"Loki, what are you doing here!?"

Her words were like knives, her voice like a balm to his tattered spirit. Fighting to keep his will afloat, Loki crossed the room, towering over the shocked woman before him, and took his beloved Rayna in his tired arms. She did not return the gesture, surprised as she was to see him this way, battered and beaten and broken, after all this time. She pushed back on his shoulders, her fingers tingling with the magic of the illusion, and he released her, his eyes averted to the floor to avoid her disappointed expression. She looked at her fingers, disgusted.

"Oh. So you're not actually here. I should have known." Rayna crossed her arms but a worrying thought occurred to her. "Where are you? Where have you been all this time? And what the hell happened to you?"

"So much has happened, my love. I could not begin to explain. I came here to warn you. I was sent here by force under command of the most dangerous being in the universe to try to take over the planet and claim a weapon and energy source which the humans cannot begin to control." Loki took a step toward her and she flinched backward as though she thought he would strike her. His expression must be maddened, or she wouldn't be looking at him like he was about to explode. He settled his features into what he hoped was a serious and less intimidating look.

"There will be war. People will die. You have to get out." Loki's breath caught as a bolt of pain streaked across his mind. Thanos knows, Loki thought to himself. He couldn't bear the thought of Rayna falling victim to Thanos' sadistic whims. A tear slid down his bruised-looking face. "Please." His voice came out at barely a whisper now. "I… I can't lose you again."

Rayna tried to process this information, her mind racing. After taking inventory of what she knew about Loki, she decided to heed his warning. "Okay, I believe you. I'll try to leave town."

Loki's eyes widened with alarm. "Try?"

"Yes, I will try. But there's someone you have to see first. It's time you knew."

Loki was breathing fast, despite not actually having lungs. His control was now tenuous at best, and slipping. Even just as an illusion he could feel the draw of the scepter, tiny threads of the link that stretched between the mind in his physical body and the creature who played him like a puppet from the other end of the universe. Loki's will was strong but his ability to resist was wearing thin. The illusion would break if he held out much longer. He decided not to argue with Rayna and followed her through her bedroom and down the hall.

They reached a bedroom door with colorful flowers painted all over it, and Rayna put her hand on the doorknob. "Be quiet, it's nap time," she whispered, before turning the knob and easing the door open. Before Loki could say anything, his words were frozen in his throat by the sight of a small child sleeping peacefully in her bed. Loki guessed she might have been five or six years old. He took in what details he could make out in the dim light, making note of her long, dark hair and pale skin. Her nose looked familiar, but he couldn't place it. Rayna closed the door and led Loki back to her bedroom so they could talk.

"I suppose you grew tired of waiting for me," Loki said, his voice heavy with despair. "I can't say that I blame you."

"That's your daughter, Loki."

"W-what? How? When? HOW!?" His tone reached shouting level, and he felt a rush of anger and adrenaline. It was impossible.

Loki's illusion pushed past Rayna and went back to the flowered door to throw it open. The child did not wake when the door slammed on the wall behind it, and he stood mesmerized as he noticed the detail he had missed before; a cluster of small green swirls of light - Seidr, he knew - threaded through the girl's small fingers as she slept. The illusion fell to his knees soundlessly and, unable to maintain control any longer, vanished into swirls of magic.

Now back in the helicarrier, Loki opened his eyes to see no one had noticed him sitting there silently. The hold he had on his own mind felt a bit stronger now, as if conjuring the clone had taxed his will more than he was used to, but he knew it was because it was proximity to the scepter that solidified its power over him. Loki could still feel the pressure of its influence; it must be here on the aircraft, he thought.

He had a daughter. Loki swallowed this realization and it dropped into his stomach like a block of ice. He never thought it was possible. Part of him thought maybe Rayna had lied, but the truth, so blatantly presented to his clone, could not be ignored. This made his mission that much more complicated. To carry out Thanos' orders, he may very well end up killing his own child in the process. The very thought of any harm coming to the raven-haired little girl who shared his power made his vision lose focus.

Loki stood and started pacing to calm the storm in his mind. After a few moments he sensed a presence behind him, outside the cell they built for Banner. He turned and smiled at the redheaded former spy that Barton had told him all about.

"There's not many people who can sneak up on me."