I continued to translate myself until we saw Wanda spot us through the door, which Loki must've left ajar when he came in. She hurried in without me or Loki noticing, then used her powers to cause that horrible event to enter my mind. The image of me froze, my eyes turning red due to Wanda's magic.

"What did you see?" Loki asked simply, not turning around, simply keeping his eyes affixed to the image. Wanda was politely instructing Loki to get out for his own safety as she wasn't sure how long she could keep me at bay, then the second he did she looked over at me. Her eyes flashed red for the briefest of moments before she gasped and used her powers again, causing me to return to normal, however blank-faced.

"It was when I was discovered to be a Stone Siren," I reply quietly. "They wished to burn me at the stake, just as they did my parents. They assumed we were the works of witchcraft. That was the last time I left the forest for that entire century. I barely escaped with my life that day."

A heavy silence weighed down on the room. Tony even turned the sound off of the images. "I am sorry," Loki said. He was surprisingly sincere. But I was still resentful. If he didn't curse my kind, my parents would never have been killed. I never would've had to spend a century hiding in the forest, alone and afraid of anyone who stumbled upon me.

"An apology will not bring them back," I say bitterly. Then I decide I need to know something. "Why did you curse us, all those decades ago?"

"The school that you are descended from beat me almost to death," he replied. "I was a child at the time, even by Asgardian standards. All I did was skim stones with Thor. I supposedly hit their leader. They waited until Thor had left. I was alone. Then they struck all at once. When I gained the ability to years later, I cursed them. I had no idea that the curse was powerful enough to pass on throughout generations."

"It is a natural instinct for us to protect one another," I say. "If one of us is threatened, especially our leaders, we unite to remove that threat." "Well I understand this now," Loki remarked, cocking an eyebrow.

"So why did you want to watch this over?" Tony was curious to know. "Doesn't exactly seem like your moment of glory."

Loki hung his head slightly. It was an action barely noticeable, but my sharp, attentive eyes caught it. "It is only fair that I witness the damage I caused. I cursed her ancestors due to what they did to me. She did nothing, yet she is burdened with the price of others."

"And why do you care, Reindeer Games?" Tony asks, snark in his tone as usual when he addresses the god, who didn't even twitch at the mild insult.

"Believe it or not, I have feelings. Empathy. Sympathy. Guilt. Regret. I have admitted before that I made mistakes in the past. None of what happened was my intention. I have apologised for my actions. I am actively attempting to redeem myself. What more must I do to prove this to you, Stark?"

There is silence for a while. It wasn't necessarily uncomfortable or awkward, but it wasn't exactly the opposite either. Eventually I felt I had to speak up. "I know you are trying, Loki. I see this. I know you have many emotions and they are compelling your redemption. I believe you can achieve your wish, should you continue to try. Though you still have much hard work ahead of you."

The silence that continues is less tense now and I feel I have said and done all I can, so I quietly exit. I feel like I need to continue putting space between myself and these mortals and gods. I honestly wish I could return home, but with the stranger trying to attack me, the Avengers are more cautious about letting me stay out there on my own more than ever. Especially Steve. He never liked it in the first place. He is definitely one of those people who believe that they can restore good to this earth.

Nobody can restore good to this world.

Nobody.

I don't get far before I see a familiar hand impale my chest. "That is unnatural and grotesque," I say to Loki's duplicate as he removes his arm. "It got your attention, didn't it?" He asked, smirking slightly.

"What do you want?" I sigh. His smirk drops into a satisfied smile. "I have been told that I am supposed to show you something."

"And what is it?" I ask, my eyes narrowing slightly. "Thor has received a date for the visit to Asgard," Loki said. "He also received something else. For you."

I cock an eyebrow at him, inviting him to continue, but he only smiled knowingly. He only asked me to wait a moment, then his duplicate vanished into thin air.

He returned personally, thanked me for waiting, then lead me off. We soon reached a room he told me was Thor's. "Do not be deceived by the interior that it is overly large," he told me. "It appears much larger than it is."

When he opened the door, I was astounded by just how justified the warning truly was. The room appeared infinite, though it wasn't enough for me to post my neutral face. "Impressive," I comment.

"Us Asgardians prefer to live in luxury," Thor said, walking over. "I assume you are here for the-"

"She has not yet been informed, brother," Loki interrupted him quickly. "Oh," Thor's amusement only seemed to grow. "Then this will be fun to watch. Come, Lady Lexis. Mother sent us something for your visit."

I followed him cautiously when he showed me over somewhere else. "This is it," he grinned, gesturing to a flowing white dress with a few gold additions. The dress was accompanied by gladiator sandals.

"It is traditional Asgardian attire," Thor grinned. "Odin does prefer his rare guests to appear Asgardian," Loki nodded, looking at it in satisfaction. "Odin, along with his wife, Frigga, will wish that you wear Asgardian attire when in the realm."

"I... of course," I nod, surprised that the (most likely; I have no confirmations) queen would send someone like me a dress. It must be really important to her and Odin that I 'look the part', as I've heard Tony say.

"We leave tomorrow night, we will gather at the penthouse at the set of the sun," Thor told me. "Wear this. You need only bring luck with you to Asgard to aid our search."