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“Did you guys watch the video I sent you last night?” MJ asked both Peter and Ned at lunch on a Wednesday afternoon.
“No! I’m not going to watch a 45 minute video about Loki,” Ned responded.
“Come on! It was so interesting. Peter, you watched it right?”
Peter did watch the video. It was a short documentary by some guys from Buzzfeed. They analyzed some news footage from the battle of New York to try to prove why they thought Loki wasn’t the mastermind of the invasion. Peter did have some knowledge of Loki, he researched him extensively when he got his powers. He had to be prepared if the god of mischief decided to return to the city. In his opinion, Loki was dangerous. But he couldn’t help but admit that the video had some valid points.
“Yeah, I watched it. It was interesting,” Peter said.
“I can’t believe you actually watched it!” Ned exclaimed.
“The more information that I learn about Loki, the better,” Peter told him. Even though he never met Loki or his older brother Thor, he wanted to know everything he could about them just in case.
“What did you think?” MJ asked.
MJ was a fan of Loki. The god of mischief surprisingly had a large following among teenagers and young adults. There were many people who believed that Loki wasn’t at fault for the invasion. People saw many flaws in his plan. Many were also intrigued by Loki’s magical abilities. There was some news footage that people watched extensively to try to learn more about him.
“I don’t know if I completely agree that he wasn’t at fault, but I can see how he could have made a faulty plan on purpose. He seems like a smart guy that could have won if he wanted to,” Peter replied.
“I think he was mind controlled,” MJ said.
The video did touch upon the subject. There was a clip of video footage of Loki standing off to the side during the invasion while seemingly having a conversation by himself. He looked afraid of something. Peter didn’t know if that was direct evidence of mind control, but he did wonder who he was talking to.
“That’s ridiculous,” Ned said before taking a bite of his sandwich. “He’s a god. Why would he be mind controlled?”
“He is a powerful sorcerer that barely even used his magic during the battle. He brought the fight literally to the Avengers’ doorstep. That doesn’t seem like the best way to try to take over the planet, and I think Loki knew that too,” MJ explained. Peter couldn’t help but agree a little bit. He was feeling conflicted.
“Peter, why don’t you call up Thor and ask him,” Ned suggested with a grin.
“Yeah, he’s on my speed dial! I’ll call him now!” Peter said sarcastically.
“How am I supposed to know which Avengers you have in your contacts?” Ned asked. Peter only had Mr. Stark’s number, but that wasn’t the point. He would like to have a larger role someday, but he is okay with what he is doing now.
“Do you have a way of contacting Thor?” MJ asked seriously.
“I’m sure Mr. Stark does, but I can’t ask him to. If he finds out I’m trying to ask about Loki, he would get mad,” Peter told her.
He could picture what Mr. Stark would say. He would probably tell him that Loki is a bag of cats and Peter should stay away from the topic. Ever since The Vulture, Mr. Stark was more protective of Peter and who he fights as Spider-Man. There was no way that he would allow him to possibly contact Loki. Mr. Stark barely even mentioned the battle of New York. Peter had asked about it a few times, but Mr. Stark changed the topic quickly.
“I guess I’ll have to figure it out myself. You’re useless, Spider-Man,” MJ scoffed.
Peter shrugged and continued to eat his lunch.
---
The next day, Peter and Ned were opening up their lunch bags when they were startled by the sound of MJ slamming books onto the cafeteria table. They all had titles related to Norse Mythology.
“What is that?” Peter asked.
“Books. I tried to google how to summon a Norse God, but I didn’t find much information. So I went to a bunch of libraries and read through these books, and I think I’m onto something,” MJ explained.
“Don’t you have homework?” Ned asked.
“Homework is just a construct. I decided my homework is to learn norse summoning spells,” MJ replied.
“I wonder how Mr. Johnson feels about that decision,” Peter laughed. He is their physics teacher, and usually freaks out when students don’t do their work.
“I did his assignment during English, keep up,” MJ said.
Ned rolled his eyes. “So what did you find out from the books?”
“I’m learning how to summon Norse gods,” MJ told them.
Peter always wanted to meet Thor, but he never looked up how to summon a god. He figured that Mr. Stark would introduce them when the time was right. Thor and the rest of the Asgardians recently settled in Norway, so he knew that he was on Earth. Peter was sure that he would visit New York at some point. He wondered if that meant Loki was on Earth as well.
“Peter might meet Thor one day, can’t you wait a little while?” Ned asked.
“I’m not trying to summon Thor,” MJ stated.
Ned spit out his water. “Are you insane?” He yelled.
Some students sitting at tables nearby looked over at them to see what was going on. MJ quickly shushed them when she noticed this.
“It doesn’t look that hard. I’ve been learning the runes necessary for the ritual. We just have to figure out what we should display as offerings,” MJ explained.
“What offerings do you think Loki would like?” Peter asked curiously.
“You’re not actually considering this, are you?” Ned turned to Peter and asked.
Peter shrugged. “It would be interesting to ask him about what really happened in 2012.”
“We all know Loki as the god of mischief, but he is also considered the god of fire. Maybe we can light a small fire,” MJ suggested.
Peter didn’t know why he was so interested. It was definitely a dumb idea to try to summon a norse diety that tried to take over the planet a few years ago. Mr. Stark would be furious if he found out. But Peter was so curious. He didn’t think that he could stop himself.
“What about some emeralds? He likes green. He's a prince so I’m sure that he likes jewelry. I can go to a store after school.” Peter said.
“Good idea. I’ve also read that he likes sweets. I can bake some cookies and other sweets to offer him,” MJ said.
“He likes horses right? Didn’t he do it with a horse?” Ned asks.
Peter let out a chuckle and MJ rolled her eyes.
“Of course that’s the only thing you know about him,” MJ sighed.
“I’m just saying, we should offer him a horse,” Ned said.
“Where would we get a horse?” Peter asked. They live in the middle of Queens, it’s not like there are any farms around.
“My Aunt from Long Island has a horse…” Ned said.
“We’re not giving him a live horse!” MJ shouted at a low tone. “What if he kills it?”
“Fine, I’ll get a stuffed animal,” Ned sighed.
Peter wondered how he got into this situation. MJ was so determined to meet Loki, and Peter wouldn’t mind meeting him as well. He had questions for him.
“We’ll gather the offerings tonight and then summon him tomorrow night. My parents won’t be home,” MJ told them as lunch was ending.
The three high school students stood up to leave the cafeteria. Peter was oddly excited to try to summon the god of mischief tomorrow night.
After school, he went to a few stores to shop for emerald jewelry. It turns out that emeralds are very expensive, so he couldn’t afford them. Peter found a store in Manhattan that sold homemade jewelry. One of the employees at a jewelry store suggested for him to buy necklaces made from green adventurine, which comes in both an emerald green and a lighter shade of green. Peter bought a necklace in each color. He hoped that the necklaces would live up to the Prince of Asgard’s expectations.
---
Aunt May dropped Peter off at MJ’s after sunset on Friday night. Ned was already there waiting for him. It was warm out, so they decided to set up the ritual outside. MJ didn’t want to light a fire inside. Peter brought the green necklaces, Ned brought a stuffed animal horse, and MJ had cookies and brownies on a plate. She set up some runes that Peter didn’t understand and was about to light the fire. It was almost time to start the ritual.
“You should wear the Spider-Man suit,” Ned suggested. “Loki may be less likely to kill us on the spot.”
“Okay. If he tries to attack us I can fight him off easier,” Peter agreed.
“Loki is the best mage in the universe, if he wants to kill us, he will,” MJ said.
“Don’t be such a pessimist,” Ned turned to her and scoffed.
Peter put on his suit while MJ lit the fire. Peter half expected Loki to show up when the fire was lit, but nothing happened.
“We need to spill some blood into the fire for the ritual to work,” MJ said as she read a page from one of the old Norse books.
“Nose goes!” Ned exclaimed while touching his nose.
“I’ll do it,” Peter volunteered. “I will heal faster than you guys.”
As he brought the blade to his palm, he hesitated. He couldn’t believe that they were actually doing this. He wondered how Loki would react if the ritual worked. Peter figured that he would most likely be very angry. He really hoped that he didn’t try to kill him. His stomach was full from the cookies he stole from MJ and he did not feel like fighting anyone.
“Are you going to do it or not?” MJ asked.
Peter took a deep breath and sliced his hand. Drops of blood fell into the fire and the glow of the fire intensified. After a few seconds, a mist of forest green appeared in front of them. The mist glowed brighter until it disappeared and was replaced by a man. It was Loki. Peter was surprised to see Loki wearing a green t-shirt and casual sweatpants. He expected to see Loki in his familiar battle outfit with the helmet with the horns. Peter thought that Loki would change when he realized he was being summoned by strangers.
“Holy shit!” Ned exclaimed.
“It’s really you!” MJ yelled with a grin on her face.
“Is there a reason that you uncovered an old norse summoning ritual and interrupted my slumber?” Loki asked. He looked a little sleepy. Peter checked his watch to see that it was 11 pm.
“We just really wanted to meet you,” MJ told him. “I’m a big fan.”
“Is Spider-Man a fan of the god of mischief?” Loki asked with an amused grin. Peter was honestly surprised that Loki knew who he was.
“I’m a fan of your helmet, where is it?” Peter asked.
“I can’t wear that helmet all day. It is quite heavy,” Loki said.
Before any of the teenagers got a chance to respond, Loki’s cell phone started ringing in his pocket. Peter was surprised that Loki owned a phone. That meant that he had been living on Earth for a while. Maybe he was living in New Asgard after all.
“I’m alright, I just got summoned by a bunch of foolish teenagers. One of them is your spider boy,” Loki said into the phone.
Ned and MJ gave him a concerned look. Whoever Loki was talking to knew who Peter was.
“I will see you soon,” Loki said before hanging up.
The three teenagers stood in silence because they were unsure of what to do. Loki didn’t make any attempt to escape or attack, which Peter was thankful for. But what now?
“Are those cookies for me?” Loki asked. He didn’t wait for a reply as he grabbed a chocolate chip cookie and ate it.
“They’re offerings?” Peter said, but it sounded more like a question because he was feeling nervous.
Loki paused to look around at the offerings displayed in front of him. He picked up one of the necklaces and placed it around his neck.
“This is lovely,” He stated as he admired the necklace made from the emerald shade of green adventurine. “No one has attempted to summon me in centuries.”
“We hope you like them,” MJ said.
Loki picked up the horse stuffed animal and let out a chuckle. “You can’t believe everything you read on the internet, children.”
“So it’s not true?” Ned asked with a look of disappointment. MJ slapped his arm in response.
“You’re going to offend him!” She shouted.
“I’m sorry! Please don’t kill me!” Ned pleaded.
Peter was beginning to feel overwhelmed by the situation. They were so busy planning the ritual that they didn’t have much of an idea of what to do with Loki once he showed up. They all had questions about the invasion, but Peter felt too nervous to ask them.
He was distracted from his thoughts when he heard the familiar sound of the Iron Man suit approaching. Mr. Stark must have found out what Peter was up to and arrived to stop them. Peter was worried about how mad his mentor was going to be at him. Mr. Stark was definitely going to scold him and tell him how much of an idiot he was. He wouldn’t be completely wrong.
When Mr. Stark landed beside Peter, the teenager felt his heart race. He didn’t know what to say to make the situation better.
He didn’t have to say anything, because Loki beat him to it.
“Hello, darling,” Loki smirked.
"Hi, honey. Iron Man is here to save you from these rowdy teenagers,” Mr. Stark replied as he lifted his face plate and then kissed the god on the lips.
Peter’s mouth gaped open in shock. He looked around to see that his friends had similar expressions. Peter had known Mr. Stark for years and he had absolutely no idea that he was dating Loki.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Mr. Stark turned to Peter and asked. “You made my boyfriend disappear from bed.”
“MJ is a big Loki fan. We had some questions about the invasion, so we decided to summon him,” Peter explained. He knew better than to lie to Mr. Stark.
“Are you out of your mind?” Tony shouted.
“In their defense, they have shown quite the hospitality,” Loki interjected.
“Not now, babe!” Tony turned to his partner and exclaimed.
Tony buried his face into his hands and let out a sigh.
“So you’re telling me that you and your friends decided to summon a norse god that tried to invade the planet just because you had a few questions?” Tony asked, sounding a little bit calmer.
“We didn’t end up asking him any questions,” Ned told the billionaire.
“Clearly he’s not that dangerous if you’re dating him,” MJ said.
“I can be dangerous when I wish to be,” Loki told them with a low tone and a serious expression. Ned jumped in his spot.
Peter hadn’t introduced his friends to Mr. Stark yet. He thought he would finally introduce them over dinner or something. Definitely not like this.
“I’m telling Aunt May,” Mr. Stark said.
“No please don’t!” Peter exclaimed. He would be grounded for weeks.
“Don’t punish the boy too much, I like these children,” Loki told Mr. Stark. “You should try the cookies, they’re delicious.”
Peter didn’t notice, but Loki had eaten most of the cookies during their conversation. He really did have a sweet tooth.
“He likes my cookies!” MJ whispered excitedly into Ned’s ear, but Peter could hear it with his enhanced senses. Loki must have heard it too because laughed in response.
“Let’s go home, Lokes. I will deal with Spider-Man tomorrow,” Mr. Stark told him.
“I cannot leave until the individual who performed the blood sacrifice puts out the fire,” Loki informed them.
Peter walked over to the fire and dumped some water on it to put the flame out. Loki picked up the other necklace, cookies, and brownies as he prepared to leave. He did not grab the stuffed horse.
“You performed a blood sacrifice?” Tony shouted. Peter thought that he finally calmed down, but he was wrong.
“It was just a few drops of blood. The cut already healed,” Peter responded.
“You shouldn’t sacrifice blood for anyone. I can’t believe I have to tell you that. That should be common sense.”
Peter supposed that Mr. Stark was right. He usually was smarter than that. If the ritual didn’t go well, it probably wouldn’t have been a good idea to have his blood involved. He decided not to harp on it, it was already in the past.
“Thank you for your time, Loki!” MJ said before they parted ways.
“Thank you!” Ned grinned.
“Thank you, Mr. Loki!” Peter said.
“It was lovely to meet you all. Thank you for the gifts. In the future, you do not have to provide physical offerings aside from the fire. Your wish for me to arrive is enough,” Loki explained. “But let’s keep it to emergencies, shall we?”
Peter, MJ, and Ned said their final goodbyes before Mr. Stark and Loki teleported out of MJ’s backyard.
"He is so cool!" MJ exclaimed. Peter agreed, Loki was much nicer than he expected.
The teenagers did not find out anymore information about the invasion, but they did end up learning a lot about Loki.