Kara faded back into consciousness with a hard male chest under her cheek. She sighed. "I fell asleep again," she mumbled.

"It was more of a faint," Loki answered. "Was I too rough with you?"

"What? No, not at all. Seriously, I fell asleep. I was still drained, energetically. And then all of, well, you know, it was kind of overwhelming."

She felt his muscles move as he shrugged. "Of course it was; you are mortal."

"What?" Kara sat up to glare at him. His eyes were bright and there was just the tiniest bit of a twitch in the corner of his mouth. "Oh for...you were teasing me, weren't you?"

The smile emerged. "I was. You're an empath, what took you so long to realize it?"

"I don't generally go around reading people if I can help it. It's rude, so I shield against it, as much as I can." She found herself sighing again. "And sometimes, I just don't want to know."

"Hmm. I'd never considered how awkward it must be. Most healers in Asgard are loners. I suppose that's why." His arm tightened about her waist and he drew her back down as he turned over on his side to face her. Once she was settled, he brushed his knuckles gently across her cheek. "Do you believe you can trust in yourself now?" he asked.

"Yes. If I didn't lose control in the middle of all of that, I won't lose it at all from having sex."

"Having...hmm. Of course not." He sounded almost...grumpy.

"What?"

"I suppose I do not care for your euphemisms."

"What euphemism?" He was the most confusing damn man. "Loki, I'm sorry if I'm missing something or offending you somehow, but your culture and how you think about things is beyond my experience."

"It matters little." She had a bad feeling it mattered a lot, but his expression had closed off and she didn't want to push him. People with his temperament tended to react badly when pushed. He was still holding her close and was absently playing with her hair rather than moving away, so she couldn't have annoyed him too greatly. "When will your things be moved back in," he asked.

Uh oh. Biting her lip she searched for a good way to answer. "I'm afraid that isn't going to happen." He frowned and gave her a searching look. "They won't allow it, Loki, you know that…"

"I know no such thing. I need you here."

"I'm sorry. I've already made enough of a mess of things with you. They aren't going to...oh my God..." she trailed off thinking of how badly the fecal matter was going to hit the rotating device if Fury realized what she'd done.

... ...

Loki frowned at the miserable expression on his lady's face. "Having regrets?" he asked, managing to keep his tone indifferent.

"What? No, of course not. I-I'm going to be in so damn much trouble, but...no, I don't regret this, not at all."

Relief swept through him. He decided to change tactics. "Kara, do you know what I do all day here, every day?" She shook her head mutely. "Nothing. I have read enough books to make my eyes bleed. Your entertainment industry simply isn't. There is no one to converse with, and the sheer inactivity is pushing the limits of my tolerance."

"I'm so sorry."

He shook his head. It wasn't her fault. "If you cannot return to these rooms, perhaps you could at least return to the building, spend time with me?" Clenching his jaw, he forced his tone to remain even and schooled his expression to indifference.

"Nick Fury will never allow it. He didn't want me to come today; he was overridden by Dr. Nassar and the team."

Loki allowed himself a small grin. "Tell him you'll live up to your code name if he refuses."

... ...

Kara caught herself before she blew her opportunity by asking him what he meant. "Hmm, in what way?" she asked instead.

He shrugged. "You told those pathetic beasts you would bring them hell on earth, so, go into Hellbringer mode. Oh, don't threaten to set him afire, I know that would weigh on your conscience, but tell him you'll bring hell to his personal effects if he tries to control where you do or do not reside."

Hellbringer. Closing her eyes tiredly she thought about it. "Huh, I guess I deserve that one."

"What?"

"Loki, how did you know what they'd chosen as my code name?"

He frowned. "You must have mentioned it when you..."

"Uh, no. I didn't know what it was until just now, they've all refused to tell me. And don't try to tell me that anyone here told you, you've just said they won't talk to you." Kara groaned as he pulled away from her and crossed his arms over his chest. "Oh, Loki, you didn't."

"I had nothing better to do with my time," he muttered, his expression turning...petulant?

She couldn't help it. Her lips twitched with the effort to hold it back, but the giggle escaped. His glare only made it worse and she collapsed with laughter.

"When do you think you might be able to stop laughing at me?" he asked testily.

"What?" His angry and hurt tone sobered her. "Oh, I wasn't laughing at you." She snickered again. "They're idiots. I can't believe it. Did you first hack into the S.H.I.E.L.D. system about a week and a half ago?"

"Did I what?"

"Enter their system without permission."

"Ah. Yes." He glared again when she stifled another giggle. "I was bored."

"And that's what's so damn funny. They left a god of mischief to his own devices for two weeks, let him get bored, then gave him internet access, and have been running around like chickens without heads trying to figure out who managed to hack into their system." She frowned. "Oh, did you hack into Tony's system, too?"

The corner of his mouth quirked up. "Perhaps."

"Hmm. Jarvis, does Mr. Stark know who hacked into his system?" she asked the AI.

"No, Dr. Gunnarssen."

"Do you know?"

"Of course, doctor. It was our guest, Prince Loki."

"Did Mr. Stark ask you who did it?"

"He did not. I believe he has taken it as a personal challenge."

"Makes sense. Thank you Jarvis." Still smirking she turned back to Loki. "I've got my leverage," she told him.

… …

Bruce Banner looked up as Kara stalked into the den. She seemed to be vastly amused about something. That was a good sign. He'd been worried that Loki would pull more of his blame everyone but himself crap and dump on Kara again. "Hey," he offered quietly as he continued to maneuver the controls on the game. Fandral and Hogun were intent on the action and didn't even glance up.

Stark looked up, though. "Hey, sparky, how goes it?"

"That's something I should be asking you," she said with a smirk. "I thought you were spending all of your spare time tracking a hacker?" Kara took a step closer to the group and picked up the box that had held the disks. "Halo 6? I thought Halo 4 was the big thing?"

"It is," Bruce agreed. "Tony knows the designer and we're doing the beta on an early prototype of 6. Halo 5 should be hitting the stores on Black Friday."

"And, I am," Tony said. "Tracking the hacker, that is. I've got algorithms running to trace his ISP. Really freaking me out, so far he's a ghost…not even a nibble on the ISP, he must be running a shadow system."

"Hmm, a shadow system? Like yours?" she asked. Bruce did a double-take at her tone. The amusement was spilling out.

"Yes like…son of a bitch." Tony dropped his controller and lunged for his touchscreen. Grinning, Bruce decided he'd better hit the pause on the game. Tony was frenetically moving data around on three different screens now. "I'll kill him."

"No you won't. You're impressed, admit it," Kara said between snickers.

"I-I am. Damn it. And I gave him the goddamn tools to do it." Stark's face was a picture of consternation. "Oh, shit. Did he hit S.H.I.E.L.D.'s system too?"

"He did. By the way, Hellbringer? Whose idea was that?"

Bruce coughed. "Uh, that was Maria's idea. She said being on the receiving end of your empathic projections was psychological hell."

… …

"Humph. She volunteered," Kara told him, and smiled as Bruce held his hands up in mock surrender.

"So, why is Jack Frost hacking us? Checking out our weapons systems? Looking for weaknesses? What?" Tony asked her.

Kara shrugged. "It was a challenge, I suppose. He's bored stiff."

"Big deal. I get bored all the time, you…"

"Find some kind of challenge to occupy your time?" she finished for him.

"Stark?" Fandral began from where he and Hogun had been following the conversation, looking back and forth as they spoke as though they were watching a tennis match. "A bored god of mischief is a dangerous thing." Kara smirked. Fandral had finally stopped calling Tony 'man of iron', that was a relief.

"Yeah, Casanova, I got that." Tony ran a hand through his hair. "What the hell do we do with him?"

She sat down on the back of the couch. "You could start by letting him leave the suite. It's not like we can keep him there if he really wanted to leave. Taking meals with everyone else would help some; give him some interaction, conversation. Other than that, we find someone who has time to keep him company and keep him out of trouble that won't be itching to kill him every other second."

"That lets out the Hardy boys, here and Banner's busy…even if our problem child wouldn't spend all day wondering if he was going to get pounded into my floor again. Soldier boy is off with Hawkeye and Black Widow making the rounds of those other sites and I'm sure as hell not letting Pepper do it, even if I didn't need her to run my company." Tony finally subsided and glared at her.

"Guess that leaves me."

"Fury is going to blow a gasket."

… …

"I don't think this is a good idea," Loki muttered as he combed his dark hair back.

Kara sighed. While she had figured he'd be resistant, the litany of complaints was getting on her nerves. "Do you or do you not want to get out of this room for a while?"

"Of course. I simply do not believe it is wise to subject the Asgardians to my presence any more than absolutely necessary. They won't take it well."

"They've been told to be adults about it or Pepper will make them eat peanut butter and jelly in their room."

He wrinkled his nose. "What and jelly?"

"Peanut butter. It's a paste made from peanuts and oil. Don't knock it until you've tried it."

Loki's nose wrinkled again. "I'll pass."

"Snob."

He looked confused. "Was that intended as an insult?"

"Are you ready yet? You primp more than I do."

"Hmm." Loki turned and stroked his thumb along her jaw. "And yet, you always look lovely. I'm ready now. Let's get this over with, shall we?"

The rest of the group members in residence were waiting in the observation lounge. Tony was tending bar. "You ready for that drink?" he said to Loki as they entered.

Loki's smile was barely noticeable, but it was there. Kara let herself relax. "Yes, I believe I will. Scotch, neat, please."

"You got it. Kara?"

"What does Pepper have open?"

"A Muscato," Pepper said as she came up to them. "Good to see you, Kara, all this testosterone has been a bit much." They exchanged a quick hug. "Loki, you're looking well. Thank you for joining us."

"Miss Potts, how could I ignore such a gracious invitation?"

… …

Pepper chuckled. "The invitation, easily. Kara, however, is not so easy to ignore. Oh, and please, call me Pepper."

Loki smiled slightly and nodded his head. The gesture didn't seem calculated, but it gave him a…regal appearance. "As you wish, Pepper." His smile faded as Hogun and Fandral entered from the balcony and his entire body seemed to tense. Banner came up on their right. "Doctor Banner," Loki said evenly.

"Loki, good to see you on your feet." Pepper tried not to wince as Loki stared at the area that had been destroyed in his drubbing by Bruce's 'other' and then looked back at Bruce. "Have you been having any physical issues?" Bruce continued.

"Not from my original injuries, no. I did not thank you for your assistance. I apologize for the omission. You have my gratitude."

"No problem. It's nice to be able to fix someone up instead of break them for a change."

Pepper held her breath until Loki responded. "I'm certain," he said with a wry smile.

"Well, dinner is ready to be served, shall we go in?" she suggested.

… …

The meal was actually going a lot better than he'd expected, Bruce thought as he took a bite of his poached salmon. Loki had been engaging and charming, Tony had kept the snark down to an acceptable level, and Kara and Pepper had been vivacious and attentive to everyone. The only flies in the ointment were the two members of the Warriors Three. Fandral had been polite, though far more reserved than his norm. Hogun had been all but silent. He looked up as he belatedly realized that Loki had asked him a question. "I'm sorry, Loki, I was woolgathering. What did you say?"

A slight look of confusion crossed the man's lean face before he responded. "I asked if perhaps you…your other as you call it, were holding back when you fought me."

"Hmm, I don't remember it being much of a fight, but yes, I do remember thinking there might be hell to pay if we killed you so I managed to stop him…me…when you stopped resisting. Well, after he/I noticed you had stopped resisting."

"Ah." Loki nodded thoughtfully. "I underestimated your strength in that state; yet another miscalculation."

Bruce smiled. "Not to mention my control, hmm?"

"Oh, no. I'd certainly counted on your having a modicum of control, enough to recognize surrender, at any rate." He shrugged when Bruce stared at him. "I'd every intention of surrendering once you'd convincingly subdued me."

"You have plans within plans, don't you?" Tony said.

"Had. Those plans failed. My only plan now is to await the All-Father's pleasure and be judged for my actions."

"Huh." Bruce nearly choked when Tony started talking again. "So, you guys have known each other for a long time, right?" he said, pointing his fork at the three Asgardians. None of them answered immediately.

Finally, Fandral looked up from his plate. "Indeed, most of our lives."

"You all grew up together, huh. That must make this tough," Tony continued on what had to be the worst possible subject.

This time Hogun frowned at the oblivious billionaire. "We did not 'grow up' with his highness. We had little association with the royal family until we were nearly grown. That was when Thor and his highness entered our lives directly."

Bruce looked from face to face. Hogun's expression was outright resentful. Fandral's troubled. Tony's eyes were wide and he seemed to realize he'd pushed too far. Loki's fork clicked as he set it down, then he folded his napkin, set it beside his plate, and stood, rubbing his temples. "Pepper, please convey my apologies to your chef. The food is quite delicious, but I find I have no appetite. Good night." Between one blink and the next, he disappeared.

"Jesus Christ," Tony muttered. "This is not good, people."

… …

Kara rolled her eyes at him. "Calm down, Tony. Jarvis, is Loki still in the tower, and if so, where?"

"Prince Loki is in his suite, Dr. Gunnarssen."

"Thank you. He's upset, Tony, and he didn't want to take it out on anyone here, so he removed himself from the situation."

"Great. That's just…" Tony stood and paced for a minute then came back to the table and pointed at Hogun. "What the hell did you say that made him react like that?"

"Nothing."

"Bullshit. Fandral, you wanna tell me what Frosty's problem is?"

"Ah, well…hmm."

"Not hearing an explanation here, and if I don't, we're going to have a problem, gentlemen, and I am using that term loosely."

Fandral sighed. "Referring to him as 'his highness' in a casual setting when we have been on a first name basis with him for centuries is a form of, uh, shunning."

"Great, that's just…has it occurred to you two bozos that we are walking a fucking tightrope here? We've been left with the responsibility of containing a man who can disappear anytime he damn well pleases. He's making an effort to not make this more difficult than it has to be, and you, yes, you are fucking up after I told you that I expected you to behave like adults and not make any more fucking problems for us."

"Tony, language," Pepper murmured.

"The hell with my language; I don't need this shit." He dropped back down in his chair and frowned. Kara Gunnarssen was rubbing her temples, a pained look on her face. "Kara, what's wrong."

"I'm trying not to turn that asshat into a pile of ash," she muttered.

"Oh, crap. Uh, please don't do that, the furniture in here is flammable…and so is the parquet floor."

She looked up at the now alarmed Asgardians. "Do either of you have any idea what it feels like to be treated as a freak, as second-rate all of your life?" They didn't answer. "And if that wasn't bad enough, now he thinks he's a monster because of his genetics." Tony bit back a smirk, Fandral was becoming antsy and Hogun was now staring at the floor. "I am so damn tempted to show you what a real monster is, but I won't. Do you know why?" she asked. They didn't respond and Kara's eyes narrowed.

"Uh, I don't think that was a rhetorical question, boys. Answer the lady," he ordered.

Hogun looked up. His expression was closed and cold. "No, I don't know why, my lady."

"Because Loki taught me I could control what I was. That I didn't have to be a monster, that I could be a normal person, get angry or frightened, and not kill anybody no matter how damn tempted I was." She waited, but there was no response. "What I am going to do is show you how it feels from his end. You deserve to know."

"Uh, Kara, ixnay on the projecting, that's…" he broke off as Hogun grabbed his head and Fandral slipped off the chair onto his knees. "Oh, crap."

"Relax, Tony. I gave it to them at real strength, just like he's feeling it. They're being dramatic wusses." She turned to stare at them. "So, boys, how do you like feeling like Loki does? Fun, huh?" Kara pushed away from the table and headed for the elevator. "You two make me sick," she said as she left.