It was late January that Tony announced to the team that they would all be taking a winter vacation. Steve thought it would be a good idea for a team building exercise. There had been no world-threatening attacks lately and the Avengers were becoming stir-crazy in the tower. Stark owned a mountain retreat in Aspen and according to the forecast, the recent snowfall was perfect for a skiing. Soon, the Avengers and Loki found themselves on Stark's private jet as it made its way west into the mountains of Colorado.

Tony's mountain retreat was nestled amongst the slopes. The structure had a rustic mountain exterior mixed with a modern and very Stark-like twist. It clung to the mountainside much the way his Malibu mansion clung to a seaside cliff. It had a spectacular view of the surrounding valley and had plenty of space for visitors. The interior was quite large but still maintained a cozy warm-yourself-by-the-fire feel to it. And, off course, the cabin had Jarvis installed.

Loki could hardly contain his excitement. He had played it cool up until the point when the hummer limo reached the yard of the mountain mansion. The vehicle had not quite come to a complete stop in the roundabout driveway when Loki pushed himself out of the door and ran into the snow. He loved snow and he loved being cold. Loki quickly took off his gloves, jacket, hat, boots, and socks until he was in nothing more than a T-shirt and some ski pants. He dropped down into the snow and enjoyed the icy feel on his skin. He even considered doing a snow angel while lying there.

The Avengers filed out of the hummer limo and gazed upon the spectacle. "Loki," Thor boomed, "Put your clothing back on. It is far too cold to be without the proper attire."

"This feels so good," was all Loki said in response as a huge grin spread across his face.

"Loki, you should listen to Thor. You could get frost bite," said Dr. Banner.

"Mmmm," Loki groaned with delight as he settled more comfortably in the snow. Suddenly, his body began to take on an unintentional transformation. His skin slowly faded from his usual pale tone to a bright blue. Patterns appeared across the blue skin as well. Loki's eyes turned red and what appeared to be two small horns stuck out from his forehead.

"Holy shit, kid! You are blue. Literally," exclaimed Tony as the rest of the Avengers gapped at the strange sight.

Loki sat up and looked down at his hands. They were most diffidently blue. Being in the snow must have triggered his true Frost Giant form by accident. "Would you look at that," said Loki, obviously not perturbed by the event. "Well now I guess you all see me as how I am suppose to look."

"What the heck?" asked Clint, still in shock. "What are you talking about?"

Thor spoke up. "I did tell you that Loki was adopted," Thor explained. "He is not originally of Asgard. Loki hails from Jotunheim, Realm of the Frost Giants."

"Frost Giants?" Clint asks, walking over to Loki. "There is nothing giant about him."

"Very acute observation Barton," replied Loki, rolling his red eyes. "A trait that caused my birth father, King Laufey, to throw me out into the cold to die."

Clint's face fell. He did not mean to get that personal. Tony, on the other hand, continued to push for more answers. "So besides the whole size thing, this is what Frost Giants look like?" Tony asked.

"Yes," replied Thor. "A full grown Frost Giant reaches about twelve to fifteen feet. They are born with blue skin etched with tribal patterns and have red eyes. The males sport large horns when fully grown."

"Is that what these things are suppose to be?" said Tony, pinching the tiny stubs of horns above Loki's forehead.

"Watch it Stark!" Loki swatted Tony's hand away from his horns.

"Ouch," Tony clutched his hand and tried to warm it up. "You nearly gave me frost bite?"

Loki was starting to get a bit enraged. "I will do much worse than that if you mortals continue to mock and speak of me as some sort of spectacle!"

"Uh oh," Clint laughed. "Looks like we've angered Loki, the Littlest Frost Giant."

That did it. Loki's red eyes glowed the way his green ones would when he was pumped full of potential magic. "You dare incur the wrath of a Frost Giant while knee deep in this icy winter." Loki sounded a bit overdramatic but the Avengers could not tell if he was joking. He may have been, but trouble was no doubt coming. "I proclaim war upon the Avengers. Let us see how you fare against the son of Laufey." With absolutely no hesitation snowballs were hurled into the faces of the Avengers all at the same time.

"Get down," shouted Cap. He grabbed a lid from a nearby trashcan, using it as a makeshift shield. Loki used his magic to create a platform of ice where he towered above the Avengers. He breathed in he cold air that was fueling his strength and laughed maniacally. This may have been a game, but the Avengers were determined to win this battle. "Clint, I'm going to need you get some Hawkeye accurate shots at Loki. Tony, you cover him. Natasha, see if you can sneak up on him from behind. Thor, try to divert his attention. Bruce…uh… go inside and warm up some hot chocolate for when we're done," Steve was in full on Captain America mode and giving orders as if this were a real battle. "Avengers, assemble!" he shouted and everyone took their assigned positions.

Loki stopped the snowballs sent by Hawkeye and sent them hurling back with even more momentum. Countless snowballs pelted Hawkeye and Iron Man. Captain America jumped in front of them with his trashcan lid shield, trying to divert the worst of the attack.

Loki knew all to well that when one does not see Natasha, she is most probably behind you. Loki put up a sheet of ice in between him and the oncoming attack from Black Widow. Instead of kicking Loki off his miniature ice fortress, Widow smacked her foot into solid ice and let out a gasp of pain. "Damn it, Loki!" she cried out.

"You're not as good at sneaking up on me as you once were, Natasha," called Loki.

"Loki, stop! This game has gotten out of hand," shouted Thor to his Jotunn little brother.

Loki was all to enthrall in the game. "Do I hear the sounds of defeat from an Odenson?" he mocked. "Do the mighty Avengers concede to the will of Loki?"

"Not today!" shouted Captain America. He hurled a rather large snowball at Loki that Tony had built. With the engineer's skill and the super soldiers strength, it made a very effective WMD.

Loki had no time to deflect it so he simply shot a wave of magic at its center and the giant snowball burst into a thousand little flakes. Loki froze the feet of the Avengers where they stood. "Kneel before me!" he shouted with a hysterical laugh.

"Oh shit, he finally lost it!" said Clint. "Natasha! I called it. You owe me fifty bucks."

Loki flicked a finger and a heap of snow covered Clint from head to foot.

"Loki! Please unfreeze us," asked Steve, a bit on the chilly side.

"Ah, but Captain, I thought you liked the ice," quipped Loki. Tony laughed at the comment but a harsh look from Steve shut him up.

"Loki, release us this instant," growled Thor.

"Is that a surrender?" asked Loki.

"If I say yes, will you please unfreeze us?" asked Tony, staring to shiver.

"Ha, I have beaten the mighty Avengers, Earth is now mine!" cried Loki victoriously. With a wave of his hand, the ice platform he was standing on lowered until it had disappeared. The ice encasing the lower half of the Avengers melted and Loki sent a wind towards Hawkeye that blew the pile of snow off of him. Shivering, their cloths soaked with icy water, the Avengers were defeated and exhausted.

"Yeah," Loki fist pumped into the air. "Who's up for round two?" he asked, drunk on his victory.

"Sh-sh-shut u-up and p-p-put your c-cloths on!" said Clint, shivering.

"M-maybe Bruce h-has the h-h-hot ch-ch-chocolate re-ready," said Steve. They all walked toward the cabin, ready to sip hot chocolate by the fire.

"Damn kid," said Tony. "I think you gave me frost bite." He massaged his toes that looked a light shade purple.

They were sitting in the living room of the cabin chowing down on hot chocolate and trail mix. The fire roared in the hearth and numerous sets of socks and long johns hung on the fireplace gate drying. Everyone was bundled in warm blankets except for Loki. He was still barefoot but the cold didn't bother him. As Loki relaxed on the sofa, his Jotunn form slowly faded back into his regular appearance. The blue skin gradually changed back into his pale skin color and his red eyes turned their signature bright green once more.

"Maybe next time you'll think twice before angering a Frost Giant into a snow ball fight," said Loki smugly.

"Maybe next time we'll let the Hulk play too," threatened Tony.

"Please leave me out of this," said Bruce, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Just do us a favor, Frosty, and try not to turn all blue skinned when we're on the slopes tomorrow," said Tony.

"Oh, please," Loki dismissed with a wave of his hand. "I don't need to be in my Frost Giant form to make you eat my powder."

"Have you ever even skied before?" Natasha asked Loki.

"No," said Loki dismissively. "Besides, I think I'll try snowboarding instead."

"Lets make a deal," said Tony, knowing Loki could not resist a bet. "Fist one down the mountain gets the master bedroom for the rest of the trip. Last place has to shovel snow off of the drive."

"You're on," said Loki. His eagerness sort of made Tony regret this already.

In the end, Loki snowboarded circles around the Avengers (literally) topping his moves off with a few flips on the double diamond slope. Later on, Loki greatly enjoyed reading while snuggled up in the king-sized bed of the master bedroom while Tony was left shoveling the spacious driveway. Apparently this is what happens when you go skiing with a Frost Giant. Next year we're going to Tahiti, thought Tony bitterly, while shivering his ass off in the cold.