I do not own any of Marvel's characters. But it's ok, because I'm not getting money from them either.
Chapter 9: Movie Night
In the elevator, Loki changed her skirt to pants and her shoes to flats. She kept the underwear, though, figuring it was expected of her. She was tired of playing this game. She found her way, again with Jarvis's polite direction, to the theater. Once inside, she couldn't decide if it was extravagant or modest. At the front was a full size screen, such as she had glimpsed in people's memories of movie theaters. It took up almost the whole wall. But the gently sloping floor held only a handful of overstuffed couches, which bore pillows and blankets and had little end tables on either side. It was much cozier than the rows of flip-down seats, and Loki approved.
"Hey," Tony called from the front. "We were wondering if you would show."
Loki walked down to the front row of couches, and Steve turned around to wave awkwardly.
"I thought it sounded like more fun than learning how to be a girl," Loki offered, scrunching up her nose.
Tony laughed at that, and grabbed a brown bottle from a bucket of ice. "Can you get drunk?" he asked.
Loki smiled ruefully. "I assume so, but I've been warned off alcohol. Throwing up is probably my least favorite human experience so far."
Tony handed the bottle to her anyway. "Ehhh, that won't happen unless you get wasted. A couple of these won't hurt. Then you can steal Cap's cream sodas."
"Thanks," Loki said, and plopped down on the couch. "So what are we watching?" she took a sip of the beer, frowned a little at it, and sipped again.
"We were just discussing that," Steve answered.
"Luckily it's my day to pick, or he'd make you watch 'The Sound of Music.' " Tony rolled his eyes.
"Hey! That is a good movie!" Steve protested.
Tony turned to Loki. "I should never have shown it to him," he told her conspiratorially. "But I have a great idea. Since you've got this whole no lying thing going on, I thought we should watch 'Liar, Liar.' It's about a guy who can't lie."
Loki lifted an eyebrow. "Sounds... instructive."
"Not really, but it's funny." Tony picked up a remote and flipped through a couple menus before selecting the movie.
Loki found that Tony was correct, the movie was very funny. She even found herself chuckling at a few scenes-it felt like forever since she had really laughed. However, as the movie played on, her stomach started to hurt, and she left her beer unfinished, afraid it was the culprit. She settled into a more comfortable position, with her knees pulled up towards her chest.
As the credits began to roll, Tony grinned. "What do you think?" he asked
"Most amusing," Loki nodded.
"It was very funny," Steve admitted. "A little inappropriate, but funny."
"Oh, come on, Cap," Tony rolled his eyes. "Loosen up."
"I thought the lead was a very talented actor," Loki offered.
"What, Jim Carrey? Yeah, he's a comedic genius. Hey are you ok?" Tony had turned to speak to her and noticed that she looked a little pale.
"I am feeling a little unwell," she said quietly. "My stomach hurts. I think the drink was perhaps not a good idea."
Tony frowned. "Well what did you have for lunch?"
"Lunch?"
"What have you eaten today?" Tony asked slowly and loudly, as if she were a slightly deaf.
"Oh, I had some fruit and pastries upon waking," she said.
"And nothing since then?" Steve asked.
She nodded.
"Jeez, Loki," Tony glanced at his watch. "It's like 2 o'clock. Your belly button is probably rubbing up against your spine by now. Don't you guys eat up in the big shiny in the sky?" he got up and went to a small kitchen in the back of the room.
"Well, yes, we have feasts. And when we are recovering from injuries we must take nourishment as well. But it's not really necessary."
Steve chuckled. "Well now it is. Being human rule #1: eat three square meals a day."
Loki frowned. "What is a square meal?"
Tony came back down the rows of couches with a plate and glass. "It's the kind golden boy here eats-a meal for squares."
"Hey!" Steve protested, but he was smiling.
Tony handed her the food. "Ham and cheese with a glass of milk. The cure for what ails ya."
"Thank you," Loki smiled. "Why does it seem like you're always feeding me?" she joked.
Tony plopped down on the couch. "Well, can't have you passing out and drooling all over the suede," he quipped. He had pulled up a list of Jim Carrey movies and was flipping through them.
"What's wrong with that guy's head?" Steve asked suddenly.
"Oh ho ho," Tony chuckled with evil glee. "This we have to do. We are going to watch... The Mask."
Steve and Loki just stared back at him. He sighed exasperatedly. "Just watch." He pushed a button on the remote and the movie started.
If the first movie had been funny, this one was hilarious. There were many things that Tony laughed at which Loki didn't catch the humor of, but there was also a great deal of physical humor that anyone would find funny. Right away, she could see why Tony had chosen the movie: the infamous mask the movie was named for had supposedly been made by Loki himself. It imbued the wearer with his powers and completely removed their inhibitions. She was a little disappointed when the protagonist claimed he would use these powers to become a superhero. But then he robbed a bank instead, and she found herself secretly admiring the variety of ways in which he took advantage of the ridiculous abilities it granted him.
After the movie, they sat around laughing at Tony recounting particularly good lines. He explained a few of the references, although they lost a little in translation. The meal had made Loki feel much better, and she resolved to keep better track of the time to keep her human body fed.
"You should get a watch," Steve suggested, showing her his, which sported his shield's logo on its face.
Loki nodded, and held out her arm, magicking a slender, more feminine model onto her wrist.
"Whoa," Tony was fascinated. "I have to admit, that is a pretty cool trick."
"Yeah," Steve agreed. "How does it work? I mean, I'm no super-genius, but I'm guessing it's a little different than the movies," he gestured towards the screen.
She stared at the screen, remembering. "Well... I suppose such an object could be created... Especially in the sense that it removed the wearer's inhibitions. But the additional powers... The ability to manipulate the physical world and change his shape... The wearer would need to know magic to tap into them, know how to access it and wield it. It's very difficult to explain."
Tony grinned. "Well I am a super-genius. Try me."
Loki sighed heavily. "I do not even know where to begin," she slumped back into the couch, closing her eyes. "The first century I studied magic I did not even do the simplest spells. I only learned how to watch, to listen, to feel for the magic, how it flows and works. My mother..." her voice caught a little in her throat, but she continued, "would let me watch her work. Then, in the second century, she taught me very small things, like this," she held out a hand, and a small green flame came to life above it.
Tony was instantly mesmerized, but Steve frowned as the gears turned in his head.
"Wait, how old are you?"
"Time moves differently here than it does in Asgard. What year is it?"
"2012," Steve sounded as if he almost couldn't believe it himself.
"And when did Midgardians begin to worship my people as gods? I would guess that event would coincide with the war with Jotenheim, which spilled over into your world."
Steve shrugged. "Jarvis?" he asked.
"The earliest textual evidence of the Norse religion dates back to the late 9th century," the disembodied voice replied.
Loki shrugged. "There you go. About twelve hundred years."
Tony and Steve stared back at her, astounded. "Well, you got me beat," Steve laughed.
"I have an idea," Tony sat up straight. "I might not be able to feel the magic, but I bet if you did some hocus pocus in front of my high-tech sensor array, it might be able to tell us how you do what you do in words we understand."
"Words you understand," Steve muttered.
Tony hopped off the couch and held out a hand to Loki. "By we I mean the good doctor and I."
Loki had reached out to take Tony's hand, but froze when she realized who he meant. She pulled back her hand, looking like she wanted to disappear into the couch. "Does Dr. Banner have to be there?" she whispered.
Tony frowned.
"Hey," Steve said softly. "There's more to Bruce than the big green monster," he reassured her. "He's a really nice guy when you get to know him. Besides, he really does have a lid on it."
Loki turned to face him and for a moment her fear was hidden under scorn and disbelief. "You honestly believe that? Then you are fools. It was so ridiculously easy to set him off. If Agent Romanov hadn't ... distracted me into revealing my plan, I doubt you would have gotten away so easily."
Tony and Steve exchanged a look, shocked by the venom in her voice. They had both forgotten, for a moment, who she was.
Loki ran a hand over her face, sighing heavily. "I am sorry, that was uncalled for. It's just... that kind of fear is not something I am accustomed to dealing with." She looked away from them, thinking. "What if something were to happen? What if your machines do not like my magic?"
"Well, Bruce has more experience with experiments gone wrong than anyone else, but no, he doesn't need to be there. I can go over the data with him later." Tony offered.
"Ok," she said quietly, and got to her feet without Tony's assistance.
"I think I'll hit the gym, then," Steve offered as a farewell, heading out the door.
"Make sure it doesn't hit back!" Tony shouted after him. Steve laughed and waved behind him.
"What was that all about?" Loki asked.
"Oh, Cap's been having a hard time finding sparring partners at his ability level. Us puny mortals just aren't up to scratch, but your brother swings a little too hard."
"That sounds about right, I remember he was fairly evenly matched with me in Stuttgart," Loki agreed.
Tony frowned. "You remember Stuttgart?"
Loki bit her lip. "Most of it. I don't remember why I was there. It was to be a diversion, but there was something else..."
Tony rubbed a hand through his hair. "If I remember Barton's report correctly, you stole a guy's eyeball."
Loki's nose wrinkled. "His eyeball? How-" she paused as her ruby pendant flashed and a little color drained from her face. "No, don't tell me. I don't want to know."
"Aaaaaaanyway," Tony steered the conversation back on track, "I built a training dummy with some AI to spar with him. We're still working out the bugs."
"Bugs?" Loki asked as the elevator returned to take them up to the lab.
"Last week it actually managed to give him a black eye in the first 30 seconds. It was gone an hour later, of course, but it was something of a new experience for him. We just need to dial it down a bit," he chuckled.
Loki smiled in response but seemed preoccupied. Tony left her to her thoughts as they rode the elevator up to the lab, he had never liked talking in elevators anyway.
A/N: Fun fact: The date listed at the beginning of Thor is in the 900's, so Loki is actually a little less than 1100 years old, but the information Jarvis gave is correct. *shrugs* A century or two off is close enough, right? lol
