Kara bit back a smirk as she watched Clint and Nat emerge from Nat's suite with damp hair. "Christening the Jacuzzi?" she asked lightly.

Clint actually flushed. Amazing. "Uh, hi, Doc," he said, ignoring her question.

She chuckled. "The next time you tease Steve about blushing over something, I'm going to remind you of this."

"I'm not blushing."

"Sure, you aren't."

Nat smiled. "It's just the heat from the Jacuzzi," she claimed facetiously, earning a glare from Clint for confirming Kara's guess.

Kara grinned as the elevator doors opened. "Going up?" Bruce asked.

"Yes, we are," she told him. "Come along, lovebirds."

"Kara, I'll let you get away with that crack once and only once," Nat hissed.

She laughed. "Okay, I'll stop. Come on, let's get some dinner."

The short ride to the dining room level was completed in silence. Kara stepped out of the elevator first so that her friends wouldn't see her still highly amused grin. She managed to school her features into a more somber expression before they entered the dining room. "Oh, great timing," Tony said as he came in from the observation lounge, carrying two bottles of wine. "We're having filet mignon, I've got a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Petite Sirah. And yes, Kara, I know you want Port, this is for those of us who drink dinner appropriate wines with dinner."

"Humph. The appropriate wine is one you enjoy drinking," she insisted and stuck her tongue out at him as he smirked. She looked at her already poured glass of wine and lifted it for a taste. A nice full-bodied Souza. Perfect. Tony made the rounds of the table, pouring the others' choices of wine. "Well, if the technological genius gig ever fails him, he could make it as a waiter," she said to Pepper.

"He did that for a while when he was rebelling against his dad."

"You're kidding me?" Kara chuckled at the thought. "How long did he last at it?"

Pepper chuckled. "Only about three weeks."

"Figures." She eyed Nat and Clint as they sat across from her, studiously avoiding looking in her direction. They'd even changed the seating around the table. She was now sitting between Pepper and Bruce. Steve was at the far end across from Tony, and Nat and Clint were alone on the other long side where she had previously sat with Loki. She sighed.

"Hon, try not to think about it," Nat told her.

"I do try. Unfortunately, I think I'll be failing at it for a long time to come," she responded before taking a deep drink of her Port.

"What?" Clint asked, then frowned as he realized what Nat was talking about. "Oh. Sorry." He frowned down at the table as his plate was set before him by Tony's chef. "Thank you," he said. "Look, Doc, I know you're hurting, but you've got to let it go. That blue-eyed freak isn't worth it."

"Oh, Clint, really?" Pepper scolded.

"What?" Kara muttered, and stared at the archer. "What did you say?"

"Sorry, but the man…god…whatever the hell he is, is a freak."

"No, Clint, what did you say about his eyes?"

"Um, they're blue? Kind of a freaky blue. Cold one minute, then all glowing hot the next. Maybe it had something to do with his magic."

"His eyes are green," she managed past the lump that shock was building in her throat.

"No, blue, I had to stare at those damn freaky eyes for days on end."

Pepper frowned. "I thought they were green too."

"They were a very bright blue in Stuttgart," Steve told them. "Kind of glowing, but I thought that was a reflection from that scepter. In the Quinjet, afterwards, they were a more normal icy blue."

"Perhaps they're hazel?" Bruce offered. "Blue or green depending on the lighting?"

Kara sighed. "Bruce, I was on intimate terms with the man for a week. I think I'd have noticed if his eyes changed color in different lighting."

… …

"Uh, guys," Tony began. "I'm kind of remembering blue from before, too. But they were definitely green these past few weeks."

"Do you think?" Natasha asked.

"One way to find out," he told her. "Jarvis, give me some images of Loki that clearly show his eyes. Let's go for same location, same lighting, both before the battle and once he returned here after he was taken from Asgard. What can you find for me?"

A screen lowered from the ceiling. Unlike the set up he had in the labs and his workroom, the living areas did not have interactive holographic displays. The equipment for it was still too intrusive. One of these days he'd find time to refine it enough that it could be used anywhere. An image appeared. It was Loki, standing in the observation lounge while Tony was 'threatening' him. You could feel the intensity of his very blue-eyed stare and that damned smirk. "Okay, that was before he got Hulked. Definitely blue. What else you got for us, J?"

"Formatting, sir." Another shot of Loki, standing almost in the same position, moved into place beside the first. Tony recognized this as well, it was a few days ago, after they'd said their goodbyes. This Loki was wearing a small sad and tired smile…and his eyes were most definitely green. A pure, no way to confuse it with hazel, green.

"Holy shit. That's one hell of a difference. It's about the same type of day, even. Look at the shadows in the room, almost identical in size and direction." He rubbed a hand over his goatee and stared.

"I have one more for you, sir."

"Lay it on us, J." They all watched silently as a third image slid into place. Thor was holding a very battered Loki upright after Bruce's alter ego had finished trashing his floor with the 'puny god'. Loki looked dazed, and his eyes... "Green, damn it to hell, you close-mouthed bastard."

"What happened?" Clint asked.

"Cognitive dissonance," Natasha told him. "The Hulk hit Loki in the head really hard."

"So why the fuck didn't he say something?" Clint demanded.

Kara sighed. "Because he's a stupid, prideful idiot."

"Watch it," Tony said with a grin. "That's your lover boy you're calling an idiot."

She glared daggers at him. "He's a man, Tony. Prideful idiocy comes with the territory."

"Ouch. Okay, I guess I'll own up to that one." He shook his head. "But seriously, we all knew Master Archer over there wasn't to blame for what he did. Loki could have just told us this, we could have searched for the evidence, found it, and cleared his ass."

"I think…he was embarrassed. He's so proud of his power, his strength, his control. I think being controlled just, hell, with all of his other issues, it was probably the icing on the cake. He probably thinks that if he were full-blooded Æsir, it couldn't have happened. So he's probably blaming his Jötunn blood for what he sees as a weakness."

"Full-blooded what?" Bruce asked.

"Æsir," she replied. "That's what the primary race, the gods in Asgard are called. He didn't think it was worth correcting anyone. Hogun and Fandral weren't going to explain because you usually lumped Loki in with them when discussing Asgard. They were all citizens of Asgard so they're all Asgardian. But of the three, only Loki wasn't also a full-blood Æsir."

"Sorry, we missed the lecture. I was in a board meeting and Bruce was at the U.N.," Tony quipped.

"Yeah, and where did that get you, Anthony," Kara teased.

"It wasn't his fault," Clint muttered.

"No, Loki would be the first to say it's still his fault. He kept going back to that whenever I'd press him for an explanation. If nothing else, it's his fault he fell into the void and left himself open to this obscenity," Kara told them. "Though I think a large part of the fault in that is Odin's."

Tony frowned at Clint who was looking thoroughly deflated. "Hard to let go of the hate for what he did to you, huh?" he asked the man, trying to sound sympathetic. Judging from the grateful look Nat shot him, he was successful.

"Yeah, but…damn. It wasn't really his fault."

"Tony, this means that all of the coincidences…remember Erik Selvig telling us that he had some bit of control? He still had to do what he was ordered to do, but he could do things he wasn't specifically ordered not to do, like build in that shut down for the gate," Bruce said. "So Loki was manipulating things, as best he could while not disobeying his orders, to get us, all of us in place to stop the invasion from succeeding."

"Yep. Which means he is one scary smart son of a bitch. And that he probably manipulated the other guy into pounding him into the floor in an effort to break free."

"We've got to do something about this," Cap said. "He's going on trial in Asgard and they don't have all of the facts to make a fair judgment."

Yeah, figured the boy scout would jump on that one first… "You aren't wrong," he agreed. Tony strode out through the observation lounge and onto his launch deck. "Yo, Heimdall! I hope you're listening, because we've got some important news for you. We've just found evidence that Loki was being controlled by the enemy and is not really responsible for the invasion here. In fact, other evidence suggests he fought that control and minimized the damage as much as he could and made it possible for us to shut it down." He paused to take a breath, feeling silly as all hell talking to the air like this. There had to be a better way to communicate. "Anyway, we have to insist that your tribunal take this in to consideration during the trial and sentencing. We're the ones he wronged and we're leaning towards letting it go, that has to count for something, even to your people." He sighed. Hopefully the all-hearing bastard was listening.

He trudged back into the dining room where Kara was sitting hunched over in her seat with tears running down her cheeks. Pepper had an arm around her and Nat was standing behind her, rubbing Kara's shoulders. Kara looked up. "Do you think it will help?" she asked.

Tony sighed again. "Well, he got word to Thor earlier. And per Hogun and Fandral, he told Odin about your little challenge, so there's no reason to think he won't pass this on, too." He shrugged. "Whether it will help, that I can't tell you. I guess it depends on how they view it."

… …

"Damnation, no!" his brother yelled as he slammed the flat of both hands onto the patch of grass he was examining. "How are they doing that?" Loki snarled.

Thor dismounted and walked over to give his brother a hand up. "Doing what, Loki?" he asked as softly as he could manage, not liking the desperately haunted expression on his lean face.

Loki shook his head. "Hiding their trail, brother." Thor's mood brightened as it always did when Loki acknowledged their bond, especially when he did it so casually, without thinking about it. "I can feel the magic…hells, I can smell it. But there is no trail leading here or away from here. Power this intense cannot be just turned on and turned off so completely, but there is nothing. It's been the same thing every day for nigh on a week; it's so damned frustrating."

"I can see that," Thor agreed, frowning as Loki seemed to pull in upon himself. "We'll find them."

"I don't see how, Thor." Loki looked at him and Thor could see despair in his little brother's green eyes. "I-I've failed…again," he said, sounding lost.

"No. You have not failed." He sighed as Loki pulled away from him and stood staring off into the distance, shoulders hunched. "Loki, we asked only that you do your very best to find them. You have done that, and you are finding them, even if it is only where they have just been. That is not a failure," he insisted. "You are closer behind them than even Odin could manage with all of his vast power." Loki turned to glare at him and Thor was startled to see wetness in his brother's eyes.

"Don't you see? That does not matter; if I cannot stop this, then I will be responsible for an invasion of Asgard. If I do not die in the battle that will follow, then the All-Father will be forced to sentence me for betraying the realm. You do know how harsh such a sentence must be?"

Thor shuddered. He did know. The last Æsir sentenced for such a betrayal had been drained of all but his immortality and was still imprisoned in the dungeons, and it had been five centuries since his trial. "Loki, our father could not…"

"For the love of Asgard, Thor, he is NOT my father! Do you not understand that I was a potential tool for him, nothing more?" Loki sank back down onto the ground, shaking. "Now I am not only useless to him, I have betrayed all that he ever cared for. He will not be merciful."

Blinking back tears of his own, Thor settled himself down on the ground and pulled Loki into his embrace. "I do not think you meant to betray us, brother. I will convince him of that, somehow. I swear I will not let…"

"Don't promise what you have no power over. I will not have you forsworn. If you must promise me something, promise me this. Swear that you will somehow, even if you must coerce him, get Kara healed. That is all I would ask of you."

"I've already promised that, and I will do so." Thor looked down at Loki's drawn expression. Silent tears slid down his cheeks. "You truly love her," he said in awe.

"Don't be foolish," Loki whispered in a hoarse voice. "She's mortal."

Thor smiled. "Love is almost always foolish, my brother. It's expected."

His brother laughed brokenly. "Fine. Then I am the greatest of fools. I do love her." He looked up with a bitter smile. "I not only fell in love with a mortal, but with one who will die far younger than most. I never do things by half, do I?"

Chuckling, Thor hugged his little brother tightly and was happy to feel Loki return it. "No, Loki, you have always done everything to the greatest of extremes."

… …

Kara fussed with the diamonds that Tiffany's had lent to her for the big occasion. Natasha was also sporting borrowed jewelry. Nat however, did not look as nervous as Kara felt. The assassin frowned at her as she tugged at the necklace once again. "Kara, it's all in the attitude. Act like you were born to it, and you will look like you were born to it."

"Humph. You, at least, have the name for it." Kara turned to stare at her friend. "Are you related to the royal line?" she had to ask.

Nat shrugged. "The last Czar was my first cousin twice removed, so, yes. But that and a dollar won't even get me a cup of coffee these days."

"There, see? You were born to it. I, well, wasn't."

"No, but you're loved by a prince of Asgard and rightful heir of Jötunheim. That's got to count for something."

Kara felt Nat bracing for a poor reaction to her words. "Relax, I'm not going to spaz out on you. I'll be sensitive about it, probably for as long as I live, but I've got better self control than to just dissolve into a weeping mess at the slightest mention. I save that for when I go to bed at night; that's when it really hurts." She smiled at her friend's approving smile and pat on her shoulder. "Yeah, I'm tough."

Nat chuckled quietly. "You're an Avenger, Kara, that goes without saying."

… …

"Okay, I guess I'm ready," Tony muttered as he inspected himself in the mirror. Again.

Pepper smiled. He'd said the same thing at least four times in the past ten minutes. "You are, now stop admiring yourself, it's time to go."

"I'm not admiring myself, I'm making sure I'm ready to have everyone else admire me. After all, can't let the fan girls down."

"Or the fan boys." She broke out into a laugh at his disconcerted expression. "Oh, come on, Tony. Don't tell me you don't know you are the reigning favorite of the gay community?" He flushed and she laughed harder. "Seriously, you were voted 'Most Lickable Celebrity' last year."

"Huh, not this year?" he asked, sounding disappointed.

She rolled her eyes. "They haven't had the vote this year yet."

"Oh, good. Hmm. Good thing Fr…uh, Loki went back to Asgard."

Now that was a non sequitur and a half. "Okay, I'm probably going to regret asking, but why?"

"He had to undress for those scans back at S.H.I.E.L.D., the two technicians assisting were all but losing it. One of them was male, but I didn't really think he was gay."

Pepper shrugged. "Maybe he was bi?"

"Could be. Anyway, Loki noticed and started pretty much posing for them. It was…interesting."

"Huh, is he that hot naked?"

That earned her a frown. "I don't know. I-well, damn. Yeah, I guess he is. But I'm hotter." He smiled at her skeptical look. "Hey, I am, literally. Human body temperature is a few degrees higher than an Æsir, and theirs are higher than the Frost Giants."

"Oh, Tony." She shook her head and draped her arms around his neck. "I think you are the hottest of the hot," she assured him.

"Yeah, well…that's good, then."

"It is, now come on, we can't be late."

"Fine." He followed her from the room and they stopped to wait for the elevator. "Pepper, you will always be the most gorgeous woman in the world to me, you know that, right?"

She smiled the serene smile that never failed to drive him insane. "I do know it, but it's nice to hear it, frequently."

He laughed. "You've got it, babe."

… …

"So, you're Dr. Banner, huh?"

Bruce turned to look at the young woman who had spoken. She was about five-eight or so, with dark wavy hair, greenish eyes behind her glasses and had full pouty lips and a very amazing cleavage that was shown off by her deep cut sapphire blue gown. "Yes, I'm Bruce Banner," he said, wondering what the girl wanted with him. He wasn't exactly the most popular member of the Avengers at the event. Rogers was surrounded by a bevy of women who still weren't managing to drag him away from his blonde date.

She held out a hand and he took it reflexively. "Darcy Lewis. I work for Jane…Dr. Foster and Dr. Selvig. They weren't able to make it so sent me to visit." She grinned irrepressibly. "I think they just wanted to get me out of their hair for a while."

He had to return her smile. "I'm sure it's not that bad."

"Yeah, you don't know me." She stared at him with a totally perplexed expression for a minute before speaking again. "I don't know, I just can't picture you getting big and green."

Bruce blinked. She was a forward, tactless girl, but…that was better than beating around the bush, he supposed. "Um, thank you?"

Darcy laughed. "I'm sorry. I guess you can see why they're glad for a vacation from me. I don't have much of a tact filter."

"That's okay. I spend a lot of time with Tony Stark, I not only work with him, I live in his tower. He has no such filter at all."

"Wait, you live with that guy," she said, pointing at Tony, "and you don't hulk out on him on a regular basis? Wow, you must have great control."

"It's gotten better. He knows not to follow me if I walk away."

"Good to know. You got a girlfriend?" she asked just as he took a sip of champagne and he nearly choked before he managed to swallow.

"Uh, ahem. No."

Darcy frowned. "Well, that sucks, you're a handsome man." Her eyes narrowed. "Are you gay? It's okay if you are, I don't have a problem with that, just would be good to know, you know?"

Bruce found himself staring at her. She wasn't kidding, she had no filter on that lush mouth whatsoever. "Um, no, I'm not gay." She didn't ask if he was bi, thank heaven. That wasn't something he wanted to discuss with someone he'd just met…particularly when he wasn't sure a hundred percent sure about it himself. Finding certain men attractive did not necessarily mean he wanted a sexual relationship with them.

"Cool." She frowned again. "Do you think Stark is going to mind putting me up at the tower? Jane didn't exactly ask before she sent me here."

Oh boy. "I'll, uh, let Pepper know. She'll take care of it."

"Excellent, thanks, Bruce. Um, can I call you Bruce? I'm not really good with all the doctor this and doctor that stuff."

"Sure, no problem." His eyebrows rose as she wrapped a hand around his arm and stepped in close.

"Great." Darcy smiled up at him. "I've always loved the absent-minded professor look."

Oh. Boy.

… …

"Dr. Gunnarssen?" Kara looked up at the fortyish man approaching her with a bimbo on his arm. "I'm Roger Miller, head of Trauma at NYP, we met briefly last month?"

"Oh, you're the surgeon that helped us save Loki. Yes, I remember. Thank you."

"You're welcome, I suppose. Were you able to get any intel out of the bastard?"

She stiffened. "Loki willingly helped us to prevent a larger invasion. We didn't have to get anything out of him."

"I'm sure he got something out of it, too. People like that never change."

Kara gritted her teeth and reminded herself to be polite. New York Presbyterian had the best trauma center in the city. There was no telling when they'd need them again. "Actually, we discovered he had been coerced into his earlier attack. He wasn't in control of his own actions."

Dr. Miller burst out laughing. "Oh, right. Sure, I bet he's pleading temporary insanity. Though, wait. Isn't he the Norse god of lies? Bet he puts Machiavelli to shame."

If the jerk didn't shut up, she was going to lose it. A stabbing pain shot through her head. "I don't think…"

"Um, Dr. Gunnarssen, I don't want to alarm you, but your nose is bleeding," the asshole said, his voice finally quieting.

She put a hand to her upper lip. Sure enough, a steady drip of blood quickly coated her fingers. "Damn it." Looking around, she saw Hawkeye having a conversation with the Black Widow. "Clint? I need a hand here." He looked up and the two of them hurried over.

"Crap, doc, what happened?"

"Another migraine. I need to go home." She looked over at the hovering surgeon and his arm candy. "Good night Dr. Miller," she said then turned her back on the man. "Get me out of here before I let loose on that bastard," she hissed to Clint.

"Got it. Nat, you want to let Stark know what happened?"

"Will do. I'll catch you both at home."

"Come on, doc, this way," he said, wrapping a strong arm around her waist.

They'd not quite made it to the door when Steve rushed up to them, the pretty blonde waitress he'd brought to the event hurrying behind him. "Doc, we've got an ice pack for your nose," he said as Beth held out a small bag of semi-frozen gel ice pack wrapped in a thin cloth.

"If you hold it here, the bleeding should stop pretty quick," she said pointing to the optimum location. "I've got a damp towelette for the blood, too.

"Thanks, Beth, Steve," Kara managed, taking both items and applying them. "Clint is taking me back to Avengers' Tower."

"We'll go with you. Beth says she's even more bored than I am."

The girl grinned. "It's a real good excuse."

Clint snorted. "Glad to see it's not just me. Come on, doc. Let's get you home and to bed."

… …

Loki stiffened atop his horse as he felt a heavy influx of power building. "Thor, we've got a problem, I think…oh gods, they've got it in place to open a gate, I can feel the power building up."

"Which way?" his brother asked tersely.

He stood up in the stirrups. "That way," he said pointing, then dropped back down in the saddle and spurred his mount forward. They pounded across the dry wash and up the side of the barren riverbed. "We're not going to get there in time," he shouted. "I'll take your horse, go back to the Valhöll, the All-Father must be warned!"

Thor nodded and flung himself from the horse's back. "Head directly back there, if it's already started, you can't stop it, no one can. We need to assemble the host!"

"I'll be right behind you. Go!" Loki grabbed the abandoned reins and turned his own steed toward the Valhöll. His brother was right. He couldn't stop it, but if the device their unknown enemies had built was similar in design to the one put together by Erik Selvig, then the scepter could shut it down. He'd need to be on the Bifröst to travel to Midgard, even under his own power. With the precarious position he was in, he'd ask Odin's permission first. He yelled to the horses as he urged them into a desperate gallop back to the heart of the golden city.

… …

Author's Notes: Yes, I know Loki's eyes didn't glow the same blue as the scepter and tesseract in the movie, I'm taking artistic license. Thank you all again for taking the time not only to read, but to comment and PM me. It really makes my day. I'll try to start off 2013 with a new chapter, but no promises!