Beyond the mirrors

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He met her gaze for a brief moment before turning his eyes towards the ground and focusing on the task of lowering himself back onto the floor. "Yes." He carefully eased himself back into a sitting position, sighing at the relief it brought to his weary muscles, and looked up at her with narrowed eyes. "Your answers were perfect."

Smiling, she cocked her head to the side. "I'm glad you think so."

"You don't mind if I ask another, do you?" His wit had abandoned him, confusion clouding his mind and putting simple words on his tongue. "Because I'm curious to know a little more about my heritage. What sort of family are you from, Leiknyrr?"

"Hmm." For a moment, it looked like she was going to refuse, but after about a minute of contemplation, she complied. "I already told you that I am the twelfth daughter of Álmóðr and Mýrún, but I suppose that doesn't mean much to you. To clarify, Álmóðr was a very powerful sorcerer as well as a close companion of the king who reigned before Laufey. Mýrún was from a noble family halfway around the planet—a family well-known for their ability to take a small, broken down town and turn it into a metropolis."

Loki couldn't deny the surprise and impressment he felt upon hearing her words. He had no idea Jotunheim even had social constructs, but if she truly was telling the truth, then there were obviously levels of social standing and nobility. Furthermore she, and by extension he, was very high on that ladder.

"I was their daughter, eighteenth to be born out of twenty-seven children. Mother taught me how to manage wealth and fight with swords and fists. Father taught and guided me in the ways of magic, and he often took me on political trips with him to give me firsthand experience in the field. On my own, I studied and read books until my eyes bled, learned every language and dialect this planet has to offer, committed our history and culture to my memory, and prepared myself for the role I wished to obtain. You, Loki, are my firstborn child, though you now have thirteen younger siblings, and you contain the nobility of both of my parents' bloodlines as well as that of Laufey and his parents."

She turned up the speakers on her computer and began the video. The footage was of the inside of what appeared to be a karaoke bar, and looked to be filmed by one of the patrons armed with a camera phone. They watched the video with curious expressions for a few seconds before bursting out laughing. They looked up at the sound of footsteps to see Bruce and Pepper walk into the room.

"What's so funny, guys?" Bruce asked.

"Come take a look at this," Steve said motioning to the screen.

Bruce and Pepper made their way over to join the others and soon, all five of them were rolling with laughter. They all laughed until they couldn't breathe and tears were streaming down their faces. Finally, they began to calm down but just as they were beginning to catch their breaths the objects of their amusement entered the room.

A very hungover Tony and Clint stumbled into the room. Their clothes were rumpled and their hair was sticking up in all directions. They stopped as the others suddenly busted out laughing.

"What?" Tony said suddenly feeling self-conscious.