To Be Reborn The Butterfly

Thor touches down on the balcony of Stark Tower, which is quickly becoming known as Avenger’s Tower since Cap, Clint, Nat, and Bruce have all taken up residence in either a permanent or intermittent basis. Tony is the first to spot Thor and greets him in his typical fashion.
“So what brings you to the slum of the 9 realms Point Break?”
“I have a favor to ask of you Anthony.” Thor says sullenly. Tony already knows this is about Loki. When are Thor’s problems ever NOT about Loki? Tony is just waiting for the blonde god to tell him Loki got his memories back and is on his way to earth for another round of King of the Humans.
“Sure…big guy…you look like you need a drink.” Tony runs behind the bar and whips up a giant whisky sour for the muscle bound man. The others are finding their way to the living room as Jarvis’ announcement of Thor’s arrival has called them all there. Thor swallows the drink in one gulp and sits down on the couch. This is bad. This is very bad.
“So what did you need to ask me?” Tony asks dreading the answer.
“It’s Loki.” Thor starts.
“Fucking knew it!” Clint interrupts. “He got his memories back didn’t he? Let me guess, he’s on his way here to kill us all.”
“No, no you misunderstand. Loki figured out that something wasn’t right about her….situation. We finally had to tell her the truth about herself and everything that happened. She tried to cope and move on but….the fact remains that even though she remembers nothing of her former life, everyone else around her does. The people of Asgard are incapable of moving on and letting Loki become the new person that she is. Loki has petitioned our father to leave Asgard.”
“…and you want to bring her here?” Tony says more than asks. Clint chimes in.
“The people here aren’t moving on from what she did either, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
“My family has debated for days about where Loki should go and what she should do. The problem is none of the other realms want her either. They all know about Loki’s transformation and have made it clear that she is unwelcome. Midgard is by far the largest and most heavily populated of the nine realms and the only one that does not have direct communication lines with the others.”
“Loki could disappear here and no one would notice her? Is that what you are saying?” Bruce asks.
“Essentially, yes. You are the only people who know about her. The rest of your world is uninformed. However, Loki will need guidance, at first, to teach her how to navigate this world and its customs if she is to blend in. I was hoping that you could provide assistance… and a watchful eye.”
“Oh, we’ll be watching alright.” Clint says.
“Calm down.” Natasha says to him quietly.
“So say Loki does come here and we teach her how to blend in, then what will Loki do? What is she going to be doing here on earth?” Steve asks.
“That is for Loki to decide. She will be building a life from scratch away and apart from the realm eternal.” Tears fall silently down Thor’s face. “Loki has chosen exile.” Everybody looks at each other.
“We….need to talk about this.” Tony speaks for the group.
“Of course my friends, I will step outside and await your decision.” Thor says respectfully. As soon as the door is shut Clint makes his opinion known.
“Oh HELL NO! I’ll fucking kill her! How do we know this isn’t some big trick and that Thor’s isn’t being fooled? Are we really going to let the Destroyer of New York City take up residence so she can do some self-discovery? Bullshit!”
“Clint, if it really is all a ruse, Loki will end up on our doorstep sooner or later anyway. At least this way we can watch her.” Natasha says.
“In my Tower? I don’t think so! There is no way I’m giving her unfettered access to Jarvis. Even if she really is…different, what’s to say she won’t get her memories back and turn into super-psycho villain again?”
“Then where would she stay? I know we could stick her in some crap shack apartment that is bugged to the nines, and being watched round the clock by surveillance, but if she really does turn out to be the old Loki…having her live across town isn’t really going to protect us from her.” Natasha says.
“In fact it could put more civilians in danger.” Steve says quietly.
“We really need to say yes to Thor. It is the only way we can control the situation.” Natasha says. “If we put her up here with us, we can all take turns monitoring her closely, Jarvis too. If she does anything weird, suspicious, or dangerous we’ll know.”
“We just have to be sure to never leave her alone.” Steve says.
“Leave me alone with her; I’ll take care of the problem.” Clint says.
“Okay, everybody but you takes turns watching her.” Tony says. “This could work. We can do this. We can babysit a one-time super villain immortal Norse god turned teenaged amnesia smurf girl. We’ll be doing our friend Thor a favor and score points on inter-galactic diplomacy. This is a great idea! Let’s do this!”
“Smurf girl! That’s right! How the hell is she going to blend in?” Clint asks.
“Are we in agreement that we are going to do this?” Bruce asks. Everyone looks at each other. Natasha is right in her assessment of the situation. Everyone is uncomfortable with the idea, but they do not really see an alternative.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

It is two more weeks before Loki and Thor touch down on Stark Tower. Frigga had insisted that Loki master a few key spells before she was allowed to leave. Namely three healing spells, a fire summoning spell, and invisibility spell, an illusion spell, and a spell that can transform inanimate objects into food, so she won’t go hungry. But most importantly Frigga made sure Loki mastered the camouflage spell that changes her appearance from Jotunn to Aesir. Now she looks like a mortal.
Thor is holding a small chest as Loki stands beside him. She looks very different from the last time the Avengers saw her. Her skin is milky white and her eyes are emerald green. Her hair is no longer in pigtail braids but cascades freely down her back to her waist. Her gown makes her look every inch a princess. She is a beautiful woman. Thor and Loki walk inside and Thor sets the chest down upon the floor.
“What’s in the chest? Gold doubloons?” Tony wisecracks.
“I know not of what doubloons are, but yes there is gold inside. Our father insisted on making sure Loki does not want for currency in this realm, and to compensate you for your troubles.” Thor states. He opens the chest to reveal 15 gold bars. Tony chokes on his alcoholic beverage.
“Holy shit Thor; there’s gotta be like $20 million in there at least!” Tony shouts.
“Is that enough? I can get more if it is required.” Thor says.
“It’s more than enough, trust me.” Tony says. The Bifrost lights up the balcony again and several bags and a mountain of books appear on the patio. It’s a good thing her room is just down the hall. Everybody (except Clint) starts carrying things into Loki’s new room. While there is an empty book shelf in her room, she has far too many books to fit them all in. Tony says that there is plenty of empty shelf space in the office on the left and that the rest can be stashed there.
Loki is nervous. She remembers that these people were polite and nice to her the last time she was here. It was a miracle really, considering all that she knows now. That they are nice to her, let alone opening their home to her speaks volumes about their kindness and character. She wants to please them, and make a good impression.
Tony is busy putting some of Loki’s books away and can’t help but thumb through some of them out of curiosity. They are all written in a foreign language with runes instead of letters. He can’t figure out what most of them are about, but one stands out from the rest, the anatomy book. Though he can’t read the words, the diagrams and pictures are simple enough. What amazes him is that these are diagrams of alien species that no one has ever seen before, here on earth at least.
Tony and the others have been discussing what to with Loki once she got here. Tony now has an idea. He can make Loki translate this book and any of the others she brought with her and upload the information into Jarvis’ database. Tony grins. Hopefully one of these books will contain information about advanced technology and science.
Once Loki is settled in everyone gathers in the living room to converse. Tony has ordered catering for a nice big dinner tonight to welcome their new roommate. Thor is spending the night tonight just to help put everyone at ease.
“So Loki, what do you plan to do now that you are here?” Bruce asks.
“To learn. I want to learn everything there is to know about Midgard. I want to explore and do things that I can’t do in Asgard.”
“Like what?” Natasha asks.
“I understand that Midgard has different forms of art that can’t be found in Asgard. I was wanting to study them.”
“You like art?” Steve asks. “Do you like drawings, or paintings, or sculptures?”
“Yes all of them, but I really want to learn how to paint, and play a musical instrument, maybe the piano. And I want to learn about the different animals on Midgard and study their anatomy. But my mother says that I spend far too much time with my nose in a book and need to learn how to be around people more. I haven’t been fairing very well with that.”
“You’re just shy, you’ll come around.” Tony says.
“No actually it isn’t that. I don’t like being around people because… they make my skin crawl.” Loki says. Everyone just stares at her with a look of worry.
“What I mean by that…is…people lie. People around me are lying all the time, and I can feel it when they lie. Even when they are not speaking, but merely holding back a truth I can feel it. Different types of lies feel different, almost like they taste different or are different colors. A lie told to spare someone’s feelings is different from a lie told to seduce a would-be lover or con another person out of their money. A lie of omission, a truth being withheld, perfumes the air in Asgard. I couldn’t breathe.”
“Is that why you are the patron God of Lies?” Bruce asks.
“Yes.” Loki says.
“I hate to break it to you kid, but Earth isn’t any better. People here lie all the time, in fact Natasha and Clint do that for a living.” Tony says.
“I thought they were skilled warriors.” Loki says turning a quizzical eye to the pair.
“We are, but we are a specific kind of warrior, called spies. We pretend to be someone we are not and infiltrate the homes of our enemies to learn their secrets, and then kill them if necessary.” Natasha explains.
“I see.” Loki digests the information. “Well at least the main populace here on Midgard has no idea who I am. I won’t have to feel them holding back their thoughts as I walk by.”
“Do you feel it when you hear people lying to other people or just when they lie to you?”
“Only when they lie to me, though I’ve begun to figure out when people are lying just by the expressions on their faces or the way their bodies move. When you see the same person lie to you over and over again, it becomes easy to spot when they lie to someone else.”
“Who wants to play poker?” Tony asks jokingly. Everyone chuckles.
“What is poker?” Loki asks. Tony proceeds to explain the rules of the game to her. It takes a moment, but Loki finally gets the joke. It is very funny.
“So would you say that you value honesty very highly?” Steven asks.
“Yes Captain I do. During my time in Asgard I found truly honest people to be a very rare commodity. Even those closest to me struggled with telling me the truth and sparing my feelings and protecting my heart. The truth can be a brutal thing, but I can delineate between a lie told to protect and a lie told to hurt. Though eventually all lies lead to pain.” Loki says while looking pointedly at Thor. She gives him a forgiving caress on his arm to let him know that she loves him and appreciates all that he has done.
Steve smiles at Loki. “Then I shall make every effort to always be truthful with you.” Loki smiles back. Loki can tell the Captain is a forthright man. Purity and goodness oozes from him like corn syrup. Tony gives off aura of narcissism. The person Tony lies the most to is himself. Bruce is a calming lie cocoon wrapped around a brutal raging honest center. Rage is an honest emotion, keeping it contained can require a lot of denial. Clint and Natasha both give off similar auras of omission. They are secret keepers. It is what they do, and subconsciously Loki’s skin will always crawl in their presence.
The night wears on an the group talk about the oddest topics at times, like the city bus schedule and how automobiles work, or how water is able to come out of a faucet 80 floors up. Tony has to explain the banking system and how credit cards work and what an ATM machine is. Loki will need to know these things in order to manage her money. Other practical things are discussed like ID cards, and birth certificates. Loki uses her magic to conjure an acceptable fake. That problem is solved at least. They discuss taking Loki on various tours of the city, but it is decided that the best and fastest way to acclimate Loki to living on Earth is by making her watch television. Like, a shit ton of it. In fact, Steve will be joining her on this. He is still trying to catch up on 70 years of cultural references.
It gets late and eventually everyone goes to bed. Tony makes sure to have Jarvis inform him if Loki so much as even farts in her sleep. (She does, once. Tony might have been a little too specific.) In the morning, Thor and Loki make their goodbyes. He promises to visit often and reminds her that she can come home anytime she wants, she need only speak Heimdall’s name to the sky. Thor disappears in a blaze of light and Loki chokes back a sob.

Notes