Mischief on Midgard

Party Crasher

Loud, pealing laughter echoed from Tony's lounge. The Avengers were reunited once more. It had only been a few days, but Clint was out of the hospital. Not only that, but he had also been allowed to go home if he wanted to. His injury had been less worrisome than they had feared it to be. He had needed stitches and a blood transfusion but was otherwise cleared for light duty. Just then, he was standing, grinning, and holding up his arms as if cheering.

"'Tis but a scratch!" he shouted in an amused voice, and the rest of the group laughed again at his antics. "Just another scar to add to the collection. The ladies love it!"

"Agreed!" Thor said with a shout as he lifted his glass into the air. "Women enjoy the proud marks of a battle well fought! Wear it with pride, my friend."

"See, Pepper?" Tony said with a laugh, nudging his beloved girlfriend lightly with his elbow. "Scars are cool and sexy, merow! Feel free to admire my manly battle scars, yeah? Yeah?"

Pepper shook her head and smiled, giving Tony a small shove. Her smile dimmed a little as she ran a finger over one of his scars worriedly.

"All I am saying Tony is that you have enough scars already," she leaned over and kissed his cheek. "You don't need any more to prove your, hm, 'prowess.'"

Tony pouted at her as the rest of the group laughed. Well, all but Natasha. The other woman merely rolled her eyes and waved her hand in a small dismissive gesture when Clint tried again to show off another scar. Clearly, she wasn't all that impressed with the lingering battle wounds of the group. Tony playfully tossed a kernel of popcorn at her before turning to Bruce.

"What about you, buddy?" Tony asked with a wide grin. "I bet you've got some pretty amazing ones, yeah?"

"Nope," Bruce responded as he took a sip of his drink. "Not a single one."

"Seriously?" Tony asked incredulously.

"Accelerated healing, Tony," Bruce reminded him with a huff of laughter. "You keep forgetting that about the Hulk, but, yeah, if I get wounded and then transform into the Hulk, the wound heals over. So, while I've been hit plenty of times, I just haven't ended up with any scars."

"Wow, that's neat!" Tony said with a gasp. He shook his head and threw up his hands. "I always thought that it was just the Hulk's injuries that got healed, not yours too. That is so cool!"

"I think that it is worth noting that not all wounds leave visible scars," Loki commented from his seat as he leaned back. His tone was casual as he turned to Tony with a raised brow. "Head wounds for one. How many of those have you sustained again, Tony?"

"Hey, now, you shut your mouth!" Tony said, wagging a finger at Loki. "My head is just fine, thank you very much!"

"Are you so sure of that?" Loki asked innocently. Tony let out a scoff and threw up his hands again. The rest of the group chuckled at their antics.

"You're just jealous 'cause you have no cool scars yourself, desk-jockey!" Tony proclaimed with a raised finger.

Loki raised an eyebrow at the other man but did not refute his statement. It was true, at least in part. His current body had no visible scars to show off. His true form, however? Asgardian healers were good at their jobs and would often leave no scars. But there were times that Loki had been injured while away from Asgard. Often, he would be gone long enough for the wounds to have healed over. Then there was his time while trapped in Thanos' clutches...

Loki forced himself to shake his head, forcing the thought away. He gave the others a strained smile.

"Given my current company, I imagine it is only a question of time before I will have a scar to boast about," he said as he lifted his glass to take a drink of his beer. "Now, isn't it?"