Monsters and Magic

Chapter 4

"Hey Kid! Loki," Clint greeted the two of you when you got off the elevator. He actually came in from the kitchen to give you a hug. "What's with the shirt?" he asked you. You finally looked down at what shirt Loki had given you to wear. It was green and had an image of a golden horned helmet on it. You looked at Loki and raised an eyebrow. He gave you a much too innocent look.

"I tried to clean mine after my shower and it ended poorly. Loki was kind enough to let me borrow one of his," you finally replied.

"And he just had to pick one with a picture of his ugly hat on it!" Tony laughed.

"What do they mean?" you asked Loki, wanting in on this joke, since they were laughing at what appeared to be your expense, and whatever it was, he was behind it. He chuckled and his magic shimmered around him until he was wearing black and green leather battle armor, and a golden horned helmet on his head. You'd seen the superhero costumes of the rest of the team and figured this was his. The helmet must be his trademark, kinda like Cap's shield.

You sighed and rolled your eyes at the trickster. "You're incorrigible, did you know that?" you asked, teasing him. His clothes shimmered back to normal and he shrugged, trying to look innocent. His innocent look was completely ineffective.

Had you been in a romantic relationship, you might have thought he was making a statement by surrounding you with his scent which would be obvious to any of the vampires. He could also be accused of making a statement by the shirt he had given you having an image of his helmet, like that you were his, or under his protection or something. But that was only if you were in a romantic relationship.

Which you were not.

Totally.

"My brother does like tricks. At least this one is fairly harmless," Thor told you warmly. You laughed and agreed.

"Come, sit, join us!" Nat bid you warmly, gesturing to the table. Cap came in from the kitchen carrying a plate of steaks and bowl of mashed potatoes. Tony followed carrying more dishes. Loki steered you to one of the chairs. The rest appeared to be already claimed. The rest of the team sat as well and soon the plates were passed around the table, just like family dinner. It made you smile.

"So kid, what's your story anyway?" Tony asked, not unkindly, just curiously, with a hint of a spark that he might have remembered you.

You smirked at him, not surprised he didn't remember. "I was a recipient of the Stark Industries Dreamer's scholarship," you informed him with a grin. You'd met him before at a ceremony when you'd been awarded the full-ride scholarship. The entire team looked surprised by that.

"Wait- you're-?" He spluttered.

"Y/N, the girl with four bachelor's degrees at 18. I was about a year from my MD and PhD," you added with a grin. It was fun to tease Tony.

"You died four years ago!" he protested, actually looking sad. You didn't realize he knew of you that well.

"Well... you're not wrong," you admitted with a touch of sorrow in your voice. "The queen of the vampire seethe found me because of my magic and decided I needed to be one of them."

"You have magic?" Nat asked curiously.

"A little, nothing fancy, a little telekinesis, a little pyrokinesis, some ineffective spellwork..." you grumbled and gestured to your borrowed shirt, earning yourself a laugh. That was all of your back-story you were willing to go into at the moment and the team let the topic drop as they introduced more of their back-stories for your behalf.

You felt a flicker of magic and looked up to see glasses of red wine appear in front of everyone at the table. You shot Loki a grateful glance and a murmured 'thanks' as you picked up yours. You had a feeling that yours was the only one spiked with blood, but with everyone having a glass, you wouldn't have to explain why you were drinking it. Thoughtful Loki.