Aftermath (a BH6 crossover)

Chapter Sixty Two: About Time

Not sure what he meant, or why only the teen could hear it, Loki tried to peer in the same direction Hiro was but couldn't see beyond the mental walls. He stood, but as he did, the walls faded around him. The next moment, he was back in Hiro's borrowed room in Stark's secondary home.

Unlike the time before, Loki didn't stagger back or lose mobility in his limbs. It was almost as if he simply woke up, though his skin tingled in an odd way that wasn't entirely pleasant. He removed his hand from Hiro's head and shook out the whole arm as if to restore lost circulation. Blinking a few times, he turned enough to glance over at Cass, who seemed hesitant to make so much as a single comment, waiting to see if things would go the same way as last time.

"Well, that was certainly not what I expected," the Asgardian commented to her as he took a step away from the bed. His knees did threaten to buckle a bit but Baymax was there to steady him.

Before Hiro's aunt could make a comment, a knock sounded on the door and both adults glanced sharply towards the area in question. Hiro, for his part, remained sedately on the bed, his eyes closed. A quick scan from Baymax confirmed that he'd fallen asleep.

Not sure what to think of the sudden knocking on the door, mostly because everyone else was supposedly either out or in another room, Loki quickly made sure his usual disguise was in place before striding over to answer it. He glanced back once towards Cass before turning the knob.

"Well it's about time!" Lucifer complained as the door opened and he strode into the room without an invitation. "I felt sure Wasabi had directed me to the right room but was beginning to wonder." He paused, seeing Cass sitting in a chair and Hiro out for the count. He dismissed Baymax from his mind without a second thought. "It looks like I won't be getting my answers after all," he continued, not allowing anyone to get in a word edgewise." A frown creased his face as he stared at Hiro's sleeping form.

Cass cleared her throat, shifting a bit awkwardly in her chair. "Hiro was up late last night," she defended. "And after everything that's happened, I just wanted to be close to him." Why she suddenly felt defensive was beyond her. Perhaps it was irritation at the interruption. She'd been about to ask Loki what he'd seen and if it helped with the current investigation. Lucifer's arrival was definitely not the most welcome, though she supposed it could have been worse. It could have been Tony.

For his part, Loki stood in what was meant to be an intimidating matter, but Lucifer simply dismissed it. "You know you can't fool me with that disguise," he stated with his usual devilish smile. "Even if I can't see the different, I can smell you." It wasn't strictly true, but he did want to remind the Asgardian prince that he knew who he really was without prying ears catching on.

Reminded of that bit, Loki relaxed his guard as he moved to close the door. His façade faded the moment the door clicked shut. With arms folded across his chest once more, he turned to their uninvited guest. "So what does bring you here?" He found he felt just about as agitated as Cass looked at the interruption.

It took a moment for Lucifer to gather his thoughts back together. They'd seemed to scatter a bit the moment Loki closed the door, but he shrugged it off. And since there wasn't any other place to sit but on the edge of the bed, he continued to stand, though part of him wondered if Loki couldn't conjure another chair if he really wanted to. "I was just coming from the precinct," he admitted. "It would seem the mayor plans on issuing a partial evacuation order unless more evidence to suggest the real targets of the bombs is uncovered."

Loki's eyes widened as his brows rose at that. "No doubt such an announcement would cause more chaos than either the police or Jack's forces can handle." His face turned dark as a frown creased it, one hand going to his chin in thought. "I take it you came here in the hopes that Hiro might have more insight into the matter."