Loki found out later that's she was indeed a doctor, among other things. That she belonged to a "dysfunctional family" of her own, with their own brand of drama. She was a mutant, with some low level psychic abilities...telepathy, precognition, heightened strength and agility. He comforted himself that a normal midgardian female would not have been able to stay his hand. He also noted that she was very good at picking up on the emotions of people around her, making him suspect that she was a bit of an empath as well. She was quiet and watchful, mindful of her status as an outsider.

It was obvious to him that there was something different about her, and how she was treated by Shield, especially by the Black Widow and Hawkeye. He had also encountered some of her fellow mutants, the so-called XMen, each with their own extraordinary adaptions and abilities. But Jean seemed to be set apart from them as well. They treated her with respect, but they weren't as friendly with her as would be expected of a team mate. Nevertheless, she seemed to be in a position of leadership among them, and generally acted as a spokesperson for them in dealing with Director Fury. She was skilled at strategy, and contributed much to the plans that were forming to expand Shield's capabilities beyond the small sphere of the solar system. The first order of business was an early warning system, a combination of technology and mutant abilities that would cast a psychic net to detect hostile intent. She was skilled at handling the politics as well, negotiating with all the invested parties about the different roles each would play. Though she was shy in company, she was not above batting her eyelashes in the board room to meet her goals, especially when "the suits" were around. A fact which had dug under his skin and taken root. Her real agenda was a mystery to him, which also troubled him enough to stay wary of her.

One night as he sat in the make shift lab, conversing with Bruce Banner about the specifications of some new security devices for Stark's new tower, Jean walked in briskly, looking for something. She looked disheveled compared to her usual formal, buttoned up appearance. She breezed in, in a low cut black tshirt and jeans, both of which left little to the imagination. She had pencil clenched in her mouth, her hair falling out of a loose braid and into her face, obviously distracted. She found the file she was looking for and smiled at them without really seeing them, humming softly to herself as she left. Up to that point, Loki had thought that his fascination with her was because of his bruised ego from their first encounter. That he was sizing up an adversary, so to speak. But the raw pulse of lust that surged through him when she walked by him that night, within a hand's reach, without her usual focused and controlled demeanor, nearly took his breath away. He felt a traitorous shudder move through his body and he let out a huff of air. Bruce looked at him sharply, as if he had suddenly caught a new scent on the wind. He face was grim. "I'm not sure that is a good idea, buddy". "I'm sure I don't know what you mean" he said with forced nonchalance. Bruce then told him with all seriousness, "What you don't know about her could fill a book, and it's not my place to tell you." Loki merely shrugged.

His next encounter with her was more direct. Tony had suggested some healthy competition as a diversion, some sport to help people relax after a particularly long day of clean-up. Loki had repaired half a building on his own that day, using mostly magic, and had no interest in joining them in their game of "football". He decided he would much rather watch them beat each other up. He sat on the sidelines, watching the teams line up in their formations, facing each other. He was surprised to see Jean on the field, calling out some sort of command. She backed up suddenly, catching the ball from a low toss from Bruce, and proceeded to propel the ball flying through the air in a spiral formation, just as Natasha came crashing down on her, sending her to the ground. Loki was off his feet before he had formed a conscious thought. "Whoa there reindeer games...it was a clean tackle, a bit late maybe...", Tony said, walking towards him, his hands up to block Loki from advancing further onto the field. "I wish to join this "game"." He ground out, his temper flaring. He knew that he was being irrational, but at that moment he didn't care.

"We'll, that's different...shirts or skins?"
"What?"

He pointed to the other team, comprised of Natasha, Steve, Clint, Thor and some assorted XMen and Shield agents. "Shirts...", and then he motioned to his own bare torso, and to the rest his team, " ...or skins?" Loki saw that with the exception of Jean, who had stripped down to a tank top, they were all shirtless. "Ah...skins, definitely...", wanting to be on the team opposite his brother, eternally. "Anytime you are ready, my prince..." Jean called loudly, slightly annoyed about the delay. Loki caught her eye, smirking as she watched him tug his shirt over his head, revealing a lean, muscular torso underneath. He balled up the shirt and tossed it to the side, strutting over to join the formation. She couldn't help but smile at his arrogance.

Things got nasty after that. Loki played as dirty as Natasha, and he was picking up the rules as he went along. Mostly so he could break them. But, he didn't allow anyone to get within arm's length of Jean, and the other team had noticed. They were soon throwing everything they had at Loki on each play. It was 21-14, with the skins in the lead. Jean had managed to get them back within 20 yards of the goal line. She was looking for an open receiver, and finding none, pushed past the line and made a run for the goal. The young mutant named Colossus saw her break away and headed straight for her, full speed. Just as she stepped one, then two feet across the goal line, Colossus leaped for her and Loki shot forward, placing himself between them, taking most of the force of the tackle. He wasn't able to keep the boy's forward inertia from throwing them all to the ground...Colossus fell heavily onto Loki, who in turn fell on top of Jean with little grace.

"Get off me!" Loki shouted, tossing the boy off his own body with frustration as he pushed himself up off her form. She was balled up on the ground, eyes closed and his heart jumped into his throat. She slowly opened her eyes...and then winked at him. He was stunned and furious at the same time as she unraveled her limbs to reveal that she had retained possession of the ball. Her voice croaked when she said, "Touchdown...crowd goes wild.", rewarded by laughter from both teams.

He wanted to strangle her but instead he offered her his hand, pulling her up a little more forcefully than necessary out of frustration. His actions pulled her straight into him and she placed her hands on his chest to keep from crashing into his body. Her breath caught when she touched him, sensing his dark thoughts. He eyed her through his lashes, amused by her reaction. "I knew it...you are a bit of a touch telepath too. That's just a preview, my dear..." He said, voice low and full of heat. He expected her to blush, or to back away, but instead she leaned closer, without blinking, her breath a whisper across his shoulder blades, "..you have no idea...", and he felt a sudden surge of warmth worming its way through his skin, starting at her fingertips and moving down his body. The feral grin he gave her then did finally earn him a pretty blush dotting her cheeks.

"Ahem...is it ok if we kick the extra point now, before you two need a room?" Tony had queried, interrupting their little reverie. They had backed away from each other abruptly, and his skin where she had touched him felt warm for hours afterward. Since that day, they had been dancing around each other. Neither of them were willing to push it much further, since it made for a welcome distraction from their daily lives.