The Adventures of Kid Loki

The Task At Hand

Loki came into the conference room the next day, wearing his green tunic, over a black long sleeve shirt, and green trousers. He was also wearing black, knee high boots, which made a nice thudding sound on the floor as he entered. Clint stood up from the table, determined not to be used as a magical test subject. Loki just smirked and nodded his head. Clint took another step back and slipped on an invisible puddle. His ass hit the ground first, but he was on his feet in an instant. His glare was murderous, but Loki took no notice as he hopped up onto the table and sat there, Indian style. Bruce cleared his throat, as he was the only adult at the table. "Would you please stop polishing my table with your derrière," Tony said dryly as he juggled two balls in his hands. Loki just smirked and remained seated. Tony sighed as he realized that nobody at that conference table was going to be mature.

"So, if you would be so kind Loki, could you please elaborate on the threat we are facing?" Bruce suggested.

"The 'threat' we are facing is Amora the Enchantress and Karnilla of the Norns. Both are cunning and mistresses of magic," Loki said.

"Amora should be at least," Thor said. "You trained her." The Avengers looked back at Loki and he nodded his head.

"Yes, to this day I don't know what possessed me and made me take her under my wing," Loki responded sarcastically.

"She was your lover that's why!" Thor snapped and Loki tutted, wagging his finger.

"I can name a few consorts of your own, dear brother, before Jane Foster," Loki teased mercilessly before he leaned back and his lips puckered. "Anyway, they obviously desire something of mine. I have very good reason to believe that it is a piece of information I gleaned from my last assignment. Sadly, I do not know who the client was. Request of anonymity, and that sort of thing," Loki said with a wave of his hand.

"What was your assignment?" Steve asked between gritted teeth. Loki rocked for a second before be looked around at them.

"Find the weaknesses in the defenses of three realms: Niffleheim, Midgard, and Asgard," he responded. All of the Avengers gasped and started talking at once.

"Did you give those plans to your client?!" Thor asked angrily, furious that Loki would sell out the realm he had once called home.

"No. He wouldn't pay my price, and sent some men to extract the information from me, and kill me. They were the ones who wound up dead. Now, Amora and Karnilla want it. Wonder why they can't do business like mature adults? My price is not outrageous," Loki commented absentmindedly.

"What information exactly are you selling?" Bruce asked, leaning forward at the table and resting his elbows on the edge.

"I took this particular piece of knowledge from the Watchman, a very powerful and ancient being, who has amassed many facts about each realm and the galaxies beyond Odin's control. I simply slipped in and got the battle plans, defense maps, and blue prints to each capital. Well, for you guys, it was a little bit difficult to decide which was your capital. So, I settled on Washington D. C., Paris, London, and Moscow. Those seem major enough," Loki said sarcastically. Clint made a rude noise but Loki continued. "For Niffleheim, it is the Palace of Hel, presided over by my daughter, Hela," Loki said.

"You have a kid?! Lord help that child!" Natasha exclaimed. Loki's mouth crimped up, and Thor looked down at the floor.

"The 'Lord' did. He took her mother away from me and had her banished to that rotten heap!" Loki snapped as he leaned forward, a nasty look in his green eyes. Natasha realized that it was a sore spot and closed her mouth abruptly. Satisfied that she would not touch the subject again, Loki leaned back and twiddled his thumbs. "Asgard was next, with his Golden Palace, and impenetrable shields. Hmph!" Thor raised his head, knowing that Asgard had stood for all those centuries because it was impenetrable.

"The palace is impregnable," Thor said. "Nobody can even hope to get inside while there are men to defend it." Loki smirked as he leaned forward.

"If there's a man inside, then overthrow is a strong possibility," he said. "Anyway, that's what they're after. Clever, huh? If either of them ever had an army, they would be able to take out the key realms of Yggdrasil's tree."

"How is this Bifflehiemee a key realm?" Tony asked sardonically.

"Nifflehiem!" Thor corrected, beating Loki to it.

"Because, it is the gateway to Helheim. The dwelling of the dead. Whoever kills my daughter, can take over her position and control the armies of the undead. Nasty business for the rest of the Nine Realms if they had to fight warriors who are already dead," Loki said as he placed his elbows on his knees and supported his chin in his hand.

"With an army like that, Amora and Karnilla could sweep up the Tree of Yggdrasil!" Thor exclaimed, realizing the intricacy of the plan. Loki began to clap his hands as Thor was so enlightened.

"Thank gods, I'm not the only one anymore!" he mocked as slid off the table and stood up. "Now that we've cleared that up; gentlemen and lady, let's go to Hel!"