Kara came out from behind a screen as they arrived in Medical, smoothing the hem of her blouse down around her hips. "Where were you?" she asked curiously.

Loki smiled. "Oh, just renewing acquaintances," he told her as Stark choked. He gave the billionaire a sharp look. "You should have some water, Stark. All of that alcohol dries out the throat, you know."

"That's what coffee is for." Stark was still grinning. Fool would get them in trouble with Kara if he kept it up. "Raj is heading for his office, Kara, he'll meet you there."

"Okay." Kara gave both of them suspicious looks. "You've been up to something, but I don't think I want to know what it was." Loki simply lifted an eyebrow, Stark began to protest. "No, Tony. I know you both well enough to know when something's up. Just…try not to destroy anything or anyone, okay?"

Damnation. He started laughing before Stark did. But only because the human was choking again. "No one was hurt," he managed in the face of his lady's glare. "And it was well deserved. Ask your honorary brother here."

The man nodded vigorously. "Absolutely. Scouts honor."

"I swear…oh, hell. Tony, you were never a boy scout." Kara sighed. "I really don't want to know. Seriously. Just try not to destroy anything in here. Please?"

Loki sobered. "I will try not to. I do have a small concern," he told her as Dr. Banner approached.

"What's that?" Banner asked.

"I do not know how your technology will affect my magic. It may cause a reaction I cannot fully control." He smirked as Stark paled.

"What kind of reaction?" the doctor asked mildly.

Stark looked around to see if any of the other mortals were close enough to overhear before speaking. "Uh, he turns about as blue as you do green. And freezes everything he touches. That wouldn't do the scanner any good."

"No, it wouldn't. How touchy is your control?"

"Not very. But if my body interprets the energy your machines use for the scan as an attack, it could be a problem."

Kara frowned at them. "Maybe we should just forget it."

"No, Kara, I've promised this."

"If we do break it, I'll replace it, it'll be okay, this is important," Stark added.

Banner frowned thoughtfully. "I think if we go over exactly what you'll feel so that you are fully expecting it, we should be okay. I can run the scanner without you in it first. You can lean in and put your hand inside to feel the energy in the different phases to test it out. If your conscious mind knows what's happening, it should increase your control."

"That sounds…reasonable. And if I cannot control it in the test, then we will have to find another way."

"Or I can just replace the damn thing if necessary. It's not like I can't afford it," Stark grumped.

"Tony, it's not about the money," Kara told him. "Loki doesn't want to frighten the people here or cause more problems that will be reported to Asgard. Even if it wouldn't be his fault, the intolerant bastards might find a way to make it count against him."

"That true, Loki?" Stark asked, for once not using an insulting nickname.

He decided to return the courtesy by being truthful. "It's not about the fright so much as I would find such a loss of control…embarrassing. But yes, it would be reported to Asgard, and with the prejudice against Jotuns, it would be held against me."

"Loki," Kara said as she took his arm and moved in close. "I release you from that promise. Do what you think is best based on the test scan, okay?"

"Yes, sweet lady. I think Dr. Banner is correct, though. If I know what to expect, it should be fine."

… …

Raj looked up as Kara edged into his treatment room. "Is this to be a session, Kara?" he asked. "If not, we can use my office."

"This is fine, I-I'm overdue and I really need your input."

"No problem, have a seat." Kara sat down in the plush recliner she preferred, sighing deeply as she sank into the cushions. "You look well."

"I'm feeling a lot better than last night. We had an issue. Hogun decided to shun Loki, it was, well, vile. I haven't been so tempted to hurt anyone in practically forever. Needless to say, I didn't turn him to ash, and well, it hurt. Badly."

"But you held back."

"Yes. I did a projection, though. I made them feel the pain they…uh, Hogun and Fandral, had caused Loki. I didn't magnify it or anything, I just needed to make them understand the kind of harm words alone could cause."

"Seems reasonable considering many of Loki's problems are due to the Asgardians not understanding the power of their words to hurt so deeply."

Kara sighed. "It was out of line. I had no right to do it, and if Loki finds out, he's going to be pissed."

"He's a proud man. He wants to fight his own battles."

"I know. But I hurt for him. I still have so little objectivity where he's concerned."

"We rarely do when it comes to people we love."

She laughed. "Noticed that, did you? Yes. I love him. Stupid as that may be." Kara lapsed into silence for a few minutes. Raj waited patiently. "How foolish is it to fall in love with a man who can never conceivably return it? Yes, I know. People develop crushes on celebrities they'll never meet all the time, but it's not the same. This isn't a teenage crush, Raj. I love him. I want to protect him, to be there for him, and it's all so impossible."

"Have you read him, does he not feel the same for you?"

"No, I haven't read him about this, that would be horribly unethical. I do pick up he cares about me, but whether it's simple lust or something more I don't know. Honestly, I don't think I want to know. Even if he didn't think I was a lesser being because I'm human, even if he did somehow return my feelings, they'll take him away soon. Assuming they don't kill him outright, they're likely to lock him up for well past the remainder of my lifetime."

"Perhaps. Or perhaps they'll come to understand why this all happened and forgive him."

"Right," Kara scoffed. "Okay, let's say somehow, by some miracle that happens. I'm going to grow old and die…I'll be dust before he even seems to have aged a year by our standards. I have nothing to offer him but heartache."

Raj handed her the ever-present box of tissues as tears began to fall. There was nothing remotely comforting he could say in response to that tragically accurate assessment. "So you've given up? Are you going to walk away from him when he needs you most?"

"I'm not going to walk away," she managed after drying her eyes and blowing her nose. "I-part of me wants to confront him about his feelings, to stand up for myself. But I can't. Not because I'm not strong enough, I am. If this were a normal situation, if he were human, I would. I wouldn't stand for him not really telling me how he feels. He does need me. I'm all he has right now, and he really needs someone to care about him unconditionally, without demands, so he can start to heal from the damage that idiot father of his did by lying to him for a thousand years. Not to mention the normal younger brother to a freaking superstar crap that went on."

"You're setting yourself up for a great deal of heartache."

"I know. It's going to rip me apart, but I can't not do this, Raj. I know how it feels to be the monster. I know how it feels to have those who should love me walk away from me in fear and disgust. I cannot do that to another living soul. That would destroy me, to do that when know I could ease that pain simply by acknowledging my love and sticking with him for as long as I'm allowed. I can't walk away from him; I can't add to his pain by abandoning him just to spare myself. I won't do it."

"Will you promise me something?"

"Humph, I thought I was the only one who asked for promises."

"Not hardly. When he is gone, when you need help with the pain, call me. I'll come see you every day, as long as it takes until you can handle it on your own. Promise me you will not try to hold the pain inside and that you will not blame yourself or anyone else for it."

Kara sighed. "I promise I'll try. And I promise I will ask for and accept help."

"Good enough, my friend."

… …

Bruce breathed a sigh of relief as the scanner disgorged the still nervous god of mischief. The soothing harp music had helped. Loki's rapid blinking had subsided and he'd lain there with his eyes peacefully closed, but the tension had never fully left his sculpted muscles. He bit back a grin as two of the technicians sighed with appreciation as Loki's body was revealed yet again. The god would no doubt take the female tech's interest in stride, but her male coworker? Bruce wasn't so sure. He moved to the foot of the table and held out a hand to assist Loki in rising. "I know, you don't need help, but being confined like that tends to stiffen the muscles a bit."

The corner of Loki's mouth twitched and he looked annoyed, but he accepted the hand and sat up, swinging his long legs over the edge of the cushioned surface as he did so. The two techs sighed again and Loki's eyebrows rose. "Thank you, doctor," was all he said as Bruce handed him his pants.

Bruce nodded, stepped back and fought to hide a grin as the god slowly put on his briefs…was he…yes, the damn man was actually posing for the gawking duo, flexing muscles, stretching out. He turned away and let the grin emerge. Tony was standing there, also gawking, though his attention was more on the antics of the almost drooling techs than on those of the god. "When you're done dressing, Kara is going to meet you and Tony in the gym," Bruce said over his shoulder. "You and your brother's friends are going to help her test out her new armor, if you don't mind."

"No, not at all. Though I thought it was tested. Really Stark, did you employ yet more technology without a thorough test? Will you never learn?" Loki asked with a distinct edge to his voice.

"Get off it, snowman. The testing is for her to get used to wearing it and what the tolerances are. I have thoroughly tested it, I know what it would take to make it fail, but she needs to know for herself so she doesn't get overconfident. It will help protect her, but it doesn't make her invulnerable, and she needs to understand that first hand."

"Ah." Loki walked to a point between them and paused as he buttoned the black long-sleeved shirt. "That makes sense, then. I agree. Was there an issue with making the armor more invulnerable?"

"Um, yeah," Tony said, dragging out the word."Kara's in good shape, but she's not excessively strong for a woman and she needs to be able to move in it. Much more protection and she'd need to have powered armor just to walk. It's not like we expect her to go head to head with something big and bad like I can. She just needs to be within line of sight of her targets and to be able to concentrate without worrying about someone shooting her or something else, um, mundane."

"I see. If the All-Father should decide he owes you for your services in hosting me, ask him for metal-working secrets for a lighter and stronger alloy. I cannot give them to you without consequences, but he can, within limitations, if he feels you have earned it."

"I'll do that. Thanks for the tip."

… …

Kara stared at the armor that was again hanging in her office. It had changed since she'd worn it yesterday. Not by a huge amount, but still…when the hell had Tony had the time to work on it? She sighed and looked at the boots, helmet and other oddly shaped things that sat on her desk beside a note from the engineering genius. She turned as the door opened behind her.

"Well, what do you think?" Tony asked. "When you went upstairs yesterday, I found some links attached to my file. Looks like my not-so-mysterious hacker thought some upgrades needed to be made after seeing you in it."

"How do you get so much done so quickly?" she asked.

"Uh, Jarvis, mostly. I come up with the specs, put it all in, and set it up and the manufacturing process commences. Sure, I have to do some of the assembly and touch-ups by hand, but the dreaming it up and figuring out how to make it work is always the bulk of the process for any creation."

"Hmm. Where's Loki?"

"Down in the gym. He wanted to have a private word with tweedle-dum and tweedle-dumber before we got there. He's concerned they're going to hurt you accidentally. I think he underestimates my genius."

She shrugged. "He did that before, and it nearly got him killed. I think he's learned from that. He probably wants to be sure they know they're not working with anything magically enhanced like he says his armor and Thor's is." Holding up a cuff shaped piece she asked, "How does this work, now?"

… …

Hogun looked up from the weight bench as Loki entered the large room the mortals called a gymnasium. The dark prince was alone for a change. He put the weights back on their holder and watched as the half-breed looked around the facility and then let his gaze rest on him. Loki looked wary. "Where is Fandral?" he finally asked.

Grimacing, Hogun replied. "Chasing after the mortal, Agent Hill…Loki."

Loki's eyebrows shot up and he hesitated before speaking. "He never learns. The more he chases them, the faster they run." Loki crossed the room and took a seat on the bench nearest his.

Hogun took a long hard look at Thor's adopted brother. He was a bit thinner and paler than normal, but otherwise looked fully recovered. His eyes, though; they had changed. The usual confident arrogant light in them had died. Small wonder if the man often felt as the lady healer had shown them. Hogun took a deep breath. "Loki, I-I was wrong." He paused as Loki's expression showed his surprise. "I have not walked in your boots and it is not my place to judge you. It was dishonorable of me to do so, I apologize."

"Apology accepted. We'll speak no more of it, hmm?"

"Agreed."

The small door in the side of the room slammed open and a woman dressed in the black uniform of the ship's crew stormed in, Fandral close on her heels. "I believe this belongs to you," she seethed, pointing at his disconsolate friend. "Please try to keep it on a leash." Agent Hill spun on her heel and marched back towards the door.

"Agent Hill," Loki said in a soothing tone. "Fandral does not, in fact, belong to any of us. He is his own man and a warrior of much repute. Even if you are not interested, you should be flattered by his attentions."

"I have work to do," she snapped as she exited, sharply pulling the door closed behind her.

Loki shrugged. "Some mortals have less discernment than others, obviously." He looked up at Fandral and frowned. "You need to be a bit less obvious. I think perhaps you overwhelm them with your presence and the focus of your attentions."

"I'm certain you're right, Loki," Fandral said, somehow sounding like he'd taken the trickster seriously. Of course, Fandral's ego was legendary. Perhaps he simply wanted to believe Loki's surely sarcastic advice.

"Of course. Now, gentlemen, before the others arrive, we need to discuss the armor you will be helping to test. The alloy it is made of is not enhanced and does not have the strength or durability of our own armor, nor do the mortals understand the strength of a blow you can deliver. Until we know how it will hold up, I ask you to use no more than a light sparring strength in your attacks lest you do the lady a grave injury."

This, Hogun decided, was no trick and no lie…nor even an exaggeration. Loki seemed quite concerned about the mortal woman's safety. "Why do you not test it, then?"

"I cannot strike one of them other than in self-defense without adding to the charges against me. It is best that I do not even take up a weapon while I await Odin's pleasure," Loki muttered somewhat sullenly.

"Loki, I don't think any of this is the All-Father's pleasure," Fandral offered. "He is quite nearly as distraught as Lady Frigga over these events. When you fell from the Bifröst, he seemed to visibly age in mere hours. No one could get scarce more than a word at a time from him until you were found."

Hogun could see that Loki didn't believe any of it. "It is true, Loki. There were no feasts, no public meals, no audiences. Drinking was done in gloom and to ease pain, not for enjoyment. Your brother's face was streaked by tears as they returned to the Valhöll and Odin was in such turmoil he had to be supported and guided to the royal wing. We mourned, Loki. We all mourned whether you believe it or no."

"Why?" The question seemed sincere. "None of you were my friends, few ever had a good word for me or about me. Why would anyone mourn my passing?"

"When did you ever allow any to be your friend? Did you ever share a confidence? Did you ever lend a willing hand without thought of what you would gain?" Hogun growled.

"Why should I have offered what was never offered me?" Loki asked. "Did you once think of me as more than a nuisance when we were young? No. I was Thor's little brother. The one who could never keep up, the pest you were forced to include in your hunts and your games. I was always the afterthought, invited along only because Thor would sulk if I were not. Did all of you think that I could not see your scorn, your pity? I have been a fool, that I'll admit. But I have never been stupid."

Hogun frowned and looked at Fandral. The other man stood with his mouth slightly agape, clearly stunned by the accusation. Fandral sighed. "Is that truly how you saw it, Loki?"

"Yes," he hissed. "It is how it was."

Such pain. He needed no 'help' from the lady healer to feel it. Hogun thought hard about the past, about their interactions with Loki. He tried to remember an instance, even one, that would prove the man wrong…and could not. He stood and extended his arm, his hand open, and looked directly into Loki's eyes so that he could see his sincerity. "I am sorry." Hogun stood there, waiting, hoping Loki would take the offering of peace and apology for what it was. He breathed more easily when the wronged man took his offering and clasped arms with him.

"Thank you."

… …

The main doors opened and they turned to watch an armored Kara enter with a suited up Stark. Loki smiled, Stark had found his additional notes and had added improvements to the design. There were now bracers to protect her wrists from heavier impacts, knee cops to protect those critical joints and reinforced boots. The helm, which she held under one arm, was more decorative while being streamlined and providing an improved visual field. "Much better, Stark," he approved.

"Thank you. It looks a bit medieval, but hey, that's a valid style choice…especially for people who don't have regular access to the fashion scene."

"We've kept the style, with improvements, because it works. Not as a fashion statement. Kara, how does it feel?"

"Odd. But then, so did the original design." She shrugged. "I'll get used to it, I guess. And it is kind of fun."

"It's not supposed to be fun."

"Seriously?" Stark interrupted. "This from the man who wears horns like a gazelle?"

Loki shook his head. "They're based on the horns of a six-legged serpent…a dragon, if you will, that is found in the far reaches of Asgard."

"Loki killed one that attacked our hunting party," Fandral added. "That is why the All-Father granted him the honor of using those horns on his dress helm."

"What did he do, talk it to death?"

"Tony! Grow up," Kara scolded.

"He used illusions to distract it, then leapt to its back and plunged daggers through all four of its eyes and into its brain," Hogun told the humans.

"Wow. That's seriously…wow," Stark mumbled.

"It was quite the impressive feat," Fandral agreed. "He saved our lives and should have been feted, but…Thor scolded him for taking such a chance with his own life. As did Lord Odin and the Lady Frigga. So it is little spoken of."

"It's of no consequence," Loki interrupted. He shook his head in warning as Kara started to protest. "Shall we get on with the testing?"