Special Agent Loki Laufeyson

Chapter 30

As the NCIS team headed out to the car lot, Tony and McGhee hung behind so Loki could catch up with them. "Hey," the Italian agent greeted. "You're with McGhee and I. Bishop's going with Gibbs." Jangling the car keys in front of him, DiNozzo grinned. "And you're driving."

McGhee, walking beside Tony, stopped and stared at him with his mouth gaping open. "Loki?" he gasped. "Drive?"

"I'm offended," Loki told McGhee. "Really, I am."

McGhee glared at Loki and then looked back to Tony. "Tony, I'm serious."

"So am I," DiNozzo retorted. "Laufeyson's officially a part of the team. He has a badge and a gun and everything. So why can't we let him drive?"

"He doesn't have a license," McGhee pointed out.

"Hey, the guy who tried to take over New York doesn't need state approval for him to drive a car!" Tony exclaimed.

McGhee looked at Tony pointedly. "I think the key word here is 'tried.'"

"Look, McGhee, Loki's driving," Tony told him.

"Then I'm going with Gibbs," McGhee declared.

"No, you're not, probie," Tony insisted, grabbing McGhee's shoulder and marching him along beside them. "You're coming with us."

The three male agents marched to the car that Tony had picked out, Tony tossing Loki the keys before shoving McGhee into the back seat. Swinging into the shotgun seat, DiNozzo shot the god of mischief a reassuring grin.

"It's easy," he said. "Just place the key in the ignition, turn it sideways, and reverse."

Both Loki and McGhee gave Tony a strange look, McGhee leaning around the back of Tony's seat to ensure that he could see him.

"What about telling him what to do between start and reverse?" McGhee suggested sarcastically.

With an emphatic sigh, DiNozzo then launched into an explanation of how to drive a car, with McGhee interjecting every now and then with a point Tony missed – once the two agents got into an argument over the finer points of passing other cars – McGhee thought that passing two cars with a double yellow line was illegal, whereas Tony protested that it was merely a matter of personal preference. And that's when Gibbs called Tony's cell yelling at them to get started.

So, with encouragement from Tony and warnings from McGhee, Loki started the car, placed it in reverse, and...

...hit the gas.

The car shot backwards as Loki spun the wheel counterclockwise, whipping the car out of the parking spot. McGhee yelped and covered his eyes as Tony was flung back against his seat.

Loki, eyes glowing, shoved the car into drive and pressed the gas down. The car flew out of the parking lot and veered out onto the road.

"Holy crap!" DiNozzo shouted.

"Which way?" Loki demanded.

"Left!" McGhee screeched.

Loki spun the wheel and swerved into the turning lane, cutting off a line of traffic. Honking and curses erupted from the drivers behind them, along with a shout of "Go back to New York, you Yankee!"

"You don't want him to go back to New York!" Tony yelled out the passenger window as Loki made the turn.

It was a very shook up pair of agents that arrived at the crime scene, fortunately all in one piece. As Loki slammed the car into park besides Gibbs' car and shut it off, McGhee moaned. "If you take over cities the way you drive, I'm surprised the Avengers even won."

Loki laughed. There was something about the joke, something he couldn't quite place his finger on, that put him at his ease. Even if the joke was kind of at his expense.

The three climbed out of the car and headed towards the crime scene, Tony leading. The area around the trailer was taped off with yellow police tape, reading POLICE LINE DO NOT CROSS.

DiNozzo, after flashing his badge at the officer standing guard there, crossed the line.

McGhee followed suit, also showing his badge. Loki went to follow McGhee, but the officer stopped him. "Whoa, buddy, you can't just go entering a crime scene without identification. And that's one thing I know you don't have."

Loki sighed, reached into his belt, and withdrew his badge, showing the officer his ID with an annoyed expression. "May I cross now?" he asked with a slight edge to his voice.

The officer gestured to the line. "Sure, Special Agent Loki Laufeyson." He couldn't hide the snicker in his voice.

Loki slipped under the yellow tape and saw McGhee waiting for him. "You might want to invest in a pair of 'Midgardian' clothes if you plan to keep on doing this," the agent advised. "You look very out of place here."

"I prefer these garments," Loki said emphatically. "I think I'll keep them."

McGhee shrugged. "Suit yourself," he remarked, turning away from the Asgardian.

Loki sensed the hurt tone in McGhee's voice and regretted his word choice. After all, Abby did think McGhee was the only one that could get Thanos out of Loki's head. "May I ask a favor?" he called after the computer geek.

McGhee turned back to face Loki.

"I do, however, want one of those NCIS hats I see the rest of the team wearing. Can you get me one of those?"

The corner of McGhee's mouth quirked up. He must have sensed that Loki was attempting an apology, although a pathetic one at that. Then he turned and headed to join Gibbs, Bishop, and DiNozzo.

Gibbs looked up as McGhee, with Loki behind him, walked up. "Who drove?" he asked.

McGhee and DiNozzo both pointed their fingers at Loki. Gibbs turned his stare on the Asgardian, silent for a moment.

"Good job," he said suddenly.

McGhee and DiNozzo gaped while Loki allowed himself to smile. The praise was small, but enough.

As Loki slung his backpack to the ground and knelt beside it, McGhee pulled Tony's hat off his hat, ignoring his protestations, and plopped it on Loki's sleek black hair. When Tony reached out to yank the hat back, Gibbs slapped his hand away.

"DiNozzo, get another one," he ordered.

Tony looked at Gibbs in disbelief, then at McGhee and Loki. McGhee was laughing and Loki was grinning.

"But I liked that one," DiNozzo grumbled complainingly. McGhee just laughed harder, and Loki's grin just grew wider.

Bishop glanced over in their direction and saw the two agents, bonding over Tony's 'pain.' Loki caught her eye and noticed her frown. Deciding to ignore her and pretend that little scene in the lab never happened, Loki yanked the brim of the hat down over his face and rummaged through his backpack.

If Bishop was going to hate him, he wasn't going to let it affect him. She would get no more reactions out of him.

"Get going, Laufeyson!" Gibbs snapped. "We've got a crime scene to evaluate."

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Skylar Wittenborn