Prologue

It was a hot Monday morning in late August and the sun was shining mercilessly on the impressive red brick buildings of S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, Long Island. The wood panelled halls of one of the most exclusive private schools in the world still had to be filled with the sounds of students, for right now everyone was gathering in the school auditorium. The room was stuffed to the last seat. It was almost unbearably hot and the air was stale and smelt of burnish and too many people.

Loki Odinson hated the yearly assembly on the first day of school. The auditorium was stuffed with students, who were eyeing each other over like a pack of harpies. Every new haircut and every pound one might or might not have gained over the summer was judged and every rumour uttered in the past three months got warmed up again in fast forward.

He subconsciously loosened his uniform tie. He should have been used to this by now; being looked at and whispered about behind his back. That was what he got for hanging with "school royalty"; even though Loki felt anything but royalty compared to his jock brother and his group of super popular friends. This year however he knew it was going to be different. There was no hiding behind the cool kids and "oh my God, he's so handsome" Thor Odinson, because he was the juicy news. And he hated it. He could almost hear their whispers.

"Have you heard? Loki Odinson's adopted."

"Man, it must suck to know your whole life's been a lie."

"No wonder he's nothing like his brother."

He closed his eyes and tried to take deep calming breaths against the suffocating feeling of panic he thought he had gotten used to over the summer. But while he might have found an outlet for the restlessness of mind that kept him wide awake at night, he felt much too vulnerable now and had no idea what to do about it. He turned to Thor, who was sitting to his left and was right now busy scanning the crowd of students around them. He was probably looking for Jane Foster. His brother had all the appearances of a loyal puppy, when it came to his pretty physics tutor. It could have been funny, had Loki been in the mood to be humoured.

He was just about to tell Thor that he was going to cut the whole welcome crap and would meet him and the others later after class, when Principal Fury climbed the stairs to the podium. Loki cursed under his breath. So much for a last minute escape.

Fury might have had only one eye, but that one saw literally everything – even a single student sneaking out of a room packed brim full with other students. It was downright terrifying. He leaned back with a sigh and accepted his fate; which in this case meant an hour of the same old verbiage, introductions of teachers he had known since freshman year and a litany of outdated ground rules Loki was sure would still be the same on the day their children's children would enter this school for the first time.

He turned his head to look at his friends. Natasha and Clint were both bent over something – possibly geeky – on Clint's phone, while Steve desperately tried to handle Tony, who was busy feigning loud snoring noises. His girlfriend Pepper was sitting next to him with her arms crossed in front of her chest and her eyes pointedly fixed on Fury. She had given up trying to teach Tony some manners about the same time last year, mostly because she knew that half of his cool behaviour was an act anyway. Loki was pretty sure that Tony had heard every single word that had been said by Fury, who now stepped aside to let their English teacher and guidance counsellor Mr. Coulson have a few words. If he noticed how the sound of hushed whispering had all but doubled since Fury had stepped off the podium, he did a killer job not showing it as he gave his obligatory "My office is always open for you" speech. Loki's stomach did an involuntary flip when he realized that he would have to go see Coulson rather sooner than later. With the whole school talking about his… situation, it was just a matter of time before he would be called in for a little guiding and counselling.

"Who's the new girl?" Thor suddenly asked, craning his neck. "She's sitting with Jane."

"New girl? Where?" Tony asked very much awake now. He only grinned, when Pepper slapped him on the arm playfully. Loki too, followed his brother's gaze, but all he could see of the girl sitting two rows in front of them was the back of her head and the blondest ponytail he had ever seen in his life.

"No... Is that…? No way…" Tony muttered to himself as he procured a little paper ball from the pocket of his jacket, which he then quite unceremoniously tossed at the back of the new girl's head.

"Tony!" Pepper screeched, but hurried to hush herself when several people turned around to them. "Have you lost your mind?" she hissed. The new student turned around to them with a clear look of annoyance on her face. It however quickly dissipated into one of the brightest smiles Loki had ever seen the moment she recognized Tony.

She mouthed a silent "Hi!" and then started to mime something that was probably supposed to mean she was going to meet him outside after the assembly.

"You know her?" Pepper asked incredulously. "Why do you know her?"

"Oh, I love it when you're jealous." Tony said and good-naturedly pecked her on the cheek. "That girl there, ladies and gentlemen, is Rose Tyler."

Loki had never heard that name before, but apparently it was important enough to have Natasha look up from Clint's phone. "Rose Tyler?" she asked. "As in Vitex Industries Tyler?"

"The one and only." Tony replied with a grin. "Probably the richest kid in the United Kingdom and one hell of a party animal from the very little I can remember. I've met her when I was in London with my uncle last summer. Stark Enterprises has some big time collaboration with Vitex going on – something to do with making a name on the European market, I think. Her mother seemed very interested in S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy at the time, but I thought she was just trying to be polite. Looks like she thought a little suburban idyll would do her daughter some good. Poor woman has no idea." He gestured for her to wait for them outside. "You'll like her. She's great."

Loki seriously doubted that Pepper was all too fond of the new girl in town, not from the way she was glaring daggers at that impossibly blond mop of hair. He however was positively thrilled. Nothing was more exciting gossip than a new student.

Now he only needed to find a way to dodge Coulson long enough for him to lose interest and this was going to be a peaceful year for him after all.