Honestly, at this point, if Marvel is reading, I'm pretty cool with it. Don't own, don't sue.


Chapter 18: The Show Must Go On

The next morning, Loki learned the meaning of Thor's words. She had thought there was no mortal experience worse than tossing up one's accounts. She was wrong. Her head felt as if it were full of sharp rocks, her mouth was dry and sticky, and her body was as stiff and sore as if she had just fought a battle. At some point in the night her illusion had failed and she was now naked.

She tried to summon her magic, but found it hard to concentrate. With much effort, she managed to conjure up a simple knee-length cotton shift in a faded green. She would make something better for situations such as this once she felt better. She ambled out into the kitchen and stood staring blankly into the refrigerator for a few minutes.

"Good morning, Loki!" Thor's voice pounded into her skull.

She greeted him with a bleary-eyed sarcastic stare.

"Ah," Thor said more quietly. "I see you are suffering the effects of last night's excesses."

Loki went back to staring at the fridge, and finally decided on a bowl of cold cereal. It would take the least work. She grabbed the milk and then went about gathering the other necessary items. She sighed heavily as she sat down at the table.

"Does something else trouble you?" Thor asked as he prepared a pot of coffee for himself.

"I don't think I'll be able to work today," she said. She stared hard at her spoon. It lifted, wobbling, a few inches off the table, and then clattered back down.

Thor looked concerned. He remembered times when they were younger, when Loki would show off by eating an entire bowl of soup without using his hands. "I believe there is a provision for illness in human culture. It is called a 'sick day.' One 'calls in sick' and is given a day of rest to recuperate."

"Great," she said with little enthusiasm. If only she hadn't vanished her cellphone for safekeeping. She tried to recall it, and succeeded only in making a small popping noise. She resolved to try again once she had eaten.

After breakfast, she sat on the couch in a meditative pose. She breathed deeply, and concentrated. She reached, carefully and patiently, into the half-dimension where she kept such things, and located the cell phone. Quickly, she pulled before her reserves gave out. She smiled at the cell phone in her hand, although there was a sheen of sweat on her forehead and her headache had returned with a vengeance. She located Tony's number in the programmed phone book, and made the call.

"Hello?" it was Pepper who answered.

"Hi Pepper, it's Loki. I'm not feeling well and it's messing with my magic. Can you tell Tony I won't be coming in today?"

"Uh-huh," Pepper said suspiciously. "Tony's a bit under the weather himself, so I guess that Italian marble will just have to wait until Monday."

Shit, Loki thought. Is it Friday already?

"Listen," Pepper said suddenly, "Did anything happen last night that I should be... concerned about?"

Oh great. She thought about it a moment.

"Loki?" Pepper pressed.

"Hang on, I'm trying to remember. It's a bit fuzzy." She and Tony had kissed, that much she remembered just fine. But then they had laughed it off, it wasn't like anything serious had happened, or that anything would come of it. "Nope," she said at last.

"Are you sure? Because Tony has been acting weird."

"Weird how?"

"He's being nice to me."

"And that's weird?" Loki joked.

"It is when he has a hangover," Pepper laughed a little.

"Look, I can't lie, remember? We got drunk, laughed about stuff, and then I went home." It was a truthful account, if not a complete one.

Pepper sighed, relieved. "Alright. Well I hope you feel better soon," she said politely and then hung up.

Loki groaned and flopped over on the couch. That had been exhausting.


Loki had spent much of the rest of the day on the couch recuperating. The small version of Jarvis in her laptop had informed her that dehydration was the main cause of her problem, so she did her best to down as much water as possible. She went to bed early, before Thor had even come home, and awoke the next morning feeling greatly refreshed.

This was good news because this morning was the 'dress rehearsal' for her mission with Natasha later that night. She used her replenished magic to cast an illusion of the same no-nonsense outfit she had worn to the meeting with Fury. She stepped out of her room to get breakfast, and nearly ran straight into Thor.

"Um, hi." She tried not to giggle like a silly girl, but he didn't have a shirt on and that was seriously impairing her thought processes.

"Good morning, Loki. I see you are feeling better, that is good. I was wondering if you had any plans for today." He took a closer look at her clothes. "I assume so?"

It was then she noticed the cellphone he held, one hand politely covering it to keep their conversation private. She could guess who was on the other end.

"Yes, I'll be busy all day today," she said stiffly. "In fact, don't wait up for me, I won't be back until very late."

Thor frowned. "What will you be doing?"

She bristled. She didn't have to report to him. "Stuff with Natasha," she said shortly, and nearly ran for the door before his shirtlessness made her compromise the mission further. Once she had the front door between them, she took a moment to catch her breath.

Natasha stood in the hallway, giving her a strange look. "What's got you all worked up?"

Loki pointed over her shoulder with her thumb.

Curious, Natasha went to the door, carefully cracked it open, and looked through. There stood Thor, shirtless in a pair of low-slung black jeans, talking on the phone with a look of pure joy on his face. She closed the door. "Whoa. Even if he were my brother I would see your point."

Loki just sighed.

"Let's get to work," Natasha suggested, knowing that nothing got her mind off things like throwing herself into a mission.

She nodded. Natasha led her back to her own apartment, and locked them inside. On the kitchen table was an array of equipment: guns, knives, a few bits of tech, as well as a green blouse and black miniskirt. Black stiletto boots sat on one of the chairs

"This is what I'll be wearing," she gestured towards the table.

"All of it?" Loki asked incredulously.

Natasha laughed a little. "Yes, all of it. Except this," she picked up a small square chip. "This is for you."

Loki took it from her, it was very thin. "What is it?"

"A tracker," she said bluntly, "in case the mission goes to shit and we have to get rescued."

Or I run away, Loki thought despondently.

Natasha seemed to sense her reservations. "I've got one too," she explained, and showed her a small scar on her inner left forearm.

Loki paled. "Does this go in my arm?"

Natasha shrugged. "Mine's there in case I need to dig it out with a knife," she said matter-of-factly. "We figured you could probably magic it wherever you liked."

So they do trust me a little, she thought. "I have a better idea," she held up her ruby pendant. "This cannot be damaged or removed from my person, do you have anything that would adhere it to the back permanently?"

Natasha's eyebrows shot up. "Yes, actually." She went to one of the kitchen drawers, and pulled out an epoxy kit. She took out the various tubes of chemicals, and took the chip back from her. "You sure you want to do this? SHIELD will know your whereabouts 24/7."

Loki shrugged with a confidence she did not feel. "Why should I worry? I haven't got anything to hide from them."

Natasha watched her a moment, then shrugged. She wouldn't have agreed to her own tracker if she hadn't been able to remove it, but she supposed Loki had more to prove. She smeared the various elements on the back of the chip, mixing them together with a toothpick. When they started to set, she picked up the chip and held out her hand for the ruby.

Loki quickly changed the necklace to be much longer, and dropped it in her open palm. It felt strange to have someone else holding the account of all her sins. Natasha flipped it over and placed the chip deftly in the center.

"Here, hold that on. It will take a few minutes to set completely." She handed the necklace back to Loki, but continued to stare at it.

"What?" She asked in response to Natasha's frown.

"If you're going to be wearing that, I'll need to have one too. We're supposed to match as closely as possible." She looked thoughtful.

"I can change everything except the gem itself," Loki offered. "What would look best?"

"Something long like that," she offered. "But with a fancy chain, and a wrapped wire setting."

Loki changed the necklace to match Natasha's description, hiding the tracking chip in the process. "Like this?"

Natasha nodded. "Can you make me a replica?"

She smiled. "Of course," she held up her free hand, concentrated, and an exact duplicate materialized above it. She handed it to Natasha, who did a double take when she took it.

"Loki, is this a real star ruby?" she asked.

"Well, yeah," she answered, confused. Hadn't she asked for a replica?

Natasha said something softly in Russian. "This must be worth... several million dollars."

"Oh." Loki thought about that a moment. "Is the place we're going well-lit? Will anyone believe it's real?"

Natasha let out a breath. "No, you're right. It's fine."

Loki looked at the clothes laid out on the table. "I think, to be safe, I should replicate the clothes as well." she picked up the skirt. It was very short, she wasn't sure how comfortable she'd be in it.

"Ok," Natasha was checking over one of the guns.

After she duplicated the shirt, skirt, and boots, Loki glanced toward the bathroom. "I'll need to see you in it to get the details right."

"Sure. You can change in the bathroom." She didn't even look up from what she was doing.

Loki closed the bathroom door and sighed. Natasha could be more than a little intimidating when she was in full-on Black Widow mode. When she put the clothes on, she was a little surprised to discover how small the assassin really was-they didn't fit her at all. She had to use more magic to make them all bigger except, depressingly, through the bust. That had to be sized down. Suddenly Loki felt gawky and boyish next to the curvy little agent.

Then she caught sight of herself in the mirror. The blouse was her very favorite color, a vibrant emerald, which matched her eyes perfectly. Her long black hair fell about her like a midnight waterfall, almost to the hem of her skirt, which looked obscenely short on her long, long legs. She was, what was the line? A tall drink of water. She smiled and walked out of the bathroom, her confidence restored.

And she needed it. Natasha had changed, and the outfit had an altogether different effect on her. The shirt seemed a garish echo to her pale green eyes, and made her red hair seem like a burst of flame. The tiny black skirt hugged her wide hips, and threatened to reveal much if she were to bend over...

"Does this really need to be this short?" Loki pulled on the skirt, trying to make it longer without magic.

Natasha laughed, and for once it sounded genuine. "Yes, it does. We're trying to attract attention, remember?"

Loki sighed and set to studying Natasha's appearance. She circled her once, then came to face her. There was a slight glowing, and then Natasha was staring at herself.

"Hmm..." she studied Loki's work, mimicking her examination. "Part the hair on the other side, so we're mirrored," she suggested. After Loki complied, Natasha sighed.

"What?" Loki looked at herself, looking for a flaw.

"It's just... weird, to look at myself like this," she admitted.

"Is this better?" Loki let the illusion of Natasha's face fall, but only to her. Now she resembled her own self again. Natasha frowned. "Look," Loki pointed to the mirror above the sink. There, in the glass, stood two Natashas. "I only look this way to you," she explained.

Natasha nodded. "That should work, then." On the table, her phone chimed. She went over to check it. "Well, change into something comfortable," she advised. "We have a plane to catch. Unless, of course, you can just teleport us there." She began to pack up her equipment.

Loki laughed, letting the illusion fall completely. "That would be nice, but no, I can't 'teleport' as you call it."

Natasha frowned. "That's not what the security tapes say."

"Oh that," Loki waved a hand dismissively. "Just a parlor trick. I cast a double illusion, the image of myself and to make my real self invisible. Then I move where I like, and..." Loki disappeared, "dismiss them both," she said from behind Natasha.

To her credit, Natasha turned slowly, without seeming surprised.

"If I could teleport, why would I have stayed in that horrible cage?" Loki frowned.

Natasha shuddered. She did not like to think about how differently their little... conversation would have ended. "Because getting caught was all part of your master plan?"

Loki smiled. "Ok, so it was, but that doesn't mean I enjoyed the accommodations."

By this time Natasha had all of her equipment packed. She ducked into her bedroom to change into her traveling clothes, and Loki cast an illusion of similar ones, vanishing the outfit for later.

"Let's go," Natasha said seriously, and Loki nodded.