AN: Sorry it took so long to get this out, please read the note at the end of the chapter. I have a very important question.

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Run Like Hell

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Loki had enjoyed his trip to the fair, had been fairly happy 'hanging out' with Tony Stark, and had even enjoyed the strange 'rides' that the man had pulled him onto. He wasn't enjoying the aftereffects so much, and as he sneezed again, he curled tighter into a little ball on the bed that his host had given him. His stomach rumbled alarmingly again, and he groaned, not quite having the strength to get up and find more water. The sweet foods had been delicious, and the 'hot dogs' so very tasty, but he hadn't over eaten, he knew he hadn't. There was also no way his head should be feeling this bad, even worse than he had come to get used to with his diminished magical reserves.

He wasn't exactly powerless, but what strength he had was fighting to make his body whole again, and there was nothing he could think of that would have this devastating of an effect on him. Loki had always been more prone to illness than Thor, but even then, none of those illnesses had ever made him feel this badly. "Sir, please remain in bed. Mr. Stark will be arriving shortly with medications and something to drink." Jarvis stated, and Loki shook his head, standing up anyways even though his limbs trembled in fatigue and the room spun circles around him as he moved towards the bathroom. There was an unpleasant sensation in his throat, like he was going to void what few contents remained in his stomach after the last time he had moved to get a drink, but Loki pressed forwards anyways, making it into the large bathroom and collapsing on the blessedly cool tile floor.

"Medicine?" He asked, his normally quick mind feeling sluggish and unresponsive. "There is a midgardian cure for this illness?"

"Not really… but we do have a few things to alleviate the symptoms." Tony said from the doorway of the bathroom, and Loki looked up to him, wondering why the man looked so worried. "I didn't think you would be susceptible to catching a cold though…"

"I assure you… I made no effort… to capture this… 'cold' you speak of…" Loki managed to get out, mildly frightened by the effort that breathing and speaking at the same time was suddenly. "Though.. this flooring… is quite cool… and very comfortable.." he groaned slightly as he turned to press his hot face to one of the cool tiles.

"Might be the flu…" Tony said, still sounding extremely worried though Loki didn't know why… he was comfortable here, as he had just told the human, and had no intentions of moving until his body was more responsive. "Here… Take this… swallow them don't chew they're nasty as hell that way. Also, drink this, I don't think you're dehydrated yet, but its better to prevent that than try to treat it."

Loki let the human maneuver him into a sitting position, leaning against the cool tile wall in order to swallow the tiny, brightly colored things that almost resembled soft rocks and drink the bright red bottle of 'gatoraid' if he was reading the label right. "What is dehydrated?" He asked after he finished half of the surprisingly tasty liquid.

"When your body doesn't have enough water in it and you become ill." Tony stated, and Loki nodded, before sliding down the cool tile wall again. "Come on, you need to get back in bed. I've got Pepper in the kitchen making what she swears is the best home remedy, chicken soup."

Loki would have lost his balance had he not already been lying down due to the sudden nausea at the idea of eating something.

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Working to keep his cool even though he was worried as all hell, Tony sought out the fully equipped and mostly automated kitchen, frowning deeply. "Pepper… I've never seen anyone get so sick from a cold… or the flu for that matter." He stated, confused and uncertain on how to explain everything to his best friend slash personal secretary.

"Tony, just because you don't get that sick, doesn't mean others don't." Pepper said with the patience of a saint. "I was worried sick when Jarvis called me and told me to get medicine by the way." Tony had the good grace to look mildly embarrassed at her words, even though it wasn't entirely his fault that Fenrir was so ill.

Though, it probably wouldn't have gotten so bad for the other if Tony had noticed something beforehand, instead of having been locked in his lab making plans and doing stupid amounts of research on his expo idea. It wasn't until Jarvis informed Tony that Fenrir had turned blue that the engineer had realized something was wrong with him, and after having Jarvis give him a rundown of how much time he had been in the lab and the other mans actions, or rather lack of actions. As far as the AI could tell, Fenrir had slept through the onset of the cold, and might not even realize that a few days had passed since he had seen Tony. And then the man's temperature had plummeted instead of spiking, and Tony couldn't help but wonder if that had something to do with why Jarvis hadn't realized the man was running a fever. Then he had turned blue, and the AI had alerted Tony immediately.

The engineer still hadn't told Pepper that his guest was either an alien or a mutant, although alien was looking more and more plausible. "I'm going to hit the can, I'll be right back." Tony said, rubbing his forehead with a sigh and wondering how to break it to Pepper exactly what was going on. He was already awkward enough having admitted that there was a strange man somewhat temporarily living with him, which had caused her to give him an excessively strange look. At which point Tony had had to defend himself and his scandalous reputation with everything he was worth, claiming the purity of fresh fallen snow. Pepper, perhaps unsurprisingly, had not bought it at all, but hadn't said anything either.

Tony was finishing up in the bathroom when he heard the shriek, followed by Jarvis's calm voice. "Sir, Miss Potts seems to be quite alarmed by Mr. Laufeyson."

"I can hear that…." Tony grumbled, practically running as he made his way to the guest room. "Pepper, don't panic…" He started as he went into the room, only to be stopped by the sight ahead of him. Fenrir was sitting up, his eyes wide and glassy looking as he pressed against the headboard of the bed, the blankets were gone, tossed to the floor, as was the mans shirt and pants, though thankfully he retained the boxers that had been acquired for him. Online shopping was wonderful that way.

What seemed to have alarmed Pepper though was the fact that instead of being a little bit blue, like he had been for the last few hours since Jarvis had called Tony upstairs, he was a deep sapphire blue, with lighter and darker markings on his skin that looked almost like ridges. His black hair, already sweat slicked, now had ice crystals forming on it and was amazingly curly and frizzy. Oh, and the headboard was covered in frost where Fenrir was touching it. "Uhm… this is new." He stated, and Pepper turned to glare at him, her shaky hands holding the tray of hot soup even though there was a wild look in her eyes.

"You didn't tell me your new friend was a mutant." She accused, glaring and moving to the dresser to set down the tray with soup.

"Technically, I think he's an Alien. Are you alright Fenrir?" Tony asked, concerned about the amount of ice forming on the bed.

"Not… at all…" The man wheezed, and Tony moved forward automatically to steady him and help him lay back a bit. Instead of being able to help though, Fenrir threw himself away from Tony, landing with a thump on the recently discarded blankets. "Do not touch me… when I am like this Tony Stark… it is not safe…"

"Not safe? Does this happen every time you get sick?" Tony asked, frowning as he stayed where he was, not moving forward to try to help the other, or away because he certainly didn't want to give the impression that he was scared of the man who had been living with him these few short weeks.

"No… This is the first time…" Fenrir admitted, his voice a raspy growl. "I apologize for scaring you Lady…" He trailed off, seeming to hunch behind the bed as if he could hide himself from their view.

"Potts… Pepper Potts, she's my secretary." Tony explained, an eyebrow raised as he realized that Fenrir's breathing was actually becoming less labored by the moment. "So… feeling any better?" He asked, a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"… much actually…" Fenrir said, his tone far from happy even as he lay down on the floor next to the bed. "Again… I apologize… It must be quite upsetting to find a monster where one was not expected." His words were much more clear than they were just half an hour ago when Tony had given him the medicine in the bathroom, and he actually seemed more coherent though the engineer was also alarmed at how he termed himself.

"Its… Its fine, I was just startled." Pepper said, smiling though Fenrir wasn't looking her way. "I'm sorry for overreacting, its more this lugs fault for not warning me." She said cheerfully pointing at Tony, and it wasn't forced at all. "I bought some soup, I'm not sure if you're very hungry or not, being sick makes me lose my appetite."

"It is much appreciated… If you would give me a few moments to… make myself presentable…" Fenrir requested, and Pepper nodded, blushing as she quickly left the room, and Tony watched the blue skinned man for a few more moments before following, though he paused at the door and turned back.

"You do realize you're not a monster, right?" Tony asked, and if he hadn't been watching Fenrir as closely as he could, he wouldn't have noticed how startled the man was with that question. "You aren't. Have Jarvis give us a call when you're ready and I'll help you to the kitchen… You probably want to get out of here since… Hey.. I'm sorry… about not noticing earlier that you were'nt feeling too good. Jarvis said it started after the trip to the fair, and I don't know what got you down but I'm sorry I got so distracted…"

"Pay it no mind, Tony Stark. I am feeling much recovered from this morning, and perhaps that has something to do with… this…" Loki stated, motioning to himself, and Tony nodded, feeling like a dirtbag before he left the room, a certain theory solidifying in his head.

He made his way towards the kitchen and rubbed his head while wondering if he had slept in the last thirty six hours, and he couldn't remember doing so, so he immediately went to the coffee pot and poured himself a cup of happiness to keep him awake.

"You could have warned me." Pepper said as Tony took his first sip, and the genius looked over at her confused for a moment. "About your new friend being… blue." She clarified, looking slightly shaken herself, and Tony shook his head, pulling out a second mug for her coffee.

"No, I couldn't have because he wasn't blue until a few hours ago, and he was far less blue at that point… it looked more like he was catching hypothermia actually." Tony explained, frowning. "I thought his body might be going into shock after being sick a few days…"

"How did he get sick?" Pepper asked, and Tony had the grace to look even more embarrassed.

"I toned down my profile and went to the fair with him… he's curious about earths culture and its not an act. Since he doesn't seem malicious, it didn't seem like it would cause problems." Tony explained, sipping at his coffee. "I'm still surprised no one recognized me, since its been almost a year since my last public scandal, and hanging out with a guy at the fair would have been just the ticket, but it was fun enough… for hanging around with a guy. Also, you wouldn't believe how well he understands everything. A bit cool emotion wise, but he's…" Tony bit his lip, determined not to say anything else on the matter, not to point out that Fenrir was as smart as he was, and Pepper wasn't. That was one social blunder he was good at identifying if nothing else, and being a billionaire covered the rest of his blunders on a regular basis.

"You said something about alien, not mutant. What did you mean?" Pepper asked, glaring at Tony and he winced, not having really meant to let that slip.

"I asked, he doesn't seem to know what a mutant is, and the few times I've got him to talk about where he's from, its like something out of norse mythology. Since there's no such thing as magic, its more likely he's from a race that inspired such legends in the first place since sufficiently advanced technology has been mistaken for magic and miracles by primitive societies before." Pepper was staring at him and so Tony just shrugged, taking a drink of his coffee before speaking again. "I've been brushing up on history and 'social sciences' because I was… intrigued. Also, considering all of the analyses that Jarvis has been running on him, he's agreed its unlikely that Fenrir is human, so… yea. It seems pretty likely he's been telling the truth."

"So you trust him?" Pepper asked, wary but still agreeable, and Tony nodded.

"As much as I can trust anyone that's not you or Rhodey." Tony admitted, taking a deep swig of what was left of his coffee before frowning. "At least as far as where he's from and what he's up to, I guess."

"Right… And how long ago did you go to the fair? It's the Modesto one that closes tomorrow right?" She asked, thinking about something and Tony shrugged before looking down.

"Four days ago… You can check the security footage if you want, but he's been under the weather since then…." Tony admitted, wincing.

"Three days." Pepper asked, and there was something suddenly dangerous in her voice that made Tony wince again. "When you called me up panicing earlier, I assumed that this was a fresh development. Why did you not have me bring over medicine before it got critical?" Her voice was as cold as Fenrir's room had been after he turned blue, and Tony looked up at her and smiled disarmingly.

"Well… yea, that really is my fault, I've been working on a project you see and got caught up in it and didn't realize that he'd been there for three days." Tony explained, trying for nonchalant in the face of the murderous rage he could almost see building on her face. "To be fair, Jarvis didn't notice anything out of the ordinary either, right buddy?"

"I apologize Miss Potts, but I did indeed not notice anything amis until Mr. Laufeyson's temperature dropped below human norm." Jarvis spoke up, and Tony grinned wider, glad that his AI didn't seem too put out with him. "However, it was mildly irresponsible of Mr. Stark to ignore his guest for so long."

"Traitor." Tony glowered, glaring at one of the nodes where he could direcly access and interface with Jarvis if he needed to. "I knew I shouldn't have dedicated so much of the processor to… whatever it is that makes me feel guilty when you do that."

"I believe that is compassion, Sir." Jarvis stated, before falling quiet again even as Pepper shook her head.

"Tony, you can't blame your computer for not noticing." Her words were firm, and she ignored Tony's protest that Jarvis wasn't just any computer. "If you have someone else living in the same space as you, you do not ignore them, this is basic social courtesy and I thought you knew at least that much."

"I don't do social courtesy, I throw money at the problem till I don't need courtesy…." Tony grumbled, setting down his now empty coffee cup and frowning again. "Although, I guess now is as good a time as any to start. Jarvis, where is Fenrir? Did he fall asleep again, or is he still getting ready? He's never seemed slow, but I guess being sick could take a lot out of him, and he should have let you know he was ready to come out and get a change of view already."

It was several moments before the AI answered, which in itself alarmed Tony, though the computers words were even more alarming. "I apologize Sir, but Mr. Laufeyson is nowhere on premisis. The last visual record I have of him was when he was getting dressed before taking a seat on the bed."

"What?"

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Loki groaned, pausing and leaning against a handy building to catch his breath as he looked around, determined to put as much distance between himself and someone who knew what he was as possible. He needed to get his head clear of this cursed, cold, fever so that he could resume his favored form rather than staying in this monstrous Jotun form. No doubt Tony meant well when he said that Loki wasn't a monster, but the little mortal knew far from the whole truth. Loki had held as much back as he dared in the face of the humans frighteningly familiar intelligence.

For being mortal, and all the differences that implied, Tony Stark was smarter than Loki's brother and the warriors three, and Lady Sif, all put together, which wasn't saying much, but the fact that the mortal could easily give Loki challenge was. Growling at himself to get over it, Loki straightened up, hoping no one would notice the cool chill that seemed to follow him in the early autumn air. He needed to find shelter and food to regain his strength, so he could resume his preferred form which was missing at the moment, after which he would need to find somewhere else to lay low until he could reliably find out what happened to him.

He had poured over the tomes of science and psychology and even mythology that Tony Stark had had access to, but it had all been for very close to nothing. Oh, he had learned a great deal about Midgard, and a great deal about sciences of all kinds, but absolutely nothing new on magic, or how he might get his own back. Hunching down, Loki continued his fairly aimless wandering, wondering exactly how to fix everything that was wrong with him.

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Yea… Sorry it took so long to get this up. Also, this seems so short… is this short? o.o… I've been panicking about my upcoming wedding, working, and generally being bogged down by Life, in all its myriad intricacies.

That being said, I have a question relating to plot. I know exactly how this is going to end, and I've got some delicious Frostiron scenes in mind for when Tony and Loki meet again. However, getting there is proving to be a problem since I'm trying to figure out what happens in between. Tony's encounter with Loki will change not so many things in Iron Man 2, though I will be keeping a bit from him in every chapter because it does change certain motivations. My question is would anyone be interested in seeing a partially powerless Loki hook up with the Brotherhood of Mutants? I can see Eric Lensherr fascinating Loki for all of a few weeks, and it would be a relatively safish place (by Loki's standards) for him to hide out while also giving him access to wander around and break laws while looking for a way to get his magic back.

In my mind X-men-verse and Avengers-verse have the possibility of being the same verse, by omission probably.

Also, there will be a post for Ember sometime either tonight or tomorrow, so please be sure to check that out. And that's it for my stupid rambling…. Thank you for reading and please leave a review.