Of Two Minds

Chapter 13 Part 1: Pranks for the Memories

TOM'S QUARTERS AT THE NEW YORK CITY SITE - The evening before his last filming day

Tom heaved a bittersweet sigh as he approached the door to his quarters on the penultimate evening of their time on the film. The others in the cast would film additional background scenes in New York City for the Battle of New York, but his last scene on the project was tomorrow's scene in Central Park. He would miss these people once he left. Looking down at the ground, he opened the door to his trailer and entered.

The sound of tearing paper caught his attention the moment he crossed the threshold of the trailer, and he started to lift his head precisely as the rain of glitter began. Tom blinked slowly, amusement tugging at the corners of his mouth as he gazed around him at the mixture of gold and silver glitter interspersed with green mylar confetti surrounding his feet. He wondered how much of it was in his hair and clothes.

TOM: Call it a feeling, but this is Scarlett's work. After all, she promised payback for the jello prank.

LOKI: Tame. This is probably only the beginning of what she has in store for us.

TOM: What she and the rest have in store. I'd bet you a fresh bag of tea that she didn't act alone.

LOKI: I'm not taking that bet. The others likely want their own payback. Check the ice trays to see if they returned the plastic vermin and eyeballs.

TOM: That wouldn't surprise me.

Tom walked over to the refrigerator and opened the freezer compartment. The ice trays appeared completely normal, without the fake eyeballs or plastic bugs he placed in the ice trays belonging to his male castmates. As he returned the top tray to the freezer, a large plastic zip closure bag caught his eye. Instead of the normal green color of most frozen vegetables, the bag contained a blue and white striped object.

As he pulled the bag from the freezer for a better look, Tom's eyes widened when he realized what was inside. His sleep shorts laid on the bed for tonight had been methodically soaked in water, wrung out, and bagged before being placed in the freezer. By the time he found them, they were frozen solid.

Loki's projection appeared beside him. "That's more of what I was expecting from this group." He grinned wickedly. "It looks like you're sleeping naked tonight."

"It's your body, not mine."

"That's why I'm not caring. I slept that way all the time back in Asgard. I've only worn something here to show respect to your colleagues as you asked." Loki stepped away from his side to examine a plate of frosted spherical delicacies sitting on the counter. "I wouldn't trust these if I were you."

Tom picked up the plate to retrieve the paper poking out from underneath and read it aloud. "Dear Tom and Loki, By now you should have found some of the things we planned for you after the many ways you've shown your love for us these past months. No matter how many you've found, know there's still more. Since Tom's been unable to indulge his sweet tooth during the film, I made cake pops for you two to share on your last night. All our love in return, Scarlett and friends."

"So we have more pranks to find." Loki shook his head. "Why am I not surprised?"

"We'll find the rest of them as the evening progresses," Tom stated as he tucked the note back under the plate. "I'm going to take a shower to wash off the glitter."

Loki snorted derisively. "That's not going to work, given the size of the glitter particles. We'll only get rid of it all if I vanish it."

"It'll be fine, Loki." Tom walked towards the bedroom to peel off his clothing, jumping with surprise as every stitch disappeared from his body in an instant. He turned back to glare at Loki, who pretended to study the brightly-decorated cake pops with an ill-hid smile on his face. "Very funny."