"Is he still around?" Lavender asked. "I got the impression that he's in and out more often than anyone else."

"He is, and I don't know if he's here."

"Not at the moment, sir," Jarvis said before Tony could ask.

"We'll have to wait, then." Tony made a face.

"Well, for now, I think we should do a bit more research on those names," Lavender said. "Figure out exactly who we might be dealing with."

Tony grumbled. "Jarvis, get on that. I don't really do research."

"Right away, sir," Jarvis replied.

"I'm going to go put this potion back in my kit," Lavender said, gesturing to the elevator. "Need anything else before I go?"

"No, go ahead." Tony waved her off and trudged back down to the lab to commiserate with Bruce.

Lessa, meanwhile, meandered back over towards Loki's suite a little while later with some baked goods she'd made. She knocked quietly on the door before poking her head in.

Loki looked over when the door opened.

"Back so soon?" he asked.

"Only for a bit," Lessa said. "I thought you might want some company that's not interrogating you. And it's usually best to have something to eat after you've had some veritaserum. Helps it absorb and get out of your system more quickly." She held up the plate.

"It is nearly gone already," Loki said, watching her. "Such a curious thing for mortals to have. You spend so much time lying to one another that one would think you mortals feared the truth."

"Some people do," Lessa said with a shrug, setting the plate down on the table. "Some people like the truth, just too much of it. Both extremes are hurtful, something us humans excel at."

"Indeed," Loki said. "So, what truly brings a medium down to my gilded cage?"

"I'm curious. You're harder to read than most people, although I suspect it is because you're not human." Lessa shrugged, pausing next to a chair and glancing askance at him. Just because he was not there voluntarily didn't mean she couldn't give him a little respect.

Loki looked from her to the chair and back before nodding slightly. At least she was respectful, that was good.

"Isn't there a human saying about curiosity? Something about death?"

"Curiosity killed the cat. That's the expression." Lessa smiled a bit.

"I see," Loki said. "If I am the curiosity, does that make you the cat?" He looked at her, a bit amused.

Lessa snorted at that. "Perhaps," she said with a faint grin. "Better than you being a mouse, I suppose."

"Indeed," Loki replied. He looked at her. "Well, stay as long as you please, it matters not to me."

"Am I bothering you?" Lessa asked, raising an eyebrow. Because if she was, she'd leave. Otherwise she'd stick around for a while.

"I find myself in no position to answer that question in any way," Loki replied. "A gilded cage is still, after all, a cage."

"Yes, but you should be entitled to your privacy if you want it," Lessa said, watching him. "Just because you are stuck here doesn't mean you have no rights. Not as far as I'm concerned, anyway."

"You are, perhaps, the only one to feel so," Loki replied. "I'd imagine there are quite a few screaming for my blood."

"Yes, well, I'd imagine so too." Lessa shrugged. "I can't blame them, but I also wasn't in New York last time."

"Oh?" Loki asked, interested now. "And where were you? Likey with your sorceress friend, I imagine, but please, indulge me."

"On the other coast." Lessa's lips flickered in a smile. "And she actually wasn't with me. I was on vacation."

"I see," Loki said. "I suppose you would need to get away occasionally, given what your work seems to be."