Archive of Our Own ^beta

Father had told Loki that he had to listen to Thor and the protectors of Midgard while he lived amongst them, and he was old enough - two centuries old now, still too young for any real training - to understand how important it was to follow the rules laid out for him. He knew it was for his own protection, especially since Father said there were enemies who would attack him just because he wasn't born in Asgard.

Besides, he wasn't totally sure he was actually a Jotun. Weren't they blue and covered with funny markings? He was paler than anyone else, true, but was more white than blue!

Anyway, he was willing to believe Father, because Father never lied to him, so he would listen to what these Avenger Midgardians told him and follow their rules.

And while he wasn't quite sure what to make of Thor's friends, what he did know was that they were a fascinating group of people. Especially the archer, he was an even better shot than Fandral. But he was always busy, so Loki made sure not to bother him when he was in the room for a moment or two.

He did his best to be good, to behave himself and follow the rules. He even listened and sat quietly the day that he went out with Dr. Bruce and some men had tried to rob the money lenders that they had been visiting. Mr. Hulk had been very careful to keep him out of harm's way, and Loki had been very careful to hold onto the giant while he was stopping the robbers.

But even the best intentions had a way of going wrong, which was how Loki managed to get caught up in an attack on the city one quiet afternoon.

Dr. Bruce and Tony (don't call me Mr. Stark, yeesh, that was my old man's name) were busy in the lab, and Thor was visiting Lady Jane, and Miss Tasha and Mr. Barton were on the practice range where Loki was never ever ever supposed to go without an adult, so Captain Steve had taken him out to the park where the younger could play while the elder drew. Everything had been going well; the Captain had settled onto a bench and started drawing the landscape while Loki had found some squirrels to climb the trees with. The other people in the park were likewise enjoying the lovely day, and Loki gave some thought to joining the other kids playing a tag-and-run game that looked fun.

This was right about the point when the metal monsters arrived.

In the chaos that ensued, Loki got separated from Captain Steve. The child had a moment of blind panic before he steeled himself and ran for shelter. He was the adopted son of Odin, he couldn't just sit down and cry no matter how much he wanted for someone to come save him. He knew that Captain Steve was probably looking for him, so he could make the job easier by getting somewhere safe and staying still until the attack was over. The captain or Dr. Bruce and Mr. Hulk or one of the other Avengers would come for him then.

Loki was almost to the tunnel when one of the monsters - Doombots, he thought was what Tony referred to them as later - dropped out of the sky in front of him. The creature seemed to look at him, and it reached out to grab him. The child jerked backward to avoid the grasp, but the metal fingers closed over his arm all the same.

And then there was a crackling sound in the air, and he could see his breath when he gasped, and the monster's metal skin froze over.

As the monster shattered, Loki pulled away so abruptly that he fell to the ground. He looked down at his bare arms (the clothing of Midgard was comfortable, these jeans and T-shirts that Miss Pepper had brought to the tower for him) to see that his skin was a vivid icy blue, with darker blue markings making their way up his arms. He felt another moment of fear before forcing it away.

It was okay; Father had told him he was a Jotun, and this was just the proof of that truth.

He didn't stop to wonder why he had changed. It was probably an instinctive reaction, a method to keep him safe. Father and Thor had both told him that the Jotnar could blacken a man's skin with a single touch; metal monsters seemed to have a slightly different reaction to a Jotun's touch.

The sound of metal feet hitting the ground behind him startled Loki to his feet, and he glanced back only long enough to make sure it wasn't Tony - and it wasn't - before starting to run again. This monster likewise tried to grab him, but it didn't get the chance to shatter. Instead, the beast only just got close enough to grab him when an arrow hit it in the eye and exploded.

Mr. Barton dropped out of one of the trees - Loki didn't realize he'd been that close to them - and caught him around the waist. The child panicked for a second, fearing that he would freeze the human, but the man didn't appear to notice that Loki was blue at the moment.

Clint darted for the edge of the battlefield that the park had turned into and set the child on his feet. His blue eyes narrowed for a moment as he checked Loki over for injuries, breathing out a relieved sigh when it became clear that the kid was only shaken. And blue, but Thor had mentioned something about Frost Giants and that the kid was one, so that probably wasn't too weird.

When the call had come in from Steve that a group of Doombots was attacking the park and that he'd lost Loki in the chaos, Clint had worried for about a minute that the kid had finally turned on them. It was only the concern in Steve's voice that kept him from voicing his opinion.

The quinjet wasn't the best mode of transport within the city, so he'd caught a ride with Natasha and Bruce; Tony had donned his armor and taken off the minute Steve had said the kid was missing, leaving the rest of the team to catch up. The second they got to the park Bruce had let the Hulk come out to play, and with Natasha headed towards Steve to assist there Clint had headed for higher ground.

He'd missed what had happened with the first, flash-frozen Doombot, but it wasn't difficult to figure out that Loki was trying to get somewhere safe and Doom's party favors were intent on catching him. Clint hadn't even hesitated to take the shot and get the kid out of the danger zone. He might not like the bastard he'd grown up to become, and he might be pissed that Asgardian punishment was some weird-ass Second Chance program, but he couldn't deny the fact that the kid was trying to be a good person.

Clint mentally shook himself from those thoughts and gave Loki a serious look. "I need you to listen to me, kid, okay?" At the child's nod (and yeesh, those red eyes were funky) he continued, "It seems to me like these things are after you for whatever reason, and I'm not comfortable just letting you try to run from them. So, what I need you to do is hold on tight and don't let go."

Before Loki could ask what he meant, Clint swept the boy up onto his back and waited for him to wrap small arms around his neck and shoulders. "Remember what I said, okay? Don't let go."

Feeling a nod against the back of his neck, Clint turned and headed away from the park. The Doombots still seemed to be focused on the rest of the gang - and they may have had their hands full with Hulk at the moment - so his plan at the moment was to get Loki as far away as possible. With any kind of luck, the other Avengers would finish off the robot armada and be back to the tower before Thor even found out about Doom's apparent interest in the kid.

Plus, it seemed like it was about time to try and bond with the little guy. He obviously hero-worshiped Clint, so he was going to try and make sure that Loki grew up to not be a jackass this time. Ice cream might be good for that.