Not able to find Jak anywhere inside the bar, Loki hurriedly stepped outside and frantically looked up and down the now dark street. He caught a whiff of gunpowder again, stronger this time, and knew there was about to be trouble. Conjuring a knife into his hand, he looked around more carefully, checking rooftops and behind anything on the street that might obstruct his view.
The door to the bar behind him opened and a very drunk woman stepped out, stumbling on the doorstep. Loki, having been raised as a prince, caught her before she fell and set her on her feet. Having spent the last few years as a criminal and not a prince, he didn't bother to assist her any further. Until she grabbed his arm.
He looked at her more closely. She had blonde wavy hair, cut at chin length, bright red lipstick, a beauty mark above her lip, and thick eyelashes. She wore a white dress, in a similar A-line style that Jack had been wearing. He could have sworn he'd seen her somewhere before, but he could not put a name to the face until someone else stepped out of the bar.
"Nice Marilyn look! You're almost spot on!"
"Thanks," the woman replied weakly as the bar patron moved on.
Marilyn Monroe. A Midgardian actress from years gone by. Loki had heard of her before, mostly because it was rumored that she had some Asgardian blood.
The woman dressed as Marilyn Monroe clung to his arm as her legs wobbled beneath her. She glanced over her shoulder and when she looked back, Loki noticed the purple eyes.
"Jak-"
"He's in there," she whispered, "He got me with some sort of… tank… tranq… sleep stuff. I got away from him and changed… made myself look different. With magic."
Her words were slurring heavily and from the way her grip on his arm suddenly loosened, Loki feared she might fall down at any moment. He wrapped his arm around her and held her up, half carrying her to a secluded spot by the bar's dumpster before changing his own appearance. Unable to think of anyone else, he changed his face to Frank Sinatra's. Perhaps someone would look at them and just think they were a couple of celebrity impersonators.
"What happened?" He asked Jak, pulling her away from the dumpster before she could fall in. "Was the assassin in the bar?"
"I think it was him…" she frowned, "The waiter was with him."
"The waiter from dinner? The one who I made violently ill?"
"Yes?" She stumbled again, "I'm gonna be violently ill if I don't sit down."
Rather than find a place to sit, Loki swept her up into his arms and carried her to another open shop. It was a small cafe, nearly empty. He set her in a booth as the barista watched them from behind the counter. So as not to seem suspicious, he ordered two cups of tea.
"We need to get back," Jak mumbled, laying her head on the table and closing her eyes. If the assassin had drugged her then it was only a matter of time before she lost consciousness. Loki could protect her, but he wanted to get her back to the Compound so that he could go after the assassin instead. The fiend couldn't have gotten far. He was probably still looking for Jak amongst the dancers at the bar.
"Give me your phone, I'll call Stark to pick you up," Loki instructed.
"Tea for Lucky?" The barista called. Loki rolled his eyes and went to get the tea from the counter. When he turned back to Jak, she was out cold, her cell phone dropped on the table.
"Is she alright?" the barista asked.
"Too much to drink," Loki replied, "We were at the bar next door."
"You need an Uber or something?"
"No thank you, I am going to call our friend to pick us up. So sorry to disturb you."
"It's fine," the barista smiled slightly, "I love your costumes by the way. My mom loves old movies."
"Yes, very nice," Loki nodded, done with the small talk. He went back to Jak and set the tea down on the table before picking up her phone. He hated Midgardian technology, but he knew how to use it well enough to make a call. Stark answered on the first ring.
"Has he gone totally evil? Want us to come beat him up?"
"It's me," Loki responded dryly.
"Should we come beat you up? Did you go totally evil?"
"We need you to pick us up immediately. Bring Thor. Perhaps Rogers as well. There's trouble," Loki looked around, trying to figure out the name of the cafe. He couldn't find the name anywhere and called the barista. "What is the name of this place?"
"It's called A Trap," the barista replied, stepping out from behind the counter.
"We're at a coffee shop called A Trap-" Loki paused, processing the name before looking back at the barista. She held a large gun. "Shit. Now, Stark, get here now!"
"Hand over the girl and we'll let you go," the young woman holding the comically large weapon smiled. She pressed a finger to her ear and spoke into some sort of earpiece. "I have them over at the coffee shop. Requesting immediate back up."
"Way ahead of you," the door to the shop swung open and the waiter from the restaurant stepped in, carrying a smaller, but still threatening gun. "He's on his way too."
"Loki, we don't want to get in a fight with you," the barista said, "You can just leave and you don't have to get hurt."
"You really think you can hurt a god?" Loki laughed, dropped his Frank Sinatra disguise, "With those toys?"
"These are made with bullets designed to hurt Thor," the waiter grinned, "Last I heard, you aren't even as tough as him, so this should be a cinch. Give us the girl and you'll be fine. What's it matter to you anyway? She's just some human, right? You've killed lots of humans before."
"And we aren't even going to kill her," the barista added, "Just take her to someone who wants to have a chat with her. She'll be perfectly safe."
Loki glanced out the window and saw something small and fast shooting straight in the air from over where the Compound was. It seemed Stark had forgone the car.
"Let's talk about this," Loki said, putting his hands up and wondering how exactly they'd gotten ahold of bullets that might hurt him. He could tell they weren't bluffing either. It didn't matter if the bullets actually worked on him, these people thought that they would and if they started shooting Jak might get caught in the crossfire.
A tall, dark figure stepped into the room. He was not wearing the leather clothes he'd been wearing when he broke into the Compound, instead wearing jeans, a black shirt, and a black jacket, but there was no mistaking the assassin. His hair was long and greasy, his eyes looked dead and glassy. He still wore a mask on the bottom half of his face, and gloves to cover his hands. And he was armed to the teeth.
"You seem to have healed remarkably well from the cut I gave you last time we met," Loki remarked, standing so he could put himself between the assassin and Jak.
"Hand over the girl," the assassin said in a robotic tone.
"I probably should," Loki agreed, "But this is our first date, you see, and I'd hate to ruin it. Letting her get kidnapped by dubious individuals would definitely spoil the mood, don't you think?"
"Shoot him," the assassin replied, "Don't hit her."
It was a bit of a blur after that. Loki lunged at the assassin, the waiter shot at him, the barista dashed forward to get Jak, and suddenly Iron Man was in the coffee shop, knocking everyone down with a sonic blast of some sort. Everyone, that is, except the assassin, who had covered his ears.
"Stark!" Loki shouted, unable to hear even his own voice over the ringing in his ears, "You idiot!"
He had no idea if Iron Man responded because he couldn't hear and the billionaire's face was covered by his helmet. A moment later, Thor crashed through the window, carrying Steve Rogers.
The assassin immediately shot at both of them, but Rogers had brought his shield. The assassin aimed for Loki instead, and may have said something threatening. Loki had no idea what, but he supposed the gun pointing at his head was a fair indicator. Rather than wait to be rescued by the Avengers, he used a bit of magic and trickery to make a double that tapped the assassin on the shoulder. When the villain turned to look, Loki hopped to his feet and stabbed the man in the gut.
Rogers said something and angrily pulled Loki away from the assassin, seeming almost concerned about the man who'd come to kidnap Jak. Loki hoped that whatever the Captain was saying contradicted his concerned expression because he would not tolerate sympathy for the man who had just been threatening them all.
Apparently, being stabbed hardly phased the assassin, however, and he kicked Rogers away before sprinting out the door. Thor and Rogers immediately gave chase, but came back moments later, having lost the assassin.
Stark approached Loki and lifted his helmet. His mouth moved and his expression looked questioning.
"You blasted my eardrums," Loki replied with a scowl, "I can't hear a damn thing!"
Stark's mouth clearly said "whoops" and he smiled nervously.
"Jak has been given a tranquilizer of some sort," Loki continued, hoping he was speaking clearly, despite not having the use of his ears. "Get her back to the Compound."
Iron Man gave him the thumbs up and went to pick up Jak. He flew off with her and then Rogers turned to Loki with an angry expression. He said something to Thor and Thor nodded, grabbing Loki's arm and flying off with him. Loki didn't even have a chance to protest as he was launched into the air with his brother.
A note from the author: First dates are always rough. Sometimes the person you're on a date with turns out to be a weirdo, sometimes a World War II vet that's been brainwashed by a terrorist organization tries to kidnap you. It happens. ;)
Thanks for reading! See you in the next chapter!