Liquid Energy

Loki hesitated before entering the cafeteria which seemed unusually vacant. Smiling, he looked around enjoying the calm of the room and walked straight to his usual spot near the door (in case he had to run away from his annoying and overly attached brother). He sat down and sighed, ready to enjoy his short period of relaxation with one of his favourite book, when another student entered the cafeteria.

Refusing to look up, Loki stayed silent hoping the stranger would not notice him and leave the room. To Loki’s dismay, not only did the other stay, but he chose to sit at the table right next to his. Annoyed, Loki chose to ignore him and tried to focus on his book. This simple action seemed now impossible with the irritating sounds produced by the other student in the room.

"Would you stop making those obscene and frankly disturbing noises!? It is insufferable!" Loki spat, throwing the other student an arrogant look. The stench of the coffee belonging to his peer was overwhelming, and, unable to help himself, Loki winced. He'd seen Thor drink that awful beverage many times beforehand but had never dared try it for himself.

Looking up from his book, Reed noticed the other student present in the room. Raising an eyebrow at the way the other boy had asked him to stop making noises, he put his bookmark on the page he had been reading and closed said book. He quickly drank the remainder of the heavenly drink, saddened he would not be able to properly appreciate the wonderful taste.

“I do apologize for making noises that disturbed you, but I do believe there are much more diplomatic ways of asking me to stop.”

Crossing his arms in front of himself, frowning, he stared at the dark brown, nearly black-haired boy in front of him. His choice of clothing seemed rather unusual, but having met Fury, he did not doubt the man would send invitations to people of vastly different backgrounds. It was then that the elastic boy noticed what the stranger had in front of him.

“What are you reading? Oh, and my name is Reed Richards” he said, intrigued more by the boy’s choice of reading material than by his name.

Not expecting this kind of attitude from the stranger, Loki stared at him dumbfounded before shaking his head slightly and lowering his gaze to the book he had in hands. He hadn’t expected the stranger to find any interest in his lecture. All he had wanted was for him to leave or at least ignore him. Oh well. Now that these possibilities seemed impossible, he could as well answer his question.

“I do not think a mortal could understand any of what is in this book, but I’ll tell you anyway. It’s a history book relating the Aesir and Vanir’s alliance.” responded Loki shrugging like it was a common subject.

He attempted to read, but it seemed impossible having now the other’s attention on him like he was expecting something from him.

“Oh right… my name. My name is Loki Lau-… Just Loki.” Started Loki before muttering the last part of his sentence.

Wishing to keep the conversation going (after all, he was surrounded by people his age, not the usual 30 years old he studied with usually), Reed wracked his brain trying to think about something that might interest a 16-18 years old boy who read history. Which turned out to be much harder than anticipated. He then simply decided to ask a simple question...

"If you don't mind my asking, why did you come here to read? I noticed you aren't eating or drinking anything, so wouldn't the library be a better suited environment to putting all your concentration into reading? After all, if my memory serves me right, I believe that the smell of food stimulates the digesting tracks, making you crave for food, thus distracting you from other activities, such as reading."

... in a rather complicated manner. Well, this "Loki Lau..." seemed at least somewhat well spoken, he would not have any problems understanding the question... Hopefully... Gods he wanted another coffee....

Loki couldn’t help but smile imagining Thor’s face if he had heard the same speech. All he would have understood was the word food and he would have smiled like the complete oaf that he was. He then shook his head remembering he had to answer the question, before the other could think he was as dumb as his brother.

“You may be right, but I am no mere mortal. I come from Asgard, thus I have survived tons of banquets where I had to stay concentrated on my book while the adults drank, ate and conversed as loudly as possible. Therefore, I am more than prepared to fight against hunger. I was mostly looking for a place to read, alone, and the library did not meet my expectations.”

Looking at the boy, Reed could do nothing other than raise an eyebrow. Asgard? Banquet? Had he finally figured out how people felt when he talked, as they listened and only understood a small percentage of what he was saying? Well... Maybe that young boy was like himself, like he had been before Ben and Sue and Johnny (even if Johnny made fun of him, he was still his friend). Smiling, he stood up. "Wait a moment, I'll be right back!"

He went to get himself another coffee (after all, those cups were so small...) and hesitated a moment. Would the boy like something too? It would be rather impolite to come back without anything for Loki. He decided on a hot chocolate for him. After all, who didn't like hot chocolate?

He came back, and handed one of the cups to the other boy, smiling a bit. "So tell me, where exactly is this 'Asgard' you spoke of? Is it far from here? I don't believe I've heard about a place with such a name. " He kept on smiling. After all, maybe he could offer that boy the company he did not have during those "banquets", someone else who would rather read than party.

Loki looked at the drink with doubt not yet trusting this student who asked way too many question for a mortal. He cast a look at the other who was blowing on his own drink in order to cool it a little. Wanting to blend in with this inferior society, Loki decided to copy him in his own way. He put his hand on the paper cup and summoned his magic and his frost giant’s abilities.

After a few second, the drink he had in front of him had become completely frozen. Loki was too curious about this new drink that he wasn’t paying anymore attention to the other who continued to talk anyway probably thinking that Loki was listening. Now that the entire mixture in the cup was frozen, Loki started to tear up the cup partially so he could lick and take a bite of the dark brown frozen stuff. Wincing, not sure if he actually liked it or not, Loki finally stopped concentrating on his beverage to look at Reed.

“This is so sweet, it tastes like nothing I ever tried before…” admitted Loki before shrugging and taking another bite of the iced chocolate.”I’m sorry… were you saying something?”

Looking at Loki, Reed smiled a little. "Oh, so you've never had hot choc...." Pausing a little, Reed noticed there was no steam coming from the cup anymore. Moreover, there seemed to be a small cold draft coming from his new... friend? He stood up, intrigued, and looked into the cup. Rising his hand to hide his smile, Reed sat back down beside the boy, resisting the urge to pet his hair.

"You've REALLY never had hot chocolate in your life. As the name indicates, most people drink it hot, or at least warm. The warmth and sweetness are used to give a feeling of comfort and relaxation to the body, and the actual sugar and milk help the body regain lost energy, making the drinker feel reinvigorated. Seeing as your drink is now... ice-cold, I might extrapolate and deduce that the reason you come here is that you hold a certain control on the activation of molecules. Do you only slow them down, or can you accelerate them as well? Because one of my friends, Johnny Storm, has the ability to accelerate the movement of particles, including his own, so much that he can turn matter into plasma. Can you also do that? Oh, and would you like to try a hot chocolate in the tradidionnal way? Or are you fine with this frozen hot chocolate?"

Hmmm... Maybe the second coffee had not been the best idea he had ever had...

Loki stayed quiet during the whole speech and stared at his frozen chocolate drink. The more he listened to him, the more he was starting to ask himself if it really was a good idea to continue eating it seeing the effects of this midgardian drink on Reed. Pushing his cup aside, he peered at the other student who was starting to talk about a friend who had some kind of power… Big deal.

“Alright, mortal, let me break it down to you. I am not only an Asgardian god; I am also a … Frost giant. I am not fond of anything related to-“. Loki stopped mid-track realising he was giving away one of his weaknesses. He tried to change the subject, hoping the other would not mind.

“I thank you, mortal, for this offer, but I must decline… Reed… its Reed is it not? Would you mind telling me more about your friend Stormson? I have not had the pleasure of meeting him yet. What are his abilities, his strengths and weaknesses?

A "Frost Giant"? Well, in the past, people USED to be smaller, making the limit to be considered a giant much lower than what it now was. But still.... For this man to be called a giant, these "Asgardians" must be rather small.... And he was not "fond of anything related to..." probably heat. Hmmm... Would the heat have affected his insides? Would it have hurt, or worse, killed, the young man calmly sitting in front of him? Or would it have been simply an unconfortable feeling? What would his blood be made of if warmth or heat affected him so? This was all so very peculiar.

Reed would have loved to obtain a small sample of the young boy's blood to figure out what to give him should he ever get so injured he needed a blood transfusion. And what would be the best environment for him to receive care into? It would probably not be in the heat of infirmary. Maybe in the middle of the cafeteria freezer? Oh... But Loki looked like he was still waiting for an answer to his inquiery.

"You want to know about Johnny? Really? Well, he's not all that threatening..." Oh, but the kid did say he was not fond of heat... He was probably afraid Johnny might hurt him by accident. "He's just Johnny, he'd never hurt anyone I asked him not too. He's.... Like an overeager puppy, always vying for attention, either from his fans or from girls.... Or god forbide, both at once... So... Would you like some chocolate milk? It's rather tasty. " Reed kept on smiling, picturing Johnny as a fire-puppy and Loki as an ice-kitty... They would probably never get along those two.

Loki was growing more and more uncomfortable not used to having so much attention… or someone looking at him like he was analyzing each and every detail about him. Was he trying to find his weaknesses or simply finding some interest in him? Loki did not which one was most disturbing. He was starting to regret speaking to this student even if it had been to lecture him.

So that Storm was controlled by Reed now… good to know, but his description still did not please Loki who already disliked this personality. He resembled Thor in too many ways and, dear lord, one Thor was enough. At the mention of the midgardian sweet again, Loki closed his book and got up, not willing to find his senses compromised by this strange sustenance.

“Again, I thank you, but my answer stays the same. I must take my leave now; perhaps we will meet another day.”

Loki was unsure if he should smile or show some sort of respect to this human, even if he had shown more cleverness than any mortals he ever met. Loki settled for a small bow nearly unnoticeable, before rushing to the door leaving the frozen chocolate beverage on the table right next to the book he left on the table, to much in a hurry to leave to notice.