Author's Note: Chapter 4 revised now!
Read, review, enjoy ;)
What is a good disguise? Obviously, one you do not recognize as such. The Master of the Masks is the person who manages to perfectly merge in, to be just the way everyone else is, not to draw attention to himself, but stay out of it, leave the spotlight to the others. Yet, someone who actually takes pleasure in this game will hardly stick to that. Why? Again, quite obviously: where would be the fun? To disguise is playing a game. It is not just about not being caught, it's about being on the verge of being uncovered, but sneaking away from the offenders grasp last second before he or she can tear down the mask and show one's true face, one's true colors. The one who disguises is the one who seeks control over his or her own self, to change identity, become whoever he or she wishes to be. The bliss of this game lies in both its thrill and its opportunity to break out of one's shell, change color, change truth. The one who dares to disguise, of course, risks losing himself in this blissful state. Therefore, it is a dangerous game, and... thinking about it... so stupid. If you play, you play to lose, or at least you play in that direction to keep the thrill, because that is the only way your heart starts beating out of your chest, you feel the hairs in your neck standing up, feel this floating sensation of being caught in the moment and no longer caught in the barriers of your own skin. So, the person who plays can never be the Master of the Masks... but up until now... there was no one who managed, because the game is just too much fun.
The next day, Tony, Clint, Steve, and Thor are berating on the latest developments in the lounge.
"... question is how good Loki's disguise is," Steve grimaces, to which Tony shrugs, "Hm, last time I remember he was fairly decent at that."
"That I don't question," Steve argues. "I ask myself if he will keep it up like that. You know that he likes to fool around with us. He might do that only just to piss us off."
"Right. He likes those kinda games," Clint snorts.
"Well, then we don't come around giving him the talk once again," Tony bites the inside of his cheek.
"By the way, has anyone seen him yet?" Clint frowns, glancing around.
"Uhm, I didn't," Tony replies. Steve shakes his head.
"Me neither," Thor joins the chorus.
"JARVIS, call Loki here. We need to talk to him," Tony says, to which the computer replies, "Sir, Mr. Loki is not in the building."
"What?! Why didn't you send an alarm?!" Tony cries out in exasperation.
"I have no answer to that," Jarvis replies. And that is when Tony knows, "That guy messed with my stuff! Bastard! Okay, shut down the entire building, we are searching this guy. Scan the entire area. I want everything, even which cabs left to where."
"Work is in progress," Jarvis tells him.
"I knew he'd pull a trick on us again!" Clint snarls. It was foolish to trust this guy, absolutely ridiculous.
"We can worry about that later. Right now we just have to find him," Steve argues.
"But how did he get outside? Jarvis runs a scan on every person exiting the building. We would have had a silent alarm if he took a chance," Tony grimaces.
"As you said, he messed with your system," Clint tells him.
"But how?!" Tony cries out. No one messes with his stuff - and no one really managed... until now.
"We will worry about the how after we have the know how to get him back," Steve assures him.
"Okay, I'll run the checks," Tony nods.
"The rest of us should look around the building. Natasha and the others are already outside," Clint tells them. The Avengers spread out. Tony makes his way over to the ops room to work on his computers. He is perfectly absorbed into his work as suddenly the door opens. He turns his head, expecting one of his mates to come in, but instead one of SHIELD, as the uniform tells him, comes into view... or well.
"Hello there, gorgeous," Tony mutters to himself. That woman, even in uniform, looks absolutely stunning. She has very long softly curled raven hair, flowing with every of her moves. Her face is pale as porcelain and looks just as fragile. Her features are soft, but strong at the same time, high cheek bones and a long distinguished neck. Her lips are heart-shaped, not too big, but not thin either. Her nose is fine and straight, small and pointy. Her body is generally that of a top model, other than being a little short in height perhaps: strong shoulders, graceful arms, beautifully frail hands, breasts that look as though they were made by God even in the uniform, her waist is just like an hourglass, thin, but still womanly, her buttocks looks from the front already just right, and must be even more a sight when seen from behind, and legs, God, those legs seem endless. They only end with tiny feet in high heeled boots. Tony has to try very hard not to stare at her with open mouth... even if he catches himself gaping. He clicks his jaw together with a snap before he puts on his signature flirtatious smirk.
"Hi. What can I do for you?" Tony asks her, to which she replies sweetly, "Uhm, I was ordered here. Sorry, I'm still new, fresh from the academy, kinda. Everyone just got really upset and... I'm a little confused because I am not that familiar with the building yet."
"So you are none of the badass super agents of the SHIELD?" Tony snickers.
"Not really. Analyst division. I'm more of the... geek," the girl smirks at him.
"And here I thought that geeks were the ones with bracelets and glasses," Tony jokes, to which she tilts her head playfully, "Tells me the billionaire, philanthropist, and playboy who invents an arc reactor in a cave in Afghanistan?"
"Good point," Tony laughs. "So you are supposed to help me?"
"I am supposed to gather information and then report to my boss," the young woman shrugs.
"So update it is?" Tony summarizes, to which she nods, "Yeah."
"Alright, come over here, pretty girl," Tony smirks.
"Pardon?" she makes a face, but Tony grins self-consciously, "Oh, c'mon, you are gorgeous, so I think I can say that without stepping on your tiny toes."
"Mr. Stark, you are flattering me," she replies with an air of sarcasm.
"It is truth, and you can say about me what you want: I always say what I think," Tony argues.
"You have that certain kind of reputation," she shrugs at him.
"Do I?" Tony asks playfully.
"Yeah, kinda...," she nods with a smirk tugging at her lips.
"What else does that involve?" Tony questions her curiously.
"Oh, I don't think we should talk about this," she shakes her head with a grimace.
"Why not?" Tony blinks at her, to which she replies, "Because I already said too much, Mr. Stark."
"Call me Tony," he smiles at her. She tilts her head in his direction, "Is this a secret code for something?"
"Just not to be all so formal, you know, get loose, have fun," Tony smirks.
"... and all fun breaks loose once one is allowed to call you by your first name?" she retorts drily.
"Nah, that's just the usual ice breaker," Tony smiles.
"I wasn't aware there was ice between us," she frowns playfully.
"Didn't think so either," Tony winks at her.
"Then what do you need the ice breaker for?" she asks.
"To get you to party with me," he smirks.
"When we should be working and someone who might be a threat to the world is on the loose," the girl suggests.
"That's a way to train your Zen, even when crisis strikes you still have the nerves to party," Tony tells her.
"Zen, really? Now the next thing you are going to say is that Iron Man practices Yoga," she cocks an eyebrow at him.
"Totally," Tony gesticulates wildly to underline his point.
"Yeah?" she asks, obviously not buying it.
"Absolutely," Tony smirks. "I'm the total expert. I have like... the black belt."
"Right," the girl rolls her eyes at him.
"Hey, I'm totally serious. I can do them all. The whole... breathe bad energy in or out, whatever. You know what I mean," Tony argues with mock-vehemence.
"Seriously?" she challenges him.
"Hey, you show me yours, I show you mine. If you don't trust me, you have to gimme a reason. I mean, who tells me that you know about this?" Tony retorts playfully. The woman suddenly steps back and performs a very difficult Yoga figure where you really have to balance and strength – and damn does she have legs... and the buttocks. Goodness sake! Tony instantly tries to focus on some algorithm and then on Pepper... okay, we are good.
"Black belt can surely copy that," she smirks, which makes Tony giggle, "Okay, fine, you caught me. I'm more for the... Kamasutra department. But on that one I rock!"
"Wow... okay, weird... Mr. Stark," the woman makes a disgusted face.
"Tony," he argues.
"Wow... okay, weird... Tony," she repeats flatly.
"Why?" Tony questions.
"You know, there is gossip, and that's put on TV... and those shows always update you on who's free and who's not... and you seemingly belong to the latter species," she shrugs.
"Oh, that is my way of making conversation. I talk that way with everyone," Tony explains.
"So like... Tourette, is it? You just have to flirt while talking?" the girl grimaces.
"Love is my drug, as I like to say," Tony smiles at her smugly.
"So that is just the way you talk to... the other Avengers, like... Captain America... Doctor Banner?" she argues.
"Oh, yeah, I slap their booties also, you know, that's what friends do," Tony smirks.
"If you do that with me, it's called sexual harassment, as far as I'm concerned," she shrugs.
"But I only do that with my best buddies, so... don't feel afraid," Tony assures her.
"Huh... well, I think I let myself get carried away far too far already... I should be gone by now anyways. You know, my boss will rip me to shreds," she makes a face.
"If so, he or she'll be mad already anyways. Then a few more minutes won't do harm. Plus, I can cover up for you. I kept you from it," Tony smirks, to which she cocks an eyebrow at him, "You would testify for me?"
"For a girl like you, sure as hell," Tony grins.
"Oh, now I do feel flattered," she replies with a hint of sarcasm.
"Really?" Tony smirks.
"If the Iron Man is there to protect you against your boss, then yeah, that does impress a woman. Or man," she shrugs.
"I'm a lady's man," Tony snickers.
"So I got told," the girl rolls her eyes.
"By whom?" Tony asks curiously. She turns to him sarcastically, "There is this thing called internet."
Tony laughs out loud at that, visibly impressed with her presence. She is sweet, but she has a temper, that's for sure. Even if she tries to play it down, she does so to make it seem like it is a game: what is truth, what is not, what is sarcasm, where lies the truth? It creates a mystery wafting around her like a fine mist. You think you know her, but only just a bit, enough to feel comfortable, but too little to lose interest. At the same time, she has an opinion, and she has that much guts to speak up to Tony Stark like that without the slightest bit of nervousness – that really speaks for her.
"Well, how about you... update me? Then we can at least truthfully say that we did something useful?" she suggests, and Tony agrees, "True, okay... so... hm, professional talk it is: I ran a basic grid investigation on the closer periphery. Turned out empty. At the same time we are looking at general madness and destruction, which could be suspected... but nothing yet... there will be alarm once something happens in the world entirely, hope that will be enough."
"It should be," she shrugs.
"Well, we are looking for special energy signatures, problem is that our friend likes to disguise. Dunno if he will not alter it in some way so we can't detect it," Tony tells her. The girl glances at the screens, "I see... did you try the same on the building also?"
"Yep, but JARVIS didn't find him," Tony nods.
"And you can't check if he hides in here?" the woman frowns at him.
"I don't know what I'm looking for. You come to have the answer?" Tony grimaces.
"Well, when was he last seen?" she asks him, so Tony turns to Jarvis again, "Wait... JARVIS, check the video surveillance and run a facial scan. Tell me when Loki was last seen and show me the footage of the time."
After a few seconds the material is put on display. Loki walks through the hallway to his room, smirking as viciously as he always does. He then enters his room.
"That is the last record, Mr. Stark," Jarvis tells him.
"So he didn't leave the room?" Tony grimaces.
"We have no record of that," Jarvis confirms.
"And are there any signs in the room of him breaking out?" the girl asks. Tony takes his chance of flirting a little, leaning over her back to get to the other part of the screen, testing the waters, for the fun of it. He is happily in love with Pepper, but he was truthful when he said that this is just his way of communicating. Others drink or bet, he flirts. It's his game. And Tony wants to see if he can actually get her uncomfortable – because that is the greatest fun: to break the icy shell of a girl who teases him.
"Does that look like it?" Tony plays it cool, but the young woman is calmly fixing on the screen, unimpressed, "Windows are in place. Nothing seems broken... and from this here I take there are no special energy signatures... so... I would say no."
Tony actually thought she would try to steal away from him leaning close. Most women do at first – out of embarrassment or surprise, but this girl confidently stands her ground, her breath not even hitching for just a second. No, she even teasingly bucks her hips back so that Tony is the one drawing away. She is seemingly fully aware of the rule 'flirt but don't touch' which is true for him and Pepper. The girl either is really much into him and tries to test the waters herself, or she is just too proud to give him the satisfaction, both things making Tony want to discover more. She really understands this whole mysterious-woman-theme, and how to work it.
"You might be of help, actually. So now you are on my team," Tony smirks at her, and she grins back, "Oh, am I? Shouldn't I talk to my boss before I switch to the Stark Department?"
She turns her head, causing her hair to fall over her shoulders even more beautifully, flashing a cute little smile with a hint of a wink in the eye as she pulls one of the strands loosely behind her ear.
"We are the Avengers. Doesn't matter whom you report to," Tony shrugs.
"Oh, then SHIELD told me the opposite just for the fun of it?" she snorts.
"You know, I think that rules are meant to be broken, or at least bended here and there," Tony winks at her.
"You mean to imply that I should follow your example?" the young woman grins. She even moves in closer – now making Tony a bit uncomfortable for just a second. He didn't expect her to approach him like that. But he wouldn't ever let her win, so he eases to the closer periphery now, smirking back at her.
"I think everyone would do good at breaking a few rules than praying to them," Tony replies.
"Aha," she huffs sarcastically. Both snicker at that, but then suddenly the door opens and a very angry-looking thunderer enters. His eyes fall on Tony, then on the woman, go back another time – and if possible, he only looks angrier than he did anyways.
"What are you doing, Man of Iron!?" Thor yells.
"Big Guy, what's the deal!?" Tony yelps in shock at the sudden outburst.
"And you! Away from him, now!" Thor threatens the young woman beside Tony, who waves his arms in the air, "Thor, it's okay, she..."
"You really wish to woo my brother?" Thor asks him, his voice loud and strong.
"What?!" Tony blinks at the thunderer in pure confusion.
"That," Thor points at the woman, "is Loki."
Tony turns to face her. The girl waves at him with a huge smile on her face – and yes, it is the Loki smile, just on a woman's face.
Well... darn.