The Armorer

I went back upstairs, the dirty pups trailing. They sat on the carpet as I walked over to Nick, who is the only person left after the meeting. "You want to hear what Thor said," he said, and I nodded. This time he restored the audio, and I could hear Thor twitting him about me, saying that Loki had been strangely cooperative but perhaps he could see why. "Perhaps I should ask her to drink with me," he said, and that was when Loki belted him with the chair. Nick looked over at me and grinned, his eye twinkling. I shook my head and the dogs and I left.

I washed the dogs--they were most cooperative--and thought about siblings. I didn't have any, but most of my friends growing up did, and I was familiar with the ways they teased each other. I realized that I might have to reassess Loki--obviously he and Thor did have a relationship, so he probably wasn't a psychopath. Tony found me as I was using the dryer on the dogs, and over the whir, loudly said that he'd been looking into pressure sensors for the floor. We talked about how long it might take to install them and whether we needed them in the cell, where we could put Loki if we decided to install them in the cell as well. I had a site for the relocated guard post, upstairs from the cell; space would be taken from a cafeteria storage room. They had a lot more storage than they used, and the setup for Loki had its own power source. If there was ever trouble with the electricity, it shouldn't affect both installations, and Tony wanted to make it possible to switch the power between each source so that the cell and the security arrangements were never in the dark.

We divided up the work; we'd each research our project and put together a timeline for completion. I realized with some bemusement that this was probably the first time I'd spent with Tony that didn't have either one of us trying to draw blood. Hah.

The next few days, I was kept busy with the arrival of the scientists. They'd all chosen to live off campus, so they trickled in as they settled in. The managers and lead scientists were the first ones in, and we had fun as I showed them around the completed lab block and the larger complex. I took a couple of days and helped set up some of the instruments. Mostly, though, I just enjoyed the bustle of fellow researchers. I may be a mutant and thus part of the Avengers (I still didn't completely buy in, but I recognized--and appreciated--the sincerity of the others) but I will probably always feel coziest in a laboratory. I made myself available to answer questions and help out as more lab rats arrived. In some ways, it was a little overwhelming to have so much company after months of practical solitude.

The Avengers started to move in too, so there was bustle everywhere. Scott wouldn't be living out here full time; like Peter, he had other obligations. Clint was considering moving his family out; his wife and kids came out for a visit and evaluation, and along with Natasha, I got to go out and spend some time as a tourist. Clint had a lovely family, and I hoped that they'd consider moving out.

Then I went down to visit Loki. I apologized straightaway for assuming the worst. He shrugged it off, settling into his chair. "I may have misjudged you," I admitted. I smiled a little. "You might just be a sociopath."

He grinned back. "Well, I must say that it was worth it to find that you can lift my brother's beloved hammer."

"He wasn't so thrilled," I said, and we smiled at each other.

"I don't suppose you heard what we were arguing about," he said.

"There must be some trouble with the audio in here," I said blandly. "When Nick played the recording for us, nobody could make out the words." I swear he looked a little relieved. "But we did notice that there were some issues with our current setup," and explained the changes to the floor. I didn't give him the information on the guard post, though. He thought about the news.

"I wasn't going to escape," he said, and I nodded.

"This way we'll be able to tell if it really is you outside the cell, and that will help avoid future overreactions." He considered this and tilted his head in acceptance. I changed the subject. "The Avengers are moving here, making this the home base, so you'll probably be seeing more of your brother," I said. Loki snorted, but it was more for show and we both knew it. "He's been reminded about the security protocols," I said a little wearily, and he laughed, delighted. "I would appreciate it if you didn't urge him to break the rules. I got to go off campus for awhile, do some tourist things," I went on, then dug in my bag for the things security had signed off on. I passed him a small stuffed seal I'd gotten for him at the aquarium. He looked surprised, and I also passed over a book on the aquarium. Then I dug out some DVD cases. "Musicals!" I said enthusiastically, and held them up for him. "Chicago, Singing in the Rain, On the Town. And this is The Breakfast Club; it's not a musical." After I explained what detention was, I popped in The Breakfast Club, and we sat back and prepared ourselves to be entertained. The kids were still arriving for detention when the door opened; Thor and Tony came in. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Loki shove the stuffed animal behind him on the chair and suppressed a smirk. It was just something to let him know he hadn't been forgotten.

"Haven't seen this in years," Tony said, and returned shortly with another chair. "Have you showed Less than Zero yet?" He passed me another flash drive and I gave him one that had my data on the guard post. Thor looked a little bewildered, then he brought in a chair too. It was Thor's first movie, so we had to pause the movie several times to explain what movies were to begin with, and make more detailed cultural references. Tony left after the movie was over, and I gave a short history on Prohibition, 1920's culture, and 1920's Chicago. It was too much for Thor, and he left after the first musical number, scandalized. As the door closed, I looked at Loki and we burst out laughing.