Hogun twitched at the vanishing act, and frowned. Thinking quickly, he rose and sidled out of the banquet hall.

Loki found Sauer sitting at her desk, and pulled up a (magically modified) chair. "Aesir," he corrected around a grape. "And Eros doesn't need to be here; fertility is Thor's patronage," he added, nodding in the direction of the banquet room.

She hadn't heard him coming, and jumped. "A-what?"

"The Aesir are from Asgard; we don't use the term 'Asgardian'," he explained.

"That gets confusing," she admitted, dipping her fork into some cole slaw. "I read a little bit of the Norse legends after the Battle of Manhattan, and all the rest of the worlds seemed to end in 'heimr'. So there is a Jotunheimr and a Muspelheimr and a Vanaheimr and a few other 'heimrs' that I can't even say, but my planet and yours end in 'gard'."

"'Heimr' comes from a word that means 'home', so it essentially means 'home world'. 'Garðr' means 'town-wall' or 'keep', so Asgard was originally As Garðr, the Keep of the As, or Aesir." Loki slipped easily into a teaching vibe, she noticed.

"And Midgard?"

"Miðgarðr, the Keep of the Menn-Humans, yes. Another translator mistook the 'ð' for the letter 'd', and changed it to the word you know today." He took a bite of sandwich. "So," he said after swallowing, "what did you do to your arm?"

"I burned it at the forge two weeks ago. It's healing, but still quite sore." She spared a glance at the bulge underneath the long sleeve. "It put me behind in my class, but I suppose we're all lucky to be alive."

"Class?"

"I'm taking a sword-smithing class. My final piece just needs to be etched before judging, but I've had to put that off because of this," she raised her bandaged arm. "The fool that spit at the forge nearly got us all killed. HE flunked automatically, of course. The forge is a 'no stupid zone', and he was monumentally stupid."

"Spitting into the forge is bad?" Prince Loki looked surprised. "I know not this custom. Is it a sign of disrespect?"

Sauer shook her head. "Spitting at a person is a sign of disrespect. Spitting-or throwing water of any kind-into a metals kiln is asking for an explosion. The fire is so hot it vaporizes the water, and BOOM, instant leveled building. We were lucky; only a drop or two of spit hit the liquid metal. I got this," she raised her arm, "from the resulting steam-jet. It's one giant blister, now." She swallowed another grape. "Eros exists?"

Loki smiled. "Naturally. Quite a lot of the so-called 'pagan' pantheons actually exist, though we do not count them as part of the Nine."

"Nine what?"

"Nine realms," Loki said matter-of-factly, as if that explained all. The blank look on her face told him it did not. "You read some of these legends after my last...visit...shall we say? So you are familiar with Jotunheimr and Musphelheimr and so forth?" She nodded. "That collection is called the Nine Realms: nine interconnected kingdoms-though Midgard does not currently have a king over it."

"Like an intergalactic archipelago," she offered.

He pulled on his wassail and blinked. "Powerfully sweet, but good," he said, nodding at the tankard. "Your analogy is nearly correct."

"So how do the Olympians fit in?" Sauer was openly curious now.

"Hmmm. May I borrow this?" Loki held up the dish of M&M's she kept on her desk.

"Sure."

"Then behold: the Nine Realms of your Norse Mythology," he said, levitating nine various colored candies. "Along the vertical plane: Asgard, Alfheim, (yes, you can drop the 'r'), Midgard, Svartalfheim, and Helheim. Along the circular axis: Jotunheim, Niflheim, Vanaheim, and Muspelheim."

She blinked at the display of magic. "And Olympus?" she finally asked.

"Swings on a different axis, as do several different realms," Loki added some different candies to the slowly twirling mix, "but still connected to the Midgardian system. It was the center of intergalactic trade for millennia."

"So...Eros really exists?" Loki could almost see Sauer's brain cells lighting up as she processed an entirely new galactic reality. It was cute.

Loki nodded. "He does, though not in the form you doubtless imagine: a winged babe with a bow and arrow. The real Eros is a master of what you might call biochemistry and animal husbandry. He is more a veterinarian than a meddler in romance, human or otherwise." He grinned impishly. "Though I admit, some of his hormone treatments have passed as love potions in the past..."

"And so we have tales of him shooting people with darts to inspire their lust." Sauer shook her head, and a shadow passed across her face. "What happened? I mean, that everybody fell out of touch? We have stories of all of these different pantheons dying off..."

"Some of them did," Hogun stepped out of the shadows where he had been watching. "War destroyed much."

Loki stiffened at the intrusion, but nodded. "Hogun is correct. War between different realms threatened to destroy too much. By mutual treaties Midgard was abandoned by all, lest it be destroyed in our wresting for control."

"I think," she said, munching on some cole slaw, "that we are poorer for it. It should be good to know we aren't alone in the universe. Our people are too self-centered."

"You are alive for it," Hogun said darkly. "There are some races you are better off not knowing."

"Like the Chitauri?" She glanced up at the huge Asian-looking Aesir, her face wrinkling.

"Like the Chitauri," he nodded, and picked up a dark brown candy, "and the Xanadu," he held it up for Loki, who nodded and added it to the swirling mobile, "and the Titans."

This time Hogun did not pick up a candy, and Sauer noticed. "No system for the Titans?" she asked both men. "Was their planet destroyed by the Olympians, like the old myths say?"

"Sterilized," Loki nodded, "but not by the Olympians, though they did battle much. Titan was destroyed by one of their own some 3,000 years ago."

"How sad," she mused. "What kind of insanity drives a person to destroy their own home-world?"

"Love, believe it or not," Loki said dryly.

"Nonsense," Sauer said, shaking her head firmly. Loki coughed and raised an eyebrow.

"Your pardon, milady Sauer, but Prince Loki is the expert on the Mad Titan," Hogun corrected her. "He knows more about the creature's motivations than anyone."

"Meaning no offense, your majesty," Sauer soothed, "I merely mean that you mislabel this Mad Titan's motivation. Love is a building emotion, not a destructive one. If the Mad Titan destroyed his own home-world to impress some romantic attraction, then that attraction was certainly not love. Lust, perhaps. Obsession, certainly, but not love."

Loki frowned. "An interesting theory. On what do you base this opinion?"

"Oh, we have entire philosophies that revolve around love, as well as one major religion. One of the teachings from that religion explains it like this: 'Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always respects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never ends.' The author goes on to say that the three greatest things in the universe are 'faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love.'" Sauer finished quoting.

"Fascinating," Hogun murmured.

"Tell me," Loki said, suddenly leaning forward. "What does this religion say about death?"

"Quite a lot," Sauer said, surprised, "the main point is that Death has been overcome, conquered, and will be completely destroyed at the final judgment when the universe is made new."

Loki and Hogun exchanged knowing looks. "That could be it," the brooding warrior nodded.

"What could be what?" Sauer asked, looking at the suddenly energized aliens on either side of her.

"You may have just given us part of the solution to our current problem, Lady Sauer," Loki said smoothly. "I do thank you for the conversation."

"You are most welcome. Thank you for the display of magic as well," she smiled up at the M&M mobile. "I didn't know you were a magician."

Loki coughed out loud at that. "I beg your pardon. A magician is an illusionist. No real magic is found in their slight-of-hand. I am a sorcerer, thank you."

Sauer frowned, puzzled again. "My bad. Ummmm, is a sorcerer the same as a wizard? I'm not much for the fairy-tale books popular these days."

Loki pressed his lips together at that one, and looked at Hogun for assistance. "I find myself out of metaphors for this, Hogun."

Hogun frowned. "Know you the difference between boxing and Jeet Kune Do?"

Sauer bit her lips. "I know what boxing is. Jeet Kune Do sounds vaguely familiar. Is that the form of Kung-fu invented by Bruce Lee?"

Hogun nodded. "The same. A Jeet Kune Do master strikes with everything, without restraint, except for his own conscience. Such is a sorcerer in the use of magic. A boxer strikes with only a gloved fist, and only in approved areas. The wizard is like the boxer: confined by his school's philosophy."

"Well said, Hogun." Loki was obviously impressed.

"500 years we have ridden together. Did you think I hadn't noticed?" the man said dryly.

A trickle of people moving from the lunchroom back into the conference room cut off their conversation. Apparently lunch was over.

"We need to return," Hogun said crisply.

Loki nodded, stuffing the last of his sandwich into his mouth and gulping it down. He tossed back the remains of his wassail, too, before rising. "I shall get another tankard, first." He glanced down at the young smith-turned-secretary. "Will you join us? The assembly should hear what you just told us about this religion of yours."

She shook her head. "I can't; my place is here," she said, patting the desk. "But you don't need me anyway. Captain Rogers is a devout Christian, and can brief you better than I can. Ask him," she finished, nodding in the Captain's direction.

"Ask me what?" The tall blond stopped dead, hearing his name.

"We need to discuss your faith," Loki said abruptly. "Its teachings may hold some clue to the Mad Titan's plan of attack."

"Of course," the Captain was all business. "The conference room, gentlemen?"

There was a small bustle of people back and forth after that, and Sauer found herself fielding a sudden influx of phone calls, mostly from reporters trying to weasel any information out of her about the appearance of six extra-terrestrials at the Stark Tower Complex. She gave them the standard confidentiality statement and hung up. One of them, though, was important, and she flagged down Tony Stark as he walked past.

"Boss! There is a Doctor Eric Selvig on line four for you. He says it's important."

"Thank you, Miss Sauer," Stark said crisply, and tapped the Bluetooth earpiece he always wore. "Doc? Tony! How the hell are you? Funny you should call right now..." he ambled away, down the corridor and away from the rest of the conference, seeking a little quiet for their conversation.

Pepper watched him go, frowning thoughtfully, then turned back to the young office assistant. "Sooooooooooooo, what was that all about?" she pressed.

"Dr. Selvig? Search me," Sauer answered with a shrug. "It's probably more Avengers business, and above my pay grade."

"Nonsense," Pepper insisted, shaking her head. "You have too much military in your manners. You're an executive assistant now, missy: everything is your business."

"Really?" Sauer sat back, surprised.

"Of course! Who do you think really runs this empire, anyway?" Pepper said with a grin. "Watch and learn, my padawan," she said, holding up a finger. "Hey, Tony! What time zone are we in?"

Tony covered up the phone's mic. "Atlantic, of course. Don't be silly."

"What's your social security number?" she called out, grinning.

Tony just scowled in her direction and stuck out his tongue.

"See?"

Sauer's jaw dropped open. "He's just like those guys on 'The Big Bang Theory', but with a better suit."

"And better looking, and with more money," Pepper grinned. "Tony can quote Pi to 37 places, but he doesn't know how much water goes into a coffee pot, or how much gas costs a gallon. I can quote each and every one of his bank accounts, credit, and debit cards, with their security numbers and dates of expiration, as well as tell you what is on his W2's for the last 10 years."

"Teach me, masta," Sauer said, bowing stiffly.

Both women dissolved into giggles.

"Oh, I shall. But first," Pepper dragged over another office chair and folded her fingers together under her chin. "You get to tell me how your lunch went with the God of Mischief. Hmmmm?"

Sauer thought for another minute before nodding. It seemed incredulous to her, too. "Well, um... It was a normal conversation...like out of a travelogue...stuff about their cosmology and other races and worlds, and a little bit about religion. We might have been a couple of tourists exchanging travel tips, it was so ordinary. Oh, and he made me this," she motioned to the still-spinning M&M mobile. "Apparently he can do magic of some kind."

Pepper sat back in surprise. "Are you serious? Are we talking about the same alien?"

Sauer nodded. "Tall, good looking, exceptionally well-mannered when he isn't trying to conquer the universe...yup, that's him...and we had an alien chaperone: the big Asian-looking guy...Hogun...he was there the whole time. I think Loki is under some sort of arrest...not allowed to go anywhere alone or something." She frowned. "You know...I think..."

"Yeeeees?" Pepper leaned forward conspiratorially.

Sauer looked around to make sure they weren't being overheard. "I think he's lonely," she said so only Pepper could hear.

"What?" Pepper was aghast. "You've got to be kidding!"

Sauer shook her head. "Think about it, Pepper. There was a whole room full of geniuses, and tough guys, and hot women, and alien bad-ass magic users-he can't be the only one, can he?-in that lunch room, and who did he choose to have lunch with? Me. I'm not pretty, I don't have rank or money or social status. Oh hell, I barely have any social skills at all! But where was he? Out here with me and a chaperone. That is the mark of a desperately lonely man. I don't know what happened in the last two years, but as tough and as smart as he is, he's isolated and he's tired of it."

Pepper looked thoughtfully at the closing conference room door. "Hmmm." Tony walked past the pair, giving Pepper a friendly smile and a wink as he did, and the door closed finally behind him. "You might have a point there, kiddo. I think everybody in that room actually hates his guts, except for Thor, maybe. Just like when Tony came out of Afghanistan..." she fell silent, remembering how Tony's captivity had changed him, and frowned. Then she shook herself.

"That's for another day. Right now we need to begin your training, my padawan apprentice!" Pepper grinned conspiratorially.

"Is this anything like Business 101? Because I took all that in junior college."

Pepper waved a hand. "A mere foundation. This is the important stuff, so pay attention. Today's lesson is called 'Secretarial Surveillance', aka 'Eavesdropping 101'."

"I can do that?"

"Not only can you, but you must. Knowledge is power, right?" Pepper was on a roll.

"Well, yes..."

"So...the best way to keep power is to have as much knowledge as possible. Keep your eyes and your ears...especially your ears...as open as possible. The littlest clue or detail may make all the difference in the world."

"Like the story of the horse that lost a nail in the Crimean War."

"Exactly," Pepper nodded. "And you have the greatest surveillance tool known to man-or woman either-at your fingertips. Right, J.A.R.V.I.S.?"

"That is correct, Miss Potts," replied the AI.

"Sooooo, spying on superheroes 101?" A sneaky smile crept onto Sauer's face.

"Right-o, lassie. Lesson 2 will be even more fun. You're going to start dressing like a girl," Pepper arched an eyebrow at her assistant's wardrobe.

"What's wrong with what I have on?" Sauer glanced down at her taupe pantsuit, puzzled. "It's dressy and comfortable."

"All you have to do to blend in at MIT is grow a beard. You're a woman, Sauer. Embrace it," Pepper said sternly.

Sauer sighed. "I don't know, Pepper. I've never been good at that girly stuff. Waxing and shaving and mascara all seems like some form of torture to me."

"You're right, it is," Pepper said, nodding. "But life is tough! You'll be fine; trust me."

TBC