Hello, everyone, and welcome to my new story! In case you haven't read the first in the series, it's entitled "The Science of Mystery", and it can be found on my profile. It's very important to read them in order, so you know what's going on.

I have so much to tell you all, but I will wait until after the Prologue, so you can enjoy. For important info and updates, please read all the way until the end. Thank you!

The Mystery of Mischief

Prologue: Lying Goodbye

"Austin? Austin? You have to talk to me."

Tony's words were commanding and riddled with grief, something that the creator of the Iron Man was not exactly known for, something that most would not have believed, had they heard it.

"Austin, please, honey."

She felt it—hands upon her cheeks, someone trying to be soothing, the rubbing away of tears, but all she could focus on was the truth:

Loki was dead.

And her world was shattered.

And though she knew that life would begin again, that things would eventually be okay, she also knew that he would never be replaced.

How could one replace a god who wasn't supposed to exist, anyway?

"You will know pain, and understand."

Loki didn't even acknowledge the Other's words, could hardly care what would be done to him, what had been planned.

He could not understand how it had happened, when he had placed every precaution he could think of, when he had so much hope that nothing ill would take place.

Perhaps that was his mistake: hoping.

Everything he had ever hoped for had eluded him, any sunny thoughts turning to rain—rain and lightning. Perhaps it was his lot in life, his destiny to have any hopes ruined, to continuously be tortured with the possibilities of what could have been. And yet he still pressed forward, not knowing how to live without spiting fate and its cruelties.

They planned to torture him now, here, before they sent him to Midgard (they had no idea, the fools, that he had been there already); they planned to break him, to make him "understand" his place. They planned, and yet they were the ones that did not understand, that did not see the carefully constructed future he was waiting so patiently for.

Austin had thrown a wrench, as the humans liked to say, into his plans, but nothing would ever again: no love, no sentiment.

Though he had given up the desire of seeing him and Austin together, as long as she lived, hope would be there—and now that she was dead, hope was dashed once again. And in the garden hope had once flourished, blossoms dying over the years once hopes were dead, something else began to grow, began to take over. It was a new kind of hope, and yet it was something ugly.

Loki couldn't help but grin maliciously as he saw what waited him: the pain, just as the Other had promised; he saw how they would torture him, and he wanted to laugh. But physical pain only lasted so long, and soon he would be gone from this place, back upon the Earth. And though most cringed at the thought of pain, now he almost welcomed it-

Anything had to be better than the broken heart he carried around in his chest.

"Do you we think we did the right thing, Mr. Stark?" Erik Selvig questioned his co-conspirator, unable to shake the sight of his daughter's teary, grief stricken face; it was a sight that would no doubt haunt him for the rest of his life.

He knew that they had really had no choice, if they truly wanted to protect Austin; Tony had pointed that out bluntly, saying that simply leaving Austin and Loki to their own devices was to invite chaos; he certainly did like to fix things. Tony Stark had created the plan himself, and had seen to every element of it, and the plan was simple: to convince Loki that Austin was no longer of this world, and to convince Austin the same of Loki.

It had been a cruel plan, and it had a cruel outcome, and yet Erik could not help but think that his question was irrelevant.

Tony Stark, speaking to him via a private video line, did not appear to waver as he said in a clipped tone, shrugging his shoulders: "Of course it was the right thing. What else could we have done? Waited for Loki to get tired of playing 'good boy', and spirit Austin away?" he grunted. "No thanks. Not interested in trolling the world looking for that troll."

Erik nodded, knowing that Stark was right - and yet unable to ignore the worry and guilt he saw reflected in Stark's eyes through the computer screen; it was the same worry and guilt he was sure his own eyes displayed.

"Speaking of," Tony went on, appearing uncomfortable and combatant; the two never had been on good terms, "I'm surprised that Mr. Norse himself didn't see through our plan, though of course I want to be big headed enough to thank my genius for that."

Erik shook his head, feeling more than tired. "Honestly, I'm surprised, too - or maybe I'm not," he amended, thinking. "Loki isn't easy to understand, but when it comes to Austin, I think he's afraid. And what he's afraid of, he doesn't know how to handle correctly - just look at his relationship with Thor. You planned it thoroughly, but I believe it was Loki's fear that ultimately made him accept our ruse. I can only hope that this causes him to change his mind about world domination, though I wouldn't know at the moment."

Erik wasn't stupid enough to be blinded into believing that Loki would tell him everything, and yet he could not see the rogue god giving up so easily.

He pushed this thought away, knowing that he tread a very thin line when it came to his alliances.

He turned back to the past, to Thor. Thinking upon those memories - of his town being destroyed by an aptly named Destroyer - Erik could see how Loki could fool himself into believing that Austin was dead; it was less the brilliance of Tony Stark, and more fear itself. Loki obviously cared for her, just as he obviously cared for Thor, and yet that care terrified him; he didn't seem to see it for the advantage it was, but as a crutch.

Whatever the case, Erik was simply glad that his daughter was safe.

And to say that he was glad that he hadn't seen Loki in months, though he knew that the trickster would reappear eventually either way, was an understatement.

"We did it, it's over. Move on. I'll take care of Austin," Mr. Stark commanded before Erik could say anything else, ending the connection, the conversation, and their time of working together.

Erik sighed, running a hand over his tired features, before he decided to take Tony Stark's advice: to move on.

His daughter was safe. Loki was gone for the moment. He still wanted to believe that everything would be well in the end. He would see what the future held for them, for their world, and do the best he could.

With that in mind, Erik turned back to his work: to the blue cube that still fascinated him.

And looking down at it, suddenly startled, he thought, somewhat sadly, that if the Tesseract could have had an expression, it appeared to be just as distraught as Austin.

Thank you for reading, everyone!

So - *dodges pitchforks, frying pans, etc.* - I am really sorry for the craziness of the last few months. In case you are new (and welcome!), upon finishing the first story a few months ago, I was in a pretty rough place, and fanfic was really just too much for me at the time. Writing was coming slowly, and it was very difficult, and so I decided to give up on fanfic writing, either permanently or for a long while. I'm sorry if it upset some of you, but I can honestly say that it was a good decision for me, and it really helped with my writing, perspective, and a lot else, as crazy as that sounds. Now, I'm back in a good place, and life in general has improved, and my writing (both fanfic and original) is going really well. So, thank you to everyone who supported my decision, and I hope you'll forgive me for being a crazy human. You're all wonderful, and I appreciate your support and comments.

So, now I have changed my mind, and I am back to writing fanfic (for real!) and I really want to finish writing this series. I can't say how long it will take, but I hope that you'll enjoy the chapters as they come out. If you see any inconsistencies, please feel free to point them out, and I'll try working on them. I've been at this story for several years now, and sometimes it's hard to keep it all on track amidst everything else.

Fun Things: So, I am really trying to think of a name for this series. If anyone has any recommendations, please feel free to leave them in your review. Also, I'll try and work on a cover, and if anyone has any ideas for that, let me know that, too! Or if you'd be interested in making a cover that I can just grab off the internet. Also, if anyone ever happens to do fan art or anything, let me know, and I'll put a link on my profile. Thank you. :)

Chapter/Story Notes:

I'm going to get this out of the way ahead of time. I'm not sure if everyone has seen the newest (at this time) Marvel films, so I won't spoil it, but in this story the Tesseract is going to be something different than what it is in the films (and I'm assuming comics; not sure, as I haven't read all of them). You may have guessed that with what happened in "The Science of Mystery", but just to let you know. Also, obviously, Tony already knows about Thor and Loki, as do Selvig, Jane, and S.H.I.E.L.D.

In case you're curious where the torture bit in this prologue comes from, well, in the original Avengers many speculated that Loki had been tortured prior to appearing on Earth (evidence is very obvious from how awful he looks when we first see him), so I added it in.

Anyway, thank you all for reading, and I'll see you next time!

~Cross