The Limits of Mischief

Chapter 10

"Okay, so the "how" works," Steve informed. "Now we gotta figure out the when and the where. Almost all of us have had an encounter with at least one of the six infinity stones."

"Well I'd substitute the word encounter for damn well near been killed by one of the six infinity stones," Tony replied, with his usual snarkiness... starkiness. Loki smiled.

"I haven't," Scott interjected. "I don't even know what the hell you're all talking about."

"They're what Thanos used to wipe out half of the universe," Loki grunted, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"He wasn't around for that," Steve explained.

"We only have enough Pym Particles for one round trip each," Bruce cut in. "And these stones have been in a lot of different places throughout history."

"Our history," Tony corrected. "So, not a lot of convenient spots to just drop in."

"Which means we have to pick our targets," Clint added.

"Correct," Tony replied.

"Let's start with the Reality Stone." Steve turned to Loki. "Loki, what do you know?" Lok's eyes widened as everyone's gazes shifted toward him.

"Ah, the 'Reality Stone' as you mortals call it," Loki began, his confidence returning. He stood up, walking toward the screen that displayed each of the Infinity Stones. "This name is completely wrong as the Aether isn't a stone at all. It is an entity whose shape is ever-changing. My brother and his girlfriend actually had an encounter with the Aether, fun story that would... take about two hours to explain..." Loki's smile faded, his mind wandering back to Thor. He shook his head clear. "To sum it up, the Aether possessed her so Thor took her to Asgard."

"When was that?" Tony asked.

"Hm..." Loki paused to think. "Well I was in prison at the time so... about a year after New York?"

"Twenty thirteen," Bruce added.

"Awesome. Eggs? Breakfast?" Tony asked.

"I can get my own, thanks," Loki replied, summoning a plate of hash browns. Scott's eyes lit up. Everyone made their way into the kitchen, preparing their own separate meals.

"Alright, so the reality-" Natasha stopped when she noticed Loki's narrowed eyes. "The Aether," she corrected. "Is easy enough, but what about the Power Stone?"

"Quill said he stole the Power Stone from Morag," Rocket informed. Loki cringed at the thought of his old friend.

"Is that a person? Scott asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Morag's a planet," Rocket replied. "Quill was a person."

"A planet? Like in outer space?" Loki facepalmed.

"Oh, it's like a little puppy, all happy and everything." Rocket rubbed Scott's hair from his spot on the table. "Do you wanna go to space? You wanna go to space, puppy? I'll take you to space," he cooed mockingly. Loki cracked a smile.

"How would we survive in space?" Rhodey asked. "Should we borrow astronaut suits or something?"

"That won't be necessary," Rocket informed, turning to him. "Morag has an atmosphere, so you won't die." Everyone went silent again as they focused on eating.

"The Space and Mind Stones should be easy enough," Loki informed, grabbing a hash brown. "They were both in New York during... well, you know what."

"Oh yeah that's perfect," Tony replied, through a mouthful of food. "Kill two birds with one stone."

"That expression doesn't sound right when referring to actual stones," Loki mused, taking a bite of hash brown.