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After escaping from their intruded Starbucks trip, they found themselves at the local library, Loki following Peter in silence.
The compound had a small library, but nothing beats an actual one. Plus, he didn't want to be anywhere near the others where they could patronize them some more.
Loki was astonished upon entering the building, and all the bad that had happened in the day was forgotten. The woody and earthy smells hit them in a whiff upon entering the behemoth of a library. It was somehow familiar and homey. A plethora of books was perched on the dozens of shelves on both floors.
Yes. Two floors. Loki was going to get used to this.
"This is amazing. There is . . . was nothing like this in Asgard. The books were limited back there, but here?" She slid her fingertips through the books, remembering the place she used to call 'home.'
"What was it like?" Peter asked. "Asgard, I mean?"
Her sight focused on the book in front of her, eyes misty with the memories of her homeland. "It was a small place, so full of life. All kinds of different people there. You know, my brother told us that Asgard isn't a place. It's a people, but sometimes I can't help but miss it."
"I would too." Peter consoled. "I wish I could've gone."
She looked at the teenager and wiped her eyes. "Well, one day, I'll take you to New Asgard. You'll like it, I think."
"I think so too." Peter smiled.
It was a wonder how this one person could make Loki feel less alone. She was a Goddess, for Pete's sake, pun much intended. But she knew that even the strongest person, God or not, felt like this once in a while. Alone. Afraid. So insignificant.
She continued browsing all the shelves, occasionally taking one into her hands until her arms were full of books she found interesting. By then, they were already on the second floor, and Peter was yet to find a book that interested him. Not even the magazines that were set on some of the tables had caught his attention.
"Do you want to check them out, or do you want to stay here?" Peter asked when he saw the number of books she had in her arms.
Loki thought for a bit. She didn't want to face Tony's wrath if that was what he was implying. She also didn't want to go anywhere else.
"I'd like to stay here if that's all right with you."
He nodded at her, eyeing the stack of books she was carrying. "Are you really able to read that fast?"
Loki put them on the table nearest to them and nodded, leaning over to grab the boy's shoulder, momentarily closing her eyes.
She let go a few seconds after and said, "Now you can too."
Peter gawked at the Goddess, not being able to believe such a thing. That was until he brought his attention to one of the books in Loki's stack. He had settled with a random one after not being able to find anything that would satisfy him.
He was able to read the first page in less than thirty seconds, and when he finished, he turned to Loki with a grin on his face. "Loki, this is the most incredible thing ever!"
"Glad to hear." She sat down and propped her feet on the table they were sitting at, making herself at home. Peter had a million questions running through his mind about the new power Loki had transferred into him but decided to ask about it later.
After the day of chaos, it was good to settle down and relax. Loki enjoyed the peaceful solitude, especially after the years of troublemaking. The moment was made all the better, spending it with the boy.
It was half an hour later when Loki was halfway through with a crappy book named "Twilight" that Peter kept alternating between shifting in his chair, swaying, and moving his leg nonstop.
She leaned over to see what page he was on. 9.
Peter noticed and was quick to blubber out an apology, his face reddening in embarrassment. "Sorry, I just can't focus on this. It's going way too fast for my brain to catch up with what's happening. And even without your powers, I'm hopeless."
"No need to be sorry. Maybe you need to get another book. Or take a break." She said. " Blow off steam. You are a spider, after all."
Swinging always made Peter feel better, feeling so free out there in the sky. Whether it was because he had a bad day or was frustrated with homework, swinging was always good to ease his mind and cool off.
Peter gave her an apologetic expression. "But I don't want to leave you all alone here."
"No need for that. Go. In the meantime, I will finish this book, and when you get back, we'll uh. . . head back to the compound."
Saying it out loud made it all the more dreadful.
Peter grimaced. "Or we can stay at May's. Wait, no, scratch that, she'll know something's up. We'll go to Ned's."
The image of Ned's face as he saw the Goddess of Mischief lying on his sofa played out in his head. Ned would freak if that were to happen.
"We can't escape the inevitable, young one. Stark will get to us one way or another. Isn't it better for it to be sooner rather than later?"
"I guess." He mumbled. "Well, I'll be back in a sec."
Once he had exited the building and put on his suit in a discreet alley, he was swinging all over town in no time. He felt so alive and free, and all his troubles seemed to dissipate from his mind.
But, of course, that couldn't last long.
As he landed on a lampost, he felt his skin tingle, and then a blood-curdling scream sounded in the distance.
"Karen, tell me where the screams are coming from."
The AI did as told, taking him to the call of distress.
He dropped down on a building, and that's when he saw the woman. She was being held at gunpoint by a man in a black mask.
He swiftly swung over, taking the gun and the bag from the masked man. "Hey, I'll be taking what's rightfully not yours and a pretty dangerous weapon. Not a toy, man. I thought you knew better than that."
He gave her the bag, and she ran out of there as fast as she could. As the man swung at him, Peter grabbed his fist and kicked him in the groin. Then he webbed him up, leaving the police to deal with him.
He aimed his wrist at a nearby building, about to take off. That was until his spidey sense went off like crazy. He heard a gunshot but was far too slow at dodging, and he felt a prickling sensation on his stomach, then a sharp pain.
As he dropped to the floor, he caught sight of a man running away with a gun in his hand. Before he could shoot anyone else, Peter shot some webs towards the guy's hands, making him drop the gun.
He webbed him up even further, webbing his feet together as well as his lips.
He attempted to swing back to the library, but the swinging only made the pain worse.
His vision swayed as he got closer to the building. Then he collapsed to the ground, and he was out like a light.
He woke up, his eyes fluttering open and shut as he fought the sleepy feeling that was coming his way. He suddenly jolted up and winced at the brightness of the light.
"Hey, hey, hey, take it easy." A voice said. Then someone was touching his arm, pulling him back so he would lay down. He waited for his eyes to adjust to the light, and when they did, he saw-
"Holy shit, you're Dr. Bruce Banner! I know we've met, well, kinda. I just saw Hulk in passing, but oh my God, I've read all your books, and you-"
Bruce was amused at his excitement upon meeting him. And it amused him more that the kid was excited to meet him, not Hulk. Bruce Banner.
"Thank you, Peter. While I am super flattered that you're familiar with my work, you've been shot, so take it easy."
The pain was now settling in. "Oh, right, that's why my stomach stings."
"Kid, you had me worried. If it wasn't for Reindeer Games finding you passed out outside the library . . ." He didn't dare finish that sentence. "We saw the feed that Karen captured. The police got to those perps."
"Just rest for now. You're staying here for the time being." Bruce told the boy.
Before he could protest, Tony called out to FRIDAY. "FRI, Peter is not to leave this room. If he does, notify me right away."
"Come on, Mr. Stark." Peter whined on top of the AI's, "Yes, boss."
"No, you just got shot, Peter. You're staying, and I'm looking over you for now."
Peter sighed, accepting his fate. There was no point in arguing with the man. "Where's Loki?"
Bruce and Tony looked at each other.
"Where's Loki?" Peter repeated, this time his voice thick with suspicion and anger.
Tony looked back at his mentee. "I put her in a cell."
"What? Are you kidding me? If it wasn't for her, I would've bled to death."
"Well, if it wasn't for her, you wouldn't have been shot."
"She didn't even want to go. I convinced her. Besides, if it wasn't for you not trusting us, we wouldn't have even gone to the library, and none of this would've happened." He was about to get out of bed when he noticed the handcuffs. They must've been designed just for him because when he pulled at it, they wouldn't budge.
"Why did you chain me up?"
"So you can stay here and heal. We don't want you running around while you just had surgery, Pete."
The heart monitor was beeping faster, and Bruce put a hand to his shoulder, laying him back.
"No, let her go, let me . . ." His words died down as Bruce injected him with a sedative.
"I messed up," Tony whispered as he sat down on a chair nearby.
"Yeah, no shit."
Tony glared at him. "I just want to protect him."
"I know, but you've got to trust him. And her as much as you don't want to. His spidey-sense hasn't gone off while Loki's been here."
Tony scoffed. "So you're on Loki's side?"
"I'm on nobody's side. Just think about what we're saying. Don't tune us out like you've been doing. And if you don't want to do it for her, at least do it for Peter."
"I know, it's just . . . hard to wrap my head around," Tony said. "I don't want my kid to get hurt."
Bruce smiled. "My kid.' Tony didn't seem to notice, so he didn't make an attempt to say anything.
"Pete's told you to trust his judgment, right?" Tony nodded. "So then trust him."
"It's just, I'm worried-"
"If she tries something, we'll kick her ass out. She's been here 3 months, and she hasn't tried anything."
"Yet."