Before you get started reading.
Author's note: What you need to know for this fic, is that Loki is dead. Thor has just returned from his funeral in Asgard. It has been three days since Loki's attack and it is in MidOctober about a week from Halloween.
Disclaimers: I do not own any of Marvel's characters. I do own my Loki, a few others, the plot and the some of the backstory. Including my Loki's past.

Well enjoy.

Chapter 5 Dragons Are Vegetarian?

Loki wandered a little way down the aisle and ended up in another section that F.A.D.E. informed him was for male children. A T-shirt on a manikin caught his attention. It was green with a red scaly beast curled around the shoulders of the shirt and down the sides. Its mouth was open and it was breathing fire. Written on the front of the shirt were the words, 'Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons; for you are crunchy and good with ketchup.'

Loki started to laugh. "F.A.D.E. could you take a picture of this shirt please?" He held up his arm and the computer obliged.

"Loki! Loki! Where are you?"

He leaned out around the displays, Fury say him and must have motioned to Dr. Banner because they both came over. "Sorry I wandered off," Loki said still snickering at the shirt.

"What is so funny," Fury asked suspiciously. He had a hand on his gun and looked around.

"Nothing," Loki said. "Just the T-shirt." He pointed it out and they read it.

"You think a dragon eating people is funny." Fury asked.

"Well I don't know about dragons on Earth but the dragons I know are vegetarian," Loki said still laughing slightly. Dr. Banner started laughing as well; it might have been due to Fury's face or the thought of a fire breathing dragon eating vegetables.

"Are you saying you've met dragons before?" Loki nodded and Fury scoffed. "Do you really believe I'd fall for that lie?"

*8*8*8*

Loki looked confused at Fury's words, Banner noted. In truth, he had been avoiding Loki as much as possible he didn't want to break Stark's tower again, especially since it had just been repaired. He didn't want the Other Guy to make another mess. Still he had noticed two things that made Loki interesting.

One was that Loki trusted them in a way he found hard to explain, especially after the fight. The second was that this Loki actually knew how to fix things. Thor had broken Stark's coffee maker this morning and then had promptly woken up Loki and dragged him to the kitchen to see if he could fix it. Loki had, after a few minutes, and a short explanation from Steve on what the machine was supposed to do. He also used about ten washers and part of a small garden hose. As far as he knew Loki had not known anything about machines. The logical conclusion was that the Loki standing in front of him talking about vegetarian dragons was not the lunatic who had tried to take over the world a week ago. Unfortunately there was no real way to test his hypothesis without further evidence.

With that cheerful thought he figured it might be alright to start a conversation with him. "Loki do you want the shirt? You probably need some new clothes; you've been wearing that shirt since you got here."

"If it is not too much trouble that would be wonderful," Loki replied. "I've been so busy working on my ship I haven't had time to do any laundry." He paused a little and frowned. "I'm not even sure if my ship can still do laundry. I should check that when we get back. I've been concentrating on some of the bigger problems."

It took a few minutes to find three pairs of jeans that fit, several T-shirts and a package of socks. Then they headed to the cashier.

"Do I know you sir," she looked at Loki hard like she was trying to place him.

"I don't believe so," Loki said nervously.

"You don't," Fury said stepping in. "He's from out of town." He hurriedly paid and hurried them out of the store and into the crowds of the mall.

Their next stop was Radio Shack. Loki looked like he had died and gone to heaven when he found electric wires and a replacement part for his radio. As far as Banner could tell the transmitter of Loki's radio needed replacing. He wondered if the parts were compatible. When they finally dragged Loki out of the shop he was happy and had some of the parts he had told them he might have to forge himself. Apparently wires still had to be drawn by hand in outer space and Loki had feared he might have to do the same here but without the benefit of actual tools made for the job.

"We have an hour to get to the food courts," Fury informed them. "Do either of you have any ideas where to go next?"

"We can just wander around," Dr. Banner suggested. "Loki, do you have anything you want to see here?"

"I have no preference," Loki said shifting his bags from one hand to the other.

"Then we can go this way." They headed around the mall towards the food courts at a leisurely pace. Fury started interrogating Loki again. "So is your family going to miss you?" He nodded to the Radio Shack bag. "Your radio is broken are they going to be worried when you don't call home?"

"No, they are no longer among the living."

"What happened," Fury asked.

"May we discuses something else. I do not like talking about home that much." Fury was about to speak again but Loki stopped short and squinted at a shop. "Does that shop sell books?"

"Yes," Dr. Banner replied. "Don't they have books in space?"

"Yes if you are rich. Most of the literature has been computerized. If you want a written copy bound like that." He nodded to the hardback book in the window. "Well, it is expensive."

"Do you like to read," Dr. Banner inquired.

"Yes, it is one of the few hobbies that can be safely done in a small space for an extended period of time. It gets quite lonely on a ship with no one else around. I have Sasha but she can not talk to me in a language I understand and the ship basically flies its self, it is all computerized now. Which is a good thing," Loki remarked turning to Banner. "If you miscalculate on reentry on some places you can burn up in the atmosphere. Computers have made it less dangerous to travel."

"I can imagine," Banner said. "Do you want to go in?"

"May I?"
"I suppose so," Fury said. "We do have forty minutes before we need to meet the others at the food court." They went into the Barnes & Noble bookstore.

Thirty minutes later they emerged with another bag and Loki with his nose stuck in a book about proverbs from around the world. Banner and Director Fury exchanged looks over Loki's head as they steered him towards the food court.