Hi everyone! I'm sure a lot of you know me by now. This is my sixth fanfic, preceded by my three completed fics: Pwning and Gaming, The Portal of Destiny, and The Force of Mischief. Also, I wrote a one-shot called Shopping Encounter. It's funny—you should read it. My brother approves. Another fic I'm working on is Invasion, which I consider my best work yet.

Anyway, I didn't come to ramble about my previous works. I'm sure a lot of you are Loki fans like me (otherwise, I doubt you would have clicked on this story). I consider this a Thor/Avengers AU Crossover because it involves characters from Thor (i.e. young Loki) and characters from the Avengers (like the older Loki we all know and love). I think the title is eye-catching enough, so I hope the fic lives up to all your expectations!

If you love it (or hate it) then send me a review! I welcome all reviews, but I'd prefer not to be bombarded by flames (it's not fun and it did happen to me once). Be honest, though, and think outside the box with this fic. Disclaimer at the bottom. Hope you like it!

Both of you were born to be kings.

Loki turned these words over and over in his mind. He thought about them often growing up. He was ten years old now—old enough to have insight on the world around him. Old enough to notice little things like the way his father looked at his brother in a different way than he looked at him. Old enough to consider what it would mean to be King of Asgard.

But these things were not important now.

At the moment, he was roaming the halls, completely and utterly bored. Whenever Loki Odinson was bored, things got turned upside down pretty quickly. He had already adopted the role as "Odin's mischievous son". He loved magic more than anything else, but the ways he used it were questionable in the eyes of fellow Asgardians. His tricks were virtually harmless, however, so no one gave him more than verbal warnings or a good-natured scolding. He brought a whole new perspective to Asgard, though not everyone saw it that way.

As he contemplated what he should do to stir up trouble—without getting caught, preferably—he heard voices up ahead. Not too far away, Thor was battling Sif, Volstagg, Hogan, and Fandral. They were using sticks instead of spears, so it was a harmless squabble. Curious, Loki approached to see if he could join them. Though fighting was not his strongest suit, he still figured that it would be a good way to pass the time.

"Hello, brother," he greeted, making himself visible to the little group.

The fighting stopped immediately. Fandral and Volstagg exchanged awkward glances, Hogan was serious as usual, and Sif looked downright irked that their game had been interrupted. Thor, however, grinned. "Hi, Loki. Get into any trouble today?"

"Not yet," Loki said, his voice holding a promise that it would not be that way for long. "What are you doing?"

"I think it's obvious," Sif said stiffly. "We're training."

Loki raised an eyebrow, sporting his signature sarcastic expression. "With sticks."

"Yeah, want to try one-on-one?" Thor offered.

"You'll beat me," Loki said.

"What makes you think—?"

"You always beat me, Thor."

"Oh." Thor looked around the group. "How about Sif? You've never fought her." Loki hadn't really fought any of them aside from his brother, who smiled. "She's a girl. I'm sure you can beat her easily."

The three boys that stood behind Sif stifled grins. Well, Hogan didn't, of course. Sif herself nodded. The kids were careful not to exchange glances, as Loki would pick up that they were playing a trick on him.

Loki picked up a stick. "All right." He wasn't entirely sure how Sif would fight, but he didn't want to look stupid for refusing a fight with a girl. That would show weakness. "I'll try to go easy on you."

The fight began, but it did not last long. Every time Loki tried to attack her, she'd parry out of the way and nail him in the stomach. Soon, he was on the ground, the end of a stick pointing at his throat. "Again?" she asked, not removing the stick from his neck. The boys—except Hogan—laughed.

Loki's face flushed red. If they wanted to play dirty, he'd play dirty. He focused on the stick and waved his hand. One instant, he was staring at a long brown stick. The next, he saw the tail-end of a snake. Sif, alarmed, threw it backward, where it landed on poor Volstagg. In one swift motion, Loki sprang to his feet, grabbed his stick, and pointed it at Sif's throat. "Again?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Sif grabbed Loki's stick and angrily yanked it out of his hands. Thor took a step toward her. "Sif, relax, it's only a game."

"That looked like a snake to me," she said. "He went far beyond playing."

"It wasn't poisonous or anything," Loki mumbled.

"Still, that was a dirty trick," Fandral said.

"Was it as dirty as setting me up against someone that you knew would humiliate me? Just because I'm not a fighter like all of you doesn't mean I can't defend myself!" Loki hated it when Thor and his friends ganged up on him. It made him feel so…left out.

"Brother we were just messing around," Thor said. "Don't get upset."

"Upset? Who's upset? I was messing around, too, and you all made a huge deal out of it." It was almost like it was okay for them to mess with him, but when he retaliated and showed them up, he was doing something wrong. Letting out a sigh, Loki turned and walked away. "I didn't want to play anyway," he grumbled. "I'm not a fighter like everyone else."

"Loki…"

He could hear Thor's voice behind him, but he ignored it. He felt like he was being childish in walking away but, at the same time, he was being the mature one in the sense that he was stepping away rather than engaging in verbal conflict. He knew that Sif would love to keep the argument going, fierce as her personality was. She was a loyal friend to have by your side, but when she chooses to be your enemy…

"She's not my enemy," he said aloud. She just doesn't like me. Shaking his head, Loki continued pondering ways to alleviate his bored state. His feet took him unconsciously to the weapons vault, where he knew he wasn't supposed to be. That was where the Casket of Winters and the Destroyer were. It was better if he stayed away from there when he didn't have his father accompanying him.

"Prince Loki, what are you doing?" a guard asked.

"I was walking," he answered calmly. "What are you doing?"

"Guarding the vault," the guard said as if it was obvious.

"How incredibly interesting." While Loki spoke to the guard, the real Loki slipped behind him, focusing on keeping the duplicate talking. Once he was in a position to hide, he waved his hand, making the illusion disappear.

"Loki?" The guard looked around, then facepalmed. "Are you in here, Loki?" he demanded.

If I was, which I am, why would I answer you? Do you really think I'm stupid enough to walk out and let myself get into trouble? Loki suppressed a chuckle. Odin had some great guards, but not all of them were as cunning as his son. Most of them were easily fooled by his tricks.

"You stay here," the guard said to his counterpart. "I'll go alert the All-Father that his son is messing around in the weapons vault." With that, he strode away.

Oops. They may not be cunning, but they knew where to go to find someone who was. I've got to find a better spot. Then, it hit him. He's the All-Father! He'll find me no matter where I hide! Panicked, he rushed around in the shadows to find something—anything—that would conceal him. No amount of magic could help him here. As he ran, he bumped right into a pillar that held a beautiful crystal-colored ball. He quickly reached out and grabbed it before it hit the floor. Phew. That was a little too close.

He was about to replace it when he saw a strange figure staring at him through the glass. It was a man with long black hair that came to his shoulders. The thin, pale face and intense green eyes seemed familiar to him, but he couldn't place why. The outfit was distinctly Asgardian, yet he had never seen this man on Asgard before. He peered closer, staring at the face intently, unaware of his surroundings anymore. Suddenly, the figure disappeared and the ball was clear once more. Loki sighed, frustrated.

"What are you staring at?" a smooth voice asked.

Uh-oh. "I was going to put it back—I swear!"

"Isn't that an Asgardian artifact?"

Loki looked up to see who was addressing him, then stumbled back in surprise. There, standing before him in a glass-type cage, was the man from the artifact. "Wait, how—how did I get here? I was in the weapons vault, and—and—father was about to find me, and I found this, and…"

"I'd like to know how you got here as well," the man said. His face was full of surprise. "It must have something to do with the artifact." He studied Loki for a long time, his face contemplative. "I never thought it was possible…"

"What's possible?"

The stranger hesitated. "Time travel," he said at last. "Tell me—who is your father? What is your last name?"

"Oh, sorry. I probably should have introduced myself. It's Odinson—Loki Odinson." Loki smiled nervously. "Can I ask you a question? Why are you dressed like an Asgardian? I've never seen you in Asgard before."

The man in the cage let out a patient sigh. "Can you not see the resemblance?" When Loki raised a questioning eyebrow, he said, "I'm you."

Disclaimer: I do not own Thor, the Avengers, or anything in the Marvel Universe, really. I'd be a billionaire if I did!

AN: Well, it's not a one-shot, but it's definitely not going to go very far as a full fanfic. I just got bored and felt like doing a second project. Tell me what you think and whether I should continue it or not.