The Right Choice

"Alright, I think this is it. This has to be it."

Steven Rogers was about to make a very important decision.

"Now..." he frowned thoughtfully. "Do I... say hello and ask how he is, first, or do I introduce myself immediately?" Once again, he was faced with the awkward task of knocking at one of the dorm rooms, though this time, he'd been directed, so he was sure this was it. He didn't know who his roommates were, so that didn't make it any less unnerving. Steve just wanted to have someone to rely on around here, an ally, or even maybe a friend. Someone he could ask for homework when he missed a class, for example.

This was a very important moment for him, and he wasn't too sure how to act it out. Nonetheless, he gathered his courage and knocked at the door, ready to face whoever would answer him. He'd never been too good with his social skills, but there was a first time for everything, right?

Loki was busy spreading a good quantity of what was called “peanut butter” inside all Clint’s pairs of shoes when he heard someone knock at the door. He had barely had the time to hide all his books in different wardrobes and under mattresses that somebody was already distracting him from his only pleasure in this academy: playing pranks. After all, it was the least he could do to Clint who dared to attack him in public.

For a second, the knockings at the door startled Loki. He feared for a moment that it could be Clint coming back from whatever farm he came from, but then the young god realised that Clint wouldn’t be naïve enough to knock at his own door. Well… maybe he was, but that wasn’t Loki’s problem. Uncertain, Loki walked to the door and tried to look as natural as possible. He opened the door slowly to see who it was and stared at him from head to toe in silence. He had never seen the other guy, but by the look on his face, Loki could tell he was new and probably lost.

“Hello… You must be a new student from this group right. The “loyal” group, am I right ? Do come in~ It is a… pleasure to meet you.” welcomed the trickster with a fake smile looking brightly at the newcomer.

Steve wasn't expecting someone like the person in front of him to open the door, but a once-over confirmed his doubts. There was... something off about him, but Steve couldn't really tell. He hadn't exactly ever been the brightest person around, so he couldn't pinpoint what felt fishy about the guy in front of him. Nonetheless, he was polite, so he nodded at the teen that would be his... roommate? and stepped forward, putting his hand up.

"Hello, I am Steven Rogers, though feel free to call me Steve if you want. It's a pleasure to meet you." he smiled lightly, waiting to shake the other's hand. "I'm afraid I didn't get your name. And sorry for the assumption, but you are my new roommate, right?"

“Oh, but yes of course~ You must be my new roommate. My name is Clint Bar… Just call me Clint.” started Loki with a evil plan growing up in his mind. He looked at Steve’s hand in front of him and found the perfect way to start his plan. Loki bit his lips and tried to look sorry for Steve. “Oh, nobody told you? You just cannot… come in and shake hands… That’s not how it works here. Do not worry. I do not mind, really! I know you’re new and everything and I am willing to show you how it works. After all, we are roommates from now on~ We must work together as a team, right?”

Loki had to resist the urge to laugh, so he kept smiling as innocently as he could to make his plan work. The other looked gullible enough anyway.

“So when you meet someone new, you do not shake hands with the other. We are not common people after all. We are future heroes. We have to behave as such. So, it’s pretty simple. All you have to do is to pat the back of their hand gently while looking deeply into their eyes. This attitude will show the respect you have for your new colleagues and they will trust you more easily. Got it?”

Loki turned around and walked to Clint’s bed to put his belonging on another bed.

“I kept you the best place. You can have this bed~ It was mine, but I’d rather you have it. Oh, do not thank me. It is my pleasure really. I just LOVE making new friends~” At this, Loki did not resist the urge to laugh, but he manage to make it sound as cheerful as possible. “Did I tell you I was a shape shifter? So when you meet me again, I might not be in the same body.”

There definitely was something off about the guy, but Steve couldn't pinpoint it. He just... sounded too cheery for someone that looked like that, and that claimed to be a proper superhero. Someone that refused to shake hands and wanted a pat on the hand instead should technically have been a lot more composed than the guy practically twirling in front of him. Steve was not particularly book-smart but his deduction skills left nothing to be desired.

"Alright then... I guess... It's nice to meet you?" Steve tried, going for Clint and taking his hand, patting it and gazing deep into his eyes. It was an intimate gesture, no matter how common Clint claimed it was, so Steve quickly broke away, rubbing his hands awkwardly and looking to the bed Clint had shown him.

"It's alright, I wouldn't want to kick you out of your place. Besides, both beds are pretty much the same, so I wouldn't mind taking the one you didn't pick." he shook his head, striding over to the bed Clint had moved his possessions to and dropping his bag there. "So I guess we're roommates. We should get to know one another better. So can you shape-shift right now? Do you have a form you prefer shape-shifting into? Can you only shape-shift into humans?" his eyes darted around, and finally fell upon a very confusing image. "And... is that peanut butter in your shoes?"

As soon as he heard the word peanut butter, Loki understood his plan might fail if he did not find a suitable response. He had forgotten about this part of his plan. The god quickly took Clint’s shoes and hide them in a wardrobe hoping that Steve would not ask anymore questions.

“My mother told me it helped to clean them… You know I come from the ghetto… I do not have enough money to buy proper soap.” explained Loki before looking at his own armour. “I was giving this armour by Director Fury. He said he could only give weapons and clothes to those who were really talented. Did he give you anything?”

Without leaving the time to respond to Steve, Loki walked to the end of the room where the switch for the light was. He stood beside it and looked at Steve for a few seconds.

“Do you want to see my other form? It is quite repulsive. My uniform becomes black and purple. My hair will become shorter and brown. I will be absolutely different. And oh… you must not trust me in any circumstances… It’s like I have another personality… Since I do not want to hurt you, I’ll tell you a secret. The only way to make me come back to my present form is to yell PEASANT. Got it~?”

After his little speech, Loki concentrated and used his magic to change his body. He slowly turned himself into Clint and grinned evilly at Steve who was watching him with attention. As soon as he was all changed, he laughed out loud to scare the other and used the last part of his energy for now to freeze Steve from the waist to the toes, making it impossible for the other to move. As soon as he was done, Loki closed the lights and walked out of the room without looking back at Steve.

Steve was just so confused, for he had no idea what was happening. One moment, he was discussing peanut-butter treatment for shoes, and the other, he was standing frozen solid in the middle of a dark room, wondering what was going on. He couldn't move his lower half, and as the seconds ticked by, he found himself sweating nervously.

"Clint?" he called worriedly, not liking this. "Clint, are you here?" he questioned the darkness. Nobody answered. The silence gave him a moment to think, and he questioned the truthfulness of Clint's statements. The only way to turn him back was to yell "peasant"? Why that trigger word? It sounded odd for someone who has supposed to be a serious superhero. Also, why had Clint told him not to trust him? He'd been so open with him so far, so why the sudden change?

Steve did not like this one bit.

"Clint?" he called again, going silent and waiting for something to happen.

After retrieving his stolen clothes from Deadpool, Clint headed back to his dorm to drop off his dirty set of clothes. He would then be on his way to Thor's room so they could go to the mall. The archer still hadn't gone to the infirmary, refusing to set foot in the cursed place to have his broken rib looked at. The pain was still present but he managed to ignore it. After all it wasn't his first fight. And it would heal soon...he hoped so.

He was a couple of meters away from his dorm when he saw the door open and a figure of his size come out closing the door behind him. Clint stopped dead in his tracks. He blinked twice trying to process what he was seeing. The person that came out of the dorm was...him. "That can't be possible," he thought while rubbing his eyes to make sure he was seeing well. Then again, he was Hawkeye, he could see everything, his eyes couldn't fail him. In total shock, the archer didn't realize the stranger walking away from him until he had disappeared at the end of the corridor. He hadn't had time to call out...himself and ask who it was...because it was obviously not him. "Is there a shape shifter in our school?" If there was, then didn't that person need to see him before transforming into him? He thought about who it could be, but nothing came to his mind. He couldn't remember meeting any shape shifters.

Still trying to understand what had just happened, he slowly walked towards where the shape shifter had disappeared, wanting answers to his questions, but was stopped as he passed in front of his dorm hearing a muffled sound coming from inside. It sounded like a voice. "What's going on?" thought the archer frowning with frustration. He decided to look for the imposter later and opened the door. It was dark inside the room. He saw the distinctive shapes of the beds at the end of the room and a human shape too. Someone was here. He switched the lights on and a young man of about his age appeared, standing still in the middle of the room looking quite confused.

"Um...hi there. Who are you?" asked Clint looking confused in return.

Steve was not afraid, but he did not enjoy his predicament either. His roommate, whoever he was, was slightly dangerous, in his opinion, and he briefly considered asking for a change of dorm room. He definitely did not look forward to waking up in the morning and realizing he had been frozen in bed.

He waited in bated breath as his ears caught footsteps, and he turned his eyes to the doorway. In a second, a silhouette had appeared in the light, and then the other, the lights had been turned back on. Steve winced, blinking to get used to it, and then turned his gaze to the newcomer. His eyes narrowed as he recognized the figure he was so suspicious of.

"Clint." he called softly, warningly. "Don't play dumb with me. I just introduced myself a few minutes ago. I don't understand this whole 'alter ego' business. It was nice of you to show me how your powers worked, but now I'd appreciate if you could get this paralysis effect off of me."

Clint couldn't hide his surprise when he heard the young man say his name. He didn't remember telling it to him. How did he know his name? And the guy certainly hadn't introduced himself a few minutes ago. He had just met him. And when had he demonstrated any paralysis powers? He didn't have any. Clint frowned as he connected the dots. It must've been the shape shifter who did this.

"Great," he grumbled under his breath. "Um...I think there's been a big misunderstanding here. I'm not the one who just left the room a minute ago. I'm the real Clint." The archer sighed in exasperation at his own words. How did he expect the other man to believe him especially when he didn't know where the perpetrator of this whole scheme was so he could prove that he hadn't done anything.

"I'd like to help you, but for that I need to know what happened before I came," he said with more confidence. Yes, by finding out what had happened before he came would definitely help both of them clear the confusion. He looked towards his bed to see if his things had been disturbed and as a matter of fact, they had been moved. He saw his other pair of shoes lie on the floor...with something in them.

"Is that peanut butter in my shoes?!" he exclaimed, outraged. He ran to his shoes, taking one of them in his hands to inspect closer. The familiar smell of peanut butter invaded his nostrils confirming what his shoes were covered with. At that moment, he couldn't help himself but think of only one person capable of doing such a thing. The god of mischief himself. But he frowned, reconsidering his theory. He still didn't have any proof that tied Loki to all of this. He looked back at the young man who had been eying him all along. He hoped that what he had seen would confirm what he thought.

Steve blinked at him for a second, trying to understand the implications, but... it just wouldn't click. It was at times like this that he regretted not being quick enough.

"What do you mean, that wasn't you? Of course it was, you were right there, I saw you..." he mumbled, confused. "I mean... I knocked on this door because I'm the new guy around here, you opened the door for me in your black-haired form, we spoke a little, I asked you about that." he pointed to the peanut-butter-filled shoes with a wince. "And then you said you'd show me your transformation powers and transformed into the form you're in right now, paralyzed me, and just left." he wiggled a little, uncomfortable. "So... think you could cut me a break already?"

Black haired form. That was a clue. But not the most precise. Clint continued to listen to his roommate's testimony.

"I wish I could," he answered to the man's last question. "But...I don't have any powers. Like I said, that wasn't me, it was...did he say he was called Loki?"

But he doubted the shape shifter had revealed his real name when the archer remembered that his roommate had called him with his name. So the intruder had lied about his identity giving his. Why did all of this had to happen now, on his first acquaintence with his new roommate. He sighed in exasperation.

Suddenly, he realized that he might have the right question to ask the poor guy who was still stuck in the middle of the room. He really wished he knew how to free him.

"When he opened the door for you, was the shape shifter weirdly dressed? Like in a weird green and black armor?" he asked hoping he'd get a positive answer. The only way Loki was recognizable was with his asgardian armor. Not a lot of people wore an armor like that. Clint hoped he could use the trait to his advantage.