Unfinished Gems

Trick Hunt - 5

"Is it a bad thing I want to shake the hand of whoever pranked the Capsicle and Romanov?" asked Stark.

"Even if it was the same person who left the staff, missing a glowing part, looking like that?" asked Bruce.

"Hey, I got good blackmail from that prank. I'm not complaining...much," Tony shot back. Seeing Rogers faint when he realized what the staff looked like had been hilarious. No way was Tony letting him live that down.

"Even if it was from Loki?" said Clint. He still hadn't forgiven the jerk for what he did.

"Depends on whether he was Loki or not. Didn't Thor say their dad banished him here to live as a human without his memories?" said Tony.

Clint growled.

"If I find him, I'm punching him in the face. And none of you try to stop me," he said flatly.

"Considering what he pulled, we'll be nice. You can punch him twice," said Tony, not actually joking for once.

"Or we'll let you shoot him in the ass with an arrow," said Natasha. Clint perked up.

"I just want to know how the hell they keep getting past Jarvis."

"I believe I can answer that, Man of Iron."

"Thor! What are you doing back so soon?"

"Heimdall has noticed an unusual amount of activity from Helheim. Unfortunately with Loki currently banished until his memories return or Odin allows him to come home, we had no one bale to visit Hel. So my mother went, if only for a visit."

"Wait...Hell is real?" said Steve.

"I think he means the Norse Goddess of the Dead," clarified Bruce.

Thor pulled out...an ornate hand mirror.

"This is a scrying mirror, enchanted to speak across realms. Hel has one in her domain, though she only speaks to Loki. Here's the interesting thing...according to Hel, Loki's memories were broken by accident already."

"Wait...you're telling us Loki is the one who's been pranking us?" said Tony incredulously.

Thor nodded.

"Loki has visited his daughter three times already, and my mother Frigga saw the weapons in Hel's realm. From what she was told, Loki left them there to avoid being 'busted' for having something he 'borrowed'."

Natasha narrowed her eyes.

"You're telling us Loki is the thief who left that pink paint trap? And that he stole the staff only to return it a month later? Fury's going to be pissed."

"Wait, if Loki remembers who he is, why hasn't..." started Steve.

"Hel refused to say, stating there was a reason his memoires were broken early. Frigga had to leave quickly because whatever that reason was, it angered her greatly. Anything that angers Hel is not something one would wish to trifle with."

"Thor, do you think you could ask this...Hel...if she could explain why Loki robbed a minor base for guns?" asked Natasha.

"She made it clear she wasn't in the mood to deal with any more Asgardians, save her father. Though she did seem amused initially. I think he's been sharing his pranks with her again," said Thor.

"Well at least it solves part of the mystery as to where the good Samaritans got those guns. Either they're in contact with Loki's mortal self, or one of them is Loki," said Steve.

Because they avoided the cameras, or just shot the ones they could find, there were no definitive pictures of the two men. It was driving Fury up the wall, because the council refused to stop bitching about the missing prototypes.