing steadily at her.

The sincerity in Stark's eyes was unnerving and it made Jane queasy.

"Since we're being honest with each other...there's something you should know," Jane began but was unsure how to continue. Stark looked puzzled again. "There's a...a very personal side to my research that only Darcy and I know about. It's the only thing that's giving me the strength to keep trying...to keep searching for the answers I need."

She paused, swallowing thickly. "I'm...I'm in love with Thor," she confessed as tears filled her eyes and she quickly turned from Stark, running away and disappearing into the mansion.

Flabbergasted, Stark turned to Darcy who bit her lip, the two of them openly staring at each other for a long, silent moment. When he finally spoke, he floundered like a fish.

"She's...with who?"

---

Feeling calmer, Bryn took a deep breath and hugged Mars tightly. They sat together facing each other on the penthouse condo's living room sofa, a red box of three-ply facial tissue on the coffee table with several used pieces wadded in a heap beside it.

"You always know the right stuff to say to shut me up," she whispered affectionately, her words muffled by having her face pressed against Mars's shoulder. "Sorry, I'm such a bitch."

"Listen, I'm just as upset about what Adam said as you are...but I didn't exactly go off in a fit about it either," Mars replied with a small smile. He stroked her hair gently with both hands, tucking her long auburn strands behind her shoulders. He always thought it was a wonderful coincidence that they had similar hair, both in care type and color. "You know, if I ever wanted a daughter, she'd be just like you."

"Hey...careful what you wish for," Bryn teased. "I'm not exactly all sunshine and roses these days. More like defective merchandise. If I were you, I'd be getting a refund."

"Oh, tut-tut," Mars admonished. "Stop being so hard on yourself. It doesn't do you or any of us any good." Sighing, he kissed her on the forehead, cupping her face gently in his hands. "Alvi and I both love you, Brynnie. We're always here for you, no matter what."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," Bryn replied sadly.

"Oh, dearie," Mars whispered back, embracing her warmly, gently rocking them back and forth. "Come on, let's go check on Adam and Vivi."

"Okay."

They stood up and walked the short distance to the master bedroom en-suite. The minute Mars opened the insulated door that led to their rooftop pool - the door was wonderfully disguised as part of their en-suite's decor - they were greeted by a disturbingly creepy, keening noise.

"What the fuck is that?" Bryn exclaimed as she and Mars ran hurriedly outside.

The sight that greeted them made them teeter to a halt.

Alvi sat facing Adam on a lounger and was struggling with something. Adam was curled into a ball and making the awful keening noise.

"He's having another episode!" Alvi yelled at them. "Help me get him off me!" He tried to lift up his right hand which had turned purple from Adam's manacled grip.

Mars immediately tried to help Alvi carefully pry off the bandaged fingers that were persistently latched to him while Bryn grabbed the sides of Adam's face, forcing him to look at her.

"Adam?" Bryn's spine shuddered and her skin crawled in reaction to the unnaturally hollow look in her strange patient's eyes. It was the same look of desolate despair she saw that night in her basement apartment during Adam's first and extremely violent psychotic episode. Shit. Am I gonna have to sedate him again? "Alvi, what happened?"

"We were just talking," Alvi struggled to say as he and Mars tried desperately to budge the stiff fingers of Adam's hand, whose grip was surprisingly strong given their condition. "I think it's my fault. I must've said something that triggered this."

"What the hell were you two talking about then?" Bryn asked in disbelief.

"Uh..." Alvi refused to meet her gaze.

"Alvi?" Bryn called out angrily.

"Later! Let's sort this out first!" Alvis replied in frustration, then added, "I think Adam's reliving the awful confrontation he had with his father." Poor bloke.

Bryn ran through terminology from her Psychopathology class trying to determine the exact condition that was consistent with Adam's behavior during his attacks of severe psychosis. Nursing a physically injured man was one thing but taking on the responsibility of caring for a potentially dangerous and mentally ill person was another. It wasn't just her safety at stake now, either. She watched worriedly as Alvi and Mars tried unsuccessfully to detach Adam's clamped, bandaged hand.

The pair exchanged glances appearing to have read Bryn's troubled expression.

"We'll sort this out together, Bryn, don't worry. We won't be secretly shipping Adam off to the hospital without your consent," Alvis replied, then shrugged rather sheepishly. "Mars and I have grown much too fond of our weird guest here for that to happen...and we know you have too."

Smiling with relief, Bryn returned to the urgent problem of trying to return Adam to the senses of his Present. The keening noise had stopped, replaced by a continuous flurry of mumbled words in a language she presumed was Icelandic. Tears streamed in glistening rivulets down his smooth cheeks, some of which trickled down to his chest as errant droplets soaked his pants and parts of the lounger.

"Adam?" Bryn spoke calmly, sitting partly on the lounger beside him, her hands gripping the sides of his face as she tried to reclaim his gaze. "I know you're in there. I know you can hear me and I know some of the terrible stuff you've been through. You told me so yourself."

She stroked his face gently with her thumbs. "Hey, guy, welcome to the club. You couldn't have picked a crazier bunch of people to end up with. You, me, Alvi, Mars...we're all damaged goods. I guess it doesn't matter what part of the world we come from or how we're raised...shit just happens."

Her own tears were flowing down her cheeks. "I know it feels really bad right now. Believe me I know. I'm not gonna pretend that dealing with any of it will be easy, either. Dealing with tragedy would be hard for any of us...and I'm still working through the worst of mine." She began stroking Adam's hair, wiping the flowing tears from his cheeks and touching parts of his face slowly, much like how her mother used to do to her when she was upset. "Come on, Adam, will you let us help you? Will you let us help you work through the worst of it? Please? Can you hear me, Adam? Please?"

Leaning forward, Bryn embraced the distraught man tightly, cradling Adam's head on her left shoulder, rocking them back and forth. Channeling her late mother, she crooned her rendition of 'Blue Moon' by Ella Fitzgerald(*), her mother's favorite song, which her parents also played at their wedding dance. Pouring all her sadness and hope (and love) into the melody, she closed her eyes and sang as she stroked Adam's black hair.

Blue moon, you saw me standing alone

Without a dream in my heart

Without a love of my own

Blue moon, you knew just what I was there for

You heard me saying a prayer for

Someone I really could care for

And then there suddenly appeared before me

The only one my arms will ever hold

I heard somebody whisper, 'Please, adore me.'

And when I looked the moon had turned to gold

Blue moon, now I'm no longer alone

I have a dream in my heart

I have a love of my own

"Brynnie...it's working," Alvi said in awe, feeling the pressure of Adam's fingers slowly unclasping from around his hand. He quickly wiggled free, wincing when his circulation came rushing back in a tidal wave of pins and needles.

Mars had been wiping at the tears in his eyes, deeply moved by the scene before him of Bryn bravely singing - and wonderfully too - such a timelessly classic song.

Locked together closely in a tight embrace, Bryn felt every twitch and movement Adam made as he slowly regained his composure. She felt his left arm rise from his side to encircle her back briefly, his bandaged fingers reaching up to wipe his face. His head rested on her shoulder for a long moment before he slowly turned to look around.

"What...has happened..." Adam spoke, his voice hoarse. "Bryn?"

Pushing Adam away from her gently, Bryn's hands cupped the sides of his face, her face brightening with a wide smile of relief. "Hey, you. Welcome back."

"...where did I go?" Adam asked carefully. He was clearly perplexed when he wiped the wetness from his cheeks, felt the rawness of his throat and wondered at the intensity of the throbbing pain from his bandaged left hand.

"Well, let's just say your body stayed put but your mind went on a bit of a vacation," Alvi replied with a slight chuckle. Mars smacked him hard on the arm.

The three of them watched as Adam seemed to seriously consider the words Alvis had spoken. His brows then gradually crunched together and he began to look visibly upset.

"...why can't I remember what happened to me?" Adam asked, a rising panic in his voice. "What do you mean my mind 'went on a bit of a vacation?'"

"Calm down, Adam," Alvi assuaged him. "You went through what any normal human being does when they've experienced something deeply traumatic in their lives and are having trouble coping with it. Mars and I can tell you all sorts of stories. We've been in the thick of them." His spouse nodded emphatically in agreement.

Slumping back heavily against the lounger, Adam closed his eyes and tried rubbing his temples with his injured fingers. He looked exhausted.

"Hey, it's late. We should be getting to bed," Alvi said, staring at his watch.

"Come on, I'll make us a pot of Chamomile with honey and lemon. That should put us all in a good mood," Mars suggested. They all looked toward Adam who shrugged noncommittally.

"Need a hand getting up?" Bryn offered, noting Adam's haggard expression.

When he nodded slightly, they helped him to his feet, the four of them quietly leaving the rooftop and back into the cozy but elegant decor of their penthouse suite.

---

"Wait, wait, wait," Stark said, his mind refusing to comprehend Darcy's explanation. "Are you telling me...that Jane...is in love...with Thor, the mythical Norse god of thunder?" When Darcy simply nodded, he took another long drink from his bottle of Wild Turkey whiskey.

"Except, he's not exactly mythical anymore. I met him in the flesh too," Darcy replied. She tried not to swoon at the memory of a beautifully muscled, bare-chested Thor in tight, black jeans.

"Uh-huh."

"I tell ya, Thor started out pretty messed up and all high-and-mighty. I even Tasered him when we first met after Jane hit him with the van," Darcy recalled, feeling giddy. "Me. Darcy Lewis, Political Science Major taking down Thor, mighty Norse god of thunder with a Taser!" When she giggled, Stark stared at her in disbelief. "What? It's no different from me watching Tony Stark, billionaire extraordinaire, who also happens to be the famous super-hero Iron Man, getting hammered in his basement in front of me."

"I guess not." Stark took another drink.

"Sir, I think you've had quite enough whiskey. You blood alcohol levels have exceeded their optimum limit for a satisfactory buzz. To push that limit would result in a very embarrassing display of public lewdness in front of your guest," Jarvis the super-computer explained in his pleasant British accent.

"What he said," Darcy replied, shrugging. She watched Stark make a face as he reluctantly pushed away his mostly emptied bottle of Wild Turkey whiskey. "Your really like Jane, don't you?"

"Gee, what gave that away?" Stark said, slumping deeply into the leather couch of his basement's corner den.

"The way you've been looking at her, for starters, and the way you've totally been catering to her the minute she got here," Darcy answered. "I think it's sweet."

"Not for lack of trying. Besides, I've never been shot down by a girl in love with an immortal thunder god before. Kinda kills my self-confidence, y'know?" Stark replied.

"I really shouldn't be telling you this...now that you're drunk and all. You won't even remember a word of it," Darcy sighed.

"Tell me what?" Stark asked curiously.

"I'll wait till your sober," Darcy insisted, standing up to leave.

"Tell me what?" Stark whined as he tried to get up, only to stumble back when he lost his balance and slid down the side of the couch.

"Jarvis, you better lock down the basement before he really embarrasses himself," Darcy instructed as she gripped the metal handle of the exit's Plexiglass door.

"Hey, wait, you can't do that," Stark complained, trying to claw his way up to stand using the couch.

"Don't let him get his hands on any more hard liquor and especially car keys," Darcy added. "Oh, yeah, and absolutely no joy-ridding in his Iron Man suit either."

"Jarvis! Don't you dare! Don't you listen to her," he whined again, reuniting with the floor.

"Will do, Darcy," Jarvis confirmed cheerfully, ignoring Tony Stark's protests. "Good night."

"Night, Jarvis," Darcy replied, walking through the Plexiglass door and up the winding stone steps to the mansion's main living room, the basement door's mechanism behind her securing itself with a soft click.

---

Loki slowly sipped the steaming liquid from his cup of hot Chamomile tea, the pleasant, even flavors of honey and lemon warming his body, and easing his hoarse throat. Try as he might, he couldn't block out what Alvis had told him earlier as the words repeated themselves over and over in his mind.

'You went through what any normal human being does when they've experienced something deeply traumatic in their lives and are having trouble coping with it.'

'...what any normal human being does...'

'...normal human being...'

'...deeply traumatic...having trouble coping...'

'...having trouble...coping...'

'...normal human...'

'...normal...human...'

'...human...'

His hand shook as he quickly returned his cup down onto its saucer on the kitchen counter. Ignoring the pain from his left hand, Loki slumped forward, closing his eyes and running his bandaged fingers across his forehead. He was unaware that his human companions were watching him closely.

"Want something for your headache?" Bryn asked softly.

"I'll be fine, Bryn, but I appreciate the offer," Loki answered politely, his eyes remaining shut. "I feel tired...I should rest." Opening his eyes sluggishly, he stood to his feet, pushing his chair away from the kitchen counter. The trio of humans all wished him goodnight in a mismatched chorus. "Good night...everyone."

He turned in the direction of his room, took five steps then stopped. Pivoting where he stood, he turned to look at Mars and asked hopefully, "Will you be playing music on the piano tonight?"

"I hadn't planned on it but would you like me to?" Mars said eagerly.

"If it's not too much trouble, I would very much like to hear you play," Loki stated and added softly, almost shyly, "The music...it...it helps me sleep."

"Well, in that case, it'll be my absolute pleasure to play for you then," Mars declared proudly. He left the kitchen till he stood near Adam. "Any requests?"

"Something soothing?" Loki suggested. He'd have to research piano music at some point soon.

"Hmm," Mars said, deep in thought as he meandered toward his ten-foot Fazioli F308 concert grand piano in the main reception area positioned directly under their enormous cathedral skylight. The beautiful and elegant black finish of the 19th century replica was a Fazioli Special Model Classic with traditionally turned legs, gold-plated wheels, an ornately hand-carved music desk and a harp-shaped lyre for the pedals. For a uniquely aesthetic contrast, the underside of the grand's lid and its interior was veneered with natural maple wood, creating a stunning visual effect. This piano was Mars's primary source of pride and pleasure for his love of classical music.

Standing reverently before it, Mars sighed with joy before he lifted the piano's lid, securing it in place with a gold-plated lid prop. He then lifted the fall, which tucked itself neatly into place, uncovering the piano's gleaming black-and-white keyboard.

Drawn to Mars's ritual, Loki did a slow circuit around the piano, admiring its shapely craftsmanship and its pleasing beauty. He stood to a stop beside the lid prop.

"May I?" Loki asked, wanting to touch the shiny, metallic-gold surface.

"Touch the piano all you want. It gets polished every week," Mars replied as he lifted the upholstery of the piano's bench to retrieve several music sheets.

Reaching out, Loki ran his bandaged fingers along the surface, frowned, then carefully freed his right arm from the sling around his neck to touch the piano with the unbandaged skin of his right hand. Wincing slightly from discomfort, he ignored the pain from his shoulder as he methodically ran his bare fingers across every smooth curve and deliberate angle of the concert grand, making another slow circuit around the piano. He was so entranced by what he was doing, he hadn't noticed the humans watching him curiously.

"Beautiful, isn't she?" Mars remarked. He was seated on the grand's matching bench arranging several booklets of sheet music propped against the piano's ornately carved rack.

"It's an elegant instrument," Loki agreed and returned his right arm into its sling. "Have you chosen a song?" He looked at Mars as he stood beside the piano's lid prop.

"I think so," Mars replied, settling on a specific booklet and spreading its pages open. "This one's almost eleven minutes long. Should relax you nicely. It's Sonata Eleven, Adagio con molta expressione by Ludwig van Beethoven, a German composer."

"I'd like to hear part of it before I retire," Loki requested, leaning against the piano slightly. Soon, the entire suite was filled with the clear, crisp sweetness of softly flowing music. As he listened, he was raptly fascinated by the interior mechanical workings of the concert grand, marvelling at the richness of each played note as little cushioned 'hammers' struck straight, tightly tuned strings that stretched the length of the instrument. Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to be momentarily swept away by the fullness of the delicate melody; no cares, no worried thoughts as he moved subtly in time to each sweeping note, his body responding to every vibration of being pressed so closely to the side of the piano.

Mars was in a world of his own when he played and hadn't noticed the spell he'd cast on their guest standing beside him. Bryn and Alvi exchanged frequent glances as they watched and listened, wrapped in their own individual spells. Alvi nearly had tears in his eyes as he gazed lovingly at his life-partner and wondered how in the world he'd gotten so lucky. Bryn smiled warmly at Mars's amazing piano skills and was moved by the sight of Adam's expression of total enchantment.

Almost reluctant to leave, Loki opened his eyes, grateful for Mars's musical talent. He drifted behind Mars and placed a hand on his shoulder. When Mars gave a smile of acknowledgment, Loki turned toward his room, giving Bryn and Alvi a slight nod as he walked past. Pausing momentarily at his door, he stepped inside, closing it with a soft click.

Mars played the piano for almost an hour, giddy that their handsome guest enjoyed his music. He returned Alvi's loving gaze and smiled warmly at Bryn who'd fallen asleep.

---

to be continued

---

Correspondence:

LCx -

'Wonderful story! I love how you portrayed all of the characters! You had my eyes super-glued to the screen. All of your ideas are brilliant and wonderfully written. Only wish there was more. So please update soon. I can't wait to see the next chapter!'

...

Dear Lcx,

Since I can only reply to you here, I'd like to say first: Thank you! I'm totally flattered and floored by your kind words. To say this story's completely consumed me these days is accurate. LOL. Got total Loki on the brain. I only wish I could translate what I see in my head into words faster. I'm actually wanting to finish this story before the Avenges movie. ;D So, every chance I get, I've got my hands hot-wired to my keyboard too. Oh, and there'll be more chapters, no doubt about that. Writing about Loki as a mortal is quite a journey and I'm sure you're all eager to know how it unfolds - me included. ;D Again, thanks for your kind words. I'm just glad to be able to share my crazy imagination to everyone out there.

- Kemi

---

Author's Note:

(*) Song Disclaimer: 'Blue Moon' music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart; performed by Ella Fitzgerald - 1957

Sonata 11 in Bb, Op 22 - 2. Adagio con molta expressione

Pecorino Restaurant and gallery: http pecorinorestaurant dot com

Dunno about you guys, but in this chapter I seriously wanted to give poor Loki a great big hug. The angst! Loki's got a lot on his plate and it's spilling out the sides.

Firstly, Daddy Dearest basically tells him: 'Oh by the way, son, you're a Frost Giant, one of our bitterest enemies and I snatched you up when you were just an itty-bitty baby coz I thought you'd be useful to me one day, but guess what? Turns out, it wasn't one of my best ideas'. *shrugs* 'On your way now.' *pats him on the head*

Secondly, thinking that he'd met his end, Loki wakes up on Earth a mortal and human - a Midgardian race he considers primitive animals. Now, he's gotta deal with having the shortest second life-span ever while trying to come to terms with issues he's never had to bother with before.

I'm sure many of you have noticed Loki having certain traits that don't fit into the definition of 'normal human.' My best explanation of this is that whatever force transformed Loki into his new fate, did the best it could. Loki was a powerful immortal and thus he'd be born as the Ultimate Human Being: 100% brain usage and capacity, enhanced 5 senses and overall resilience, insanely fast immune and regenerative system, etc. You guys get the gist. (Just imagine what today's scientists could do if they ever got their hands on Loki's DNA strands! Or shudder to think...what if S.H.I.E.L.D had instead?)

*My Special Thanks to the moral support of the following reviewers:*

G.U.3.S.S.

LukePercyslasher

Cynthia888

SarenatyTsheyka

Also, my supreme gratitude to all my faithful readers! I'd love to hear from each and every one of you. Your words of encouragement keep me going!

Let Chaos Reign.

(=^_^=)