The Joker

3.

"Be careful, Peter. If I end up with a nasty scar because of you, We'll have to rethink this little arrangement."

Peter smiled and threaded a needle. "Relax. I've stitched myself up lots of times. Never tried it on a god before, or anyone else for that matter, but we'll see what happens."

He lay shirtless on Peter's couch with a towel underneath his torso to prevent blood from getting on the furniture. The house was cozy but small, obviously not the palace he was used to. It would do, however. Peter had showed him the bunk beds in his room. Not ideal for a tall person like Loki, but he'd fit. Besides, this was all temporary until he figured out how to contact Thor.

Loki sighed. "Are you at least going to get the bullet out first?"

"Depends. Do Asgardians get lead poisoning?"

Loki rolled his eyes. "Of course. We're just like you, except...stronger and with several times the longevity. And also, no appendix and a smaller liver."

Peter put down the needle and picked up a pair of forceps. "No appendix, huh? I get that. But why the smaller liver?"

Loki shrugged his uninjured shoulder. "Less to detox, I guess. Our world wasn't polluted like yours is. But then again, I'm not an Asgardian, so I have no idea what their livers look like. No, I'm a frost giant. We have horns, among other things. Not much difference other than that."

Peter put a gloved hand on Loki's bad arm. "Hold still, Loki. This is going to hurt."

"I'm a god. I can handle anyth-."

Loki cried out as Peter shoved the forceps into the bullet hole. "Ssshhh. The neighbors will hear you," he urged as Loki whimpered pitifully.

As Peter continued digging, Loki closed his eyes tightly at the pain. It felt like a white-hot knife was digging around in the meat and sinew of his shoulder. It should not be hurting this badly.

"Got it," Peter replied, dropping the bullet onto the glass coffee table with a plink! "Let's get you stitched up. Want some alcohol for the pain? Aunt May keeps a stash of whiskey above the stove."

Loki chuckled. "Your Earth alcohol is like water to me. Asgardians, and frost giants for that matter, have a much faster metabolism than humans. It's a factor in why we live so long. A faster metabolism means less risk of obesity, as well as an increased ability to detox from foreign chemicals like alcohol or most painkillers. Keeps us healthy so we can live a longer life."

Peter's eyebrow arched. "Suit yourself." His needle bit into Loki's skin and rose out the other side. The god winced.

"So what about Felicia?" Loki asked, trying to take his mind off the pain. "Why would someone try to kill her?"

Peter shook his head. "I don't know. She is pretty, though. Where do you think I should take her on our date?" He pushed the needle back into Loki's shoulder for the second stitch.

Loki groaned in pain and rolled his eyes. As Peter pulled the needle out the other side and began to tie it, Loki spoke. "I am not familiar with where young men take young women on this planet. On Asgard, however, a popular destination was dinner, and then a walk in one of the public gardens. Talk deeply with her. Romance her." He winced as Peter began another stitch. "Make love to her for all I care."

Peter wrinkled his nose. "I wasn't even thinking about that, Loki. As soon as I saw her picture in that car, all I wanted to do was figure out what she knows. This looks like gang violence. Gangs killed my uncle a few years ago. You can understand why I'm not attracted to her anymore now that we know she's mixed up with a gang."