Part 2

Authors Note: Sort of a crossover with the first Avengers movie but an AU version of it.

Luka Smith arrived in London with a baby boy on a beautiful Saturday morning. He moved into a modest apartment with two bedrooms and immediately set to work making it a home.

He set up his child's basinet and other furniture in one of the bedrooms. His personal furniture was moved into the remaining room and the rest of the house remained fairly sparse for some time.

A few neighbours remarked on the lack of furniture but reasoned that the single father had probably had to leave most of his belongings behind. He had moved from America after all, or so the word was. He had returned to his native country after his wife passed away shortly after the birth of their child.

Loki surveyed his new home with a critical eye then nodded, satisfied. This would do. The neighbourhood was nice, the neighbours not too nosey. It was a good school district for when his precious child was ready for such things. Nicholas would of course, learn magic from his parent first, Loki could already sense the potential in the child. His baby boy might be small now but he would grow and so would his magic. It was going to be an interesting few years considering the people of Midgard didn't know about magic, didn't believe in it anymore either.

He had chosen Midgard partly because of this very reason. Few would think to look for him here, in this relatively primitive place. And no one would recognise him. There was no chance someone might know him from some sort of interaction he had had with a different realm.

"What do you think?" he whispered to the blond-haired babe in his arms. Nico was dozing off fitfully, not wanting to fall asleep yet. Typical Odinson really, Thor had been the same.

Just thinking of Nico's other parent made Loki's smile fall and a pang in his chest made him flinch. He didn't let himself wonder what Thor might be doing now. He didn't think he would like the answer.

Loki hadn't been found yet so hopefully Heimdall couldn't see him, or his baby. He had spent the months of his pregnancy on Midgard disguised as a woman and had given birth in some lonely little town somewhere in America. He had put his fake female name down as well as his current name and that of his son, before promptly faking his death so that no one asked where Nico's mother was.

The story went that Luka Smith was a single father who returned home to London after the death of his wife, with his newborn child. Corresponding paperwork had been easy to forge and craft into existence. So he should be safe.

"This is home now, little one," Loki whispered to his son. The babe had finally succumbed to sleep and Loki ran a pale finger over a chubby cheek.

Yes, this was home.

5 years later…

"Nicholas, if you're not up and ready soon I'm coming in there with a bucket of water!" Loki called to his son. The apartment wasn't that big, though bigger than their previous one when they had first moved to London.

"Coming, Mother!" Nico returned. He only ever called Loki 'mother' or 'mum' when they were home alone. In public he knew to call Loki Dad.

The blond haired child bounded into the room with all the energy and light that his other father had possessed. Laughing green eyes shone out of a face Loki had tried these past few years to forget. He never could, not when looking at a near replica every day.

"Bag packed?" Loki asked as he put a plate in front of his son. He checked his watch and nodded to himself. He had time before he had to be at work.

"Yes, I have my lunch made and everything." Nico said as he shovelled in his food. He ate just like his father too, which Loki had always found a slightly gross habit.

"Eat with your mouth closed, please," Loki scolded for the thousandth time.

Nico nodded and did as he was told. He was a good boy, well-behaved most of the time. But he knew his power and didn't like it being stifled. Unfortunately, that was a trait from Loki himself. So far they had contained it to mild tantrums but as Nico grew he would test the boundaries. Loki sensed a few more moves in the future in order to avoid curious neighbours.

"In the car now or we'll both be late," Loki kissed his baby boy on the head and walked him out the door to the car.

Nico hoped in and started up his usual chatter on the way to the school not more than a few blocks away. On Loki's day off they walked if the weather was nice, but Loki worked at a bookstore that was further away and needed the car in order to get around.

"Have a good day," Loki called before his son hoped out of the car and ran off to join his friends, waving at Loki as he went.

Loki smiled to himself and headed to work.

He arrived on time and opened the door to find his co-worker, Rachel, already getting busy with the day's tasks.

"Morning, Luka," she called. The bubbly brunette had become one of Loki's best friends during his stay in London. Loki had met Rachel's family and her girlfriends over the years and she had dinner sometimes with Loki and Nico.

Loki had been a bit worried at first about making friends with a Midgardian woman. He didn't know if they were any different to Asgardian women. The women of his home planet might not have liked him but they had desired him and Loki had wondered if the same would happen on Midgard. It did, often in fact. Loki had never considered himself beautiful, not next to Thor, but the female population of Midgard he had interacted with seemed to like his appearance and he had been asked out more times than he could remember. He had turned them all down but he had felt flattered none the less.

When Loki had started at the bookstore and made friends with Rachel, he had been a bit worried it would become awkward if she asked him out. She hadn't because, as he revealed later, she was a lesbian. With the potential for embarrassing rejections gone, Loki had grown to adore the woman more and more. Their friendship blossomed and soon it was like they had always known one another.

Loki had always wanted a real friend. In the past, people had fawned over him for being a prince, wanting to get his favour or that of Thor through him. They had never really wanted to know Loki, just get in good with the court and Odin. Loki had been disappointed many times when people he had thought of as friends were revealed to be sneaky fortune seekers. He had stopped trying after awhile.

"Morning, Rachel, how's Denise?" Loki asked about Rachel's latest girlfriend. Loki actually liked this one; she seemed genuine and friendly when he had met her a few weeks ago.

"Pretty good actually, we're going to see my parents this weekend." Rachel blushed and tried to hide it by sorting a shelf of books.

"Really? Seeing the parents already, are we?" Loki grinned, "My, my things are moving quickly now."

Rachel poked her tongue out at him before telling him to shut up. A customer sweeping in saved her from further embarrassing remarks. Loki set to work in his section of the store and settled in for a long day.

Here, he was an ordinary man, taking care of his son and working a nine-to-five job. Here he wasn't looked down on for his talents, he wasn't a secret to be hidden away or a tool to be used.

He was Luka Smith, and he rather liked being just a mortal.

He was watching the news a few weeks later when he began to get suspicious.

A great big sinkhole had opened up somewhere in America, swallowing a government facility the media wasn't allowed to further disclose about.

Why this particular story peaked his interest, Loki didn't know right away. Sinkholes were becoming more and more common on Midgard and "government facilities" weren't exactly a new trend either.

Maybe it was the other odd signs that cropped up when he went searching that triggered the suspicions.

"What are you doing, Mum?" Nico asked later that night before bed. Nico was already dressed in his pyjamas and he snuggled into Loki's side on the couch where Loki was researching in his laptop. A marvellous invention computers; Loki wondered why Asgard hadn't caught up to such technology.

"Nothing, little one," Loki told his son, closing the laptop and putting it aside. "Have you brushed your teeth?"

Nico nodded, "Read me a story?" he pulled out the adorable little puppy-eyes.

Loki sighed dramatically but smiled, "Of course, grab a story and get into bed, I'll be there in a minute."

Nico raced off and Loki opened up the laptop again.

Storm anomalies in America, military manoeuvres in strange places. They all seemed to be connected somehow but Loki couldn't quite see it.

"Are you coming, Mum?" Nico called. If Loki didn't go in now, Nico would wander back out and demand more stories before bed. Loki's son was a master when it came to making deals.

"Coming," Loki shut off his laptop and went into his son's room to settle him into bed.

Long after Nico was asleep, Loki lay awake in his own bed trying to figure out why the news events had so concerned him. Maybe he was being paranoid. It was probably nothing.

The next morning he woke up grumpy from lack of sleep but pasted on a smile when his son raced in. It was Thursday so his son was chaffing for the weekend to roll in.

Then Loki turned on the morning news and his day went to Hell.

An incident in Germany had occurred overnight. The quality of the footage from the attack wasn't very good which Loki was grateful for because what he could make out made him sick.

A man in green and gold armour with a glowing sceptre stood over a group of people, making them kneel on the ground, threatening to execute them. The armour's shape was so familiar it made Loki's skin shiver.

That armour bore a remarkable likeness to his old Asgardian formal wear.

Iron Man and Captain America, two American heroes had arrived in time to stop the threat, for which Loki was grateful.

Especially since it seemed that someone was masquerading as him.

"Are you alright, Mum?" Nico asked, suddenly quiet, as if sensing his mother's mood.

"I'm fine, Nico," Loki murmured then turned to his son. "Do you remember what I taught you? About who your other father is and where we come from?"

Loki had long told his son about Asgard and Thor. His son might be young but he was smart. Scary smart. He was ahead in school and laughed off most lessons taught to those in higher levels. He was also a good combatant already, Loki having shown him a few things. He was a quick learner and had a fantastic memory recall.

Nico nodded slowly, searching his mother's green eyes.

"The incidents occurring in America, I think, have something to do with them, and I need to go and investigate," Loki told his son slowly, "I'll take you to Auntie Rachel's tonight and you can stay with her until I return, alright?"

Nico frowned but nodded again.

Loki forced a smile, "That's my boy. Now, go and get ready for school."

Nico hurried off and Loki's smile slipped into a frown. He didn't know what was going on in America but he needed to find out. If someone was coming after him, he needed to know so he could take care of the threat, or hide away from it.

"Ready, Mummy." Nico's small voice brought Loki back and had his heart softening. Nico only ever called him 'mummy' when he was feeling insecure.

"Come here, little one." Loki knelt down and Nico ran into his arms. For all his stubborn bravery, Nico was still just a little boy who needed his mother. "I'll be back in a few days. Just stay safe and be good for Auntie Rachel, alright?"

Loki grinned after receiving Nico's nod, "And when I get back, we'll take a trip for the weekend, just the two of us, how does that sound?"

Nico smiled slightly and hugged Loki tighter for a moment before releasing him.

"Can we go to the museum and then the park?" he asked, his tone sounding wheedling.

Loki laughed at his son's antics. Yes, his child was a master at making the best of a deal. "Yes, we can go to the museum and the park."

Nico grinned and shouted joyfully. He bounced around the house as he talked about what he was going to see at both places. Loki listened with half an ear as he dropped his son at school. The rest of his mind was on what he had to do. He was going to head to America, back to the place he had given birth to Nico all those years ago. He had the uneasy suspicion that all he had been running from was waiting for him in the States but there was little he could do about it.

He was going to have to face his demons, and better now than later.

By the time Loki was on a plane he knew where he had to go. New York. Of all the places, it had to be one of the biggest and well-known cities in America.

He was pretty sure Thor was going to be there as well. The unusual weather patterns made sense when he linked them to Thor. He had come to Midgard. He was probably teamed up with Iron Man and Captain America. Trying to stop the villain.

Did he think it was Loki? Did the monster who attacked Germany really look as much like Loki as he suspected?

Would Thor be able to tell the difference?

Probably not, if the magician was skilled enough.

When Loki landed he was informed that his flight to New York had been cancelled. It wasn't hard to find out why.

Footage from the great city was airing all over the world, caught on all kinds of cameras. Thankfully, none of them showed the Loki-look-a-like, but the threat was still clear.

A rift had opened up above the city and was spewing out ugly aliens of some unknown origin. Loki didn't recognise the beasts as they rampaged throughout the city streets. They must be from further than the Nine Realms.

Loki slipped away from the terminal under the guise of finding a place to stay for the night before heading home. When he reached a secluded place, he teleported.

The rush of his magic, so long had it been truly used, exhilarated him. He sighed at the familiar tingle of magic on his skin and in his blood.

Then he looked around and groaned.

The city was a mess. From where he had teleported, onto one of the few remaining buildings in the area, he saw Thor attacking the portal with his lightning. Loki shuddered at the familiar attraction that raced through him but pushed it away. Now was really not the time for that. He spotted Iron Man flying about the city, Captain America and a handful of others on the ground. He wondered vaguely who they were but ignored the curiosity. His only goal was to find out where his doppelganger might be hiding.

A roar brought his attention to a great big green man smashing his way through the aliens.

"What on earth is that?" he asked himself. That surely wasn't human, and yet it was clearly fighting against the aliens.

The tide turned in the battle, the humans falling to the aliens one by one, and Loki contemplated stepping in. This wasn't his fight though, he might be fond of Midgard but his son meant more to him. He could not leave Nico an orphan.

Iron Man flew past him with a giant missile and Loki wondered where all of these crackpots had come from. And how was it they were all Midgardian heroes when they were so suicidal?

Case in point: Iron Man just flew through a portal to who knew where with a big missile on his back.

There was a pause, as if everything was waiting for something. Then the aliens started dropping, like they were puppets whose strings had been cut. Loki watched as Iron Man fell from the portal to be scooped up by the great big green man.

But his attention was caught by a spike of power coming from one of the bigger buildings. He suspected it might have once been Stark Tower.

He teleported there and found his doppelganger crawling across the floor. The creature wore Loki's old armour, had a fancy looking sceptre lying a few feet away and worse, he wore Loki's own face.

"Who the bloody Hell are you?" Loki demanded, and then wondered when exactly the natives of London had corrupted him into using their curse words.

The imposter turned and gaped at him, looking shocked. Then he smirked, seeming to gather his bravado, "I'm you."

"No, you have my face and my old clothes," Loki corrected dryly, "I want to know who you are behind the mask."

The fake smiled grew broader as he continued dragging himself across the floor. Clearly someone had given him a beating before Loki got to him.

"It doesn't matter," the imposter hissed, sounding strangely familiar to Loki. "Your face served my purpose."

"What purpose was that?" Loki snarled. He really wanted to end this creature's existence but he needed answers.

"You will never be welcomed back on Asgard, little prince." The being cackled, "Now everyone will believe you are responsible for the carnage that has befallen the realm today. They will never accept you anywhere."

Loki tried not to show his horror at the thought. He needed the other realms as safe havens if something happened on Midgard. If the other realms believed him to be a war criminal, they wouldn't offer him safe passage; they would turn him over to Asgard.

"And who have I to thank for my fate?" Loki growled, advancing closer.

Before the being answered, if he had been about to answer at all, the sound of other arrivals brought his attention to the glass windows, or rather where they had once been.

"Loki!" Thor called, looking furious. He stopped dead upon spotting both the real Loki and the imposter.

"Whoa, why are there two psychopaths in my house?" Iron Man asked, his facemask was gone and his skin was ashen but he put up a good front, for a man probably dead on his feet.

An unknown man armed with a bow and arrow, looked over Loki then zeroed in one the figure sprawled on the floor. Hatred gleamed in blue eyes as the man notched an arrow and aimed, as if waiting for the being to move so he could shoot.

A red headed woman had two guns, one aimed at Loki while the other was trained on the imposter. Her face was impassive and it gave Loki the creeps.

Captain America looked adorably confused while trying to appear calm, shifting his gaze between both Loki's.

The green being was behind them all, growling and grumbling but more or less calm as he glared at the man on the floor. Neither he nor the archer seemed to care about Loki, only the fake.

"What is going on, Loki?" Thor rumbled, looking straight at him, not the fake.

"Oh, shut up, Thor," the being on the floor growled, full of venom and hatred.

Loki reacted on instinct, the way he had years and years ago when someone had dared to question Thor's skills in front of Loki. He lashed out with his closest limb at the downed man, catching the imposter in the face with his boot.

The figure yelped and grasped his bleeding nose.

Iron Man let out a sudden startled laugh but the others remained quiet.

"I don't know why you're questioning him, that's the bad guy," the archer said, never taking his eyes off the now whimpering figure on the floor.

"How can you tell?" Captain America asked his comrade, "They look pretty much the same to me."

The archer looked between Loki and the imposter before stating, "They look nothing alike to me."

"Maybe your head's still not screwed on straight," Iron Man remarked.

"Shut up, Stark," the archer returned just as full of vinegar as his companion.

"Loki." Thor's voice spoke up, "I know it is the real you, now."

"But you didn't before?" Loki asked, arching a brow.

The fake cackled again, "No he didn't, the stupid oaf is so thick headed he can't tell the difference between us."

Loki looked down at the imposter, masking his rage as he stated coolly. "I can break every bone in your body and I can do it very painfully. Would you like to test me further?"

The creature grumbled but went silent. Those eyes, now full of fear and wariness, regarded Loki before sliding away in submission. It was very strange to see his own face twisted like that. Those were not his expressions on his face. It was truly bizarre for Loki to witness.

"Dude, you're boyfriend's a badass," Iron Man remarked, smacking Thor on the shoulder in a show of friendship and familiarity.

Loki stiffened at being called Thor's boyfriend but kept his face impassive as he moved his gaze to his former lover.

Had Thor told his new comrades about their old relationship? Did that mean something?

Loki refused to linger on those thoughts for now. There were so much more important things to think about.

"Can we focus for a second?" Captain America gained control again by looking to the archer, "How can you tell the one on the floor is the bad Loki?"

"Bad Loki? Sounds kinky." Iron Man was told to shut up again, though Loki thought it was a little funny.

"The one on the floor is a great big blue man, the one standing looks like a normal person." The archer stated.

Loki looked down at the sulking creature near his feet, "You're Jotun?"

The creature grinned, full of sharp teeth and rage, "Just like you, runt."

Thor growled and Loki sensed Mjolnir stirring up a static charge, ready to rend the creature in two.

"What the hell did I do to you?" he demanded.

"You didn't die," the being growled, suddenly furious and frothing with mad frustration. "You should have died like the pathetic runt you are! Instead you were "saved" by the Allfather and carried away to Asgard. I saw you, the day you came to visit our king. You didn't hide well enough your true origins and I knew who and what you were, little prince. I could not allow you to live and be a blight on our race any longer!"

Loki blinked slowly at the enraged being as it spat its venomous words at him. Really? That was why? Because he hadn't succumbed to death when he was born and abandoned for being small? That was why this Jotun had attacked an innocent planet?

"Well, you're a little fucked up, pal." Iron Man stated and this time no one corrected him.

The Jotun was led away in handcuffs; he would be revealed in Asgard and sentenced to death. Asgard might go to war over this incident, then again they might not. It wasn't as if Loki was adored back on his home planet after all.

Thor was going to take the imposter back using the Tesseract. The main reason the Jotun and his strange allies had attacked the planet in the first place. The fact that Loki could be used as a scapegoat was just a bonus. The Tesseract was a powerful object, too strong for the people of the planet to wield yet; they were still too young.

"Will you wait for me?" Thor asked as he stepped away from his prisoner for a moment. The imposter was under the protection of the group of Midgardian warriors. Every one of them was willing to kill the creature if he so much as twitched the wrong way.

"No," Loki replied, refusing to feel bad about the crestfallen look on Thor's face. "There is nothing for us to talk about."

"Not even our child?" Thor asked his blue eyes searching Loki's green ones.

Loki inhaled sharply. He had wondered if Frigga would actually tell Thor of their offspring. Apparently she had.

"What good would it do?" he hissed, suddenly incredibly sad. There was no way a meeting would end the way either wanted. There were too many obstacles in their way.

Thor looked defeated but determined. How could someone do that?

"I will return," he said, sounding certain, "And we will talk. Do not run from me."

"And if I do?" Loki asked mulishly.

Thor arched a brow and a familiar expression stretched across his face, making Loki's pulse jump and his knees weak. "You know what will happen."

Loki gulped to wet his mouth then watched as if in a daze as Thor returned to the prisoner and took the other end of the Tesseract.

They disappeared in a show of blue light, Thor holding Loki's eyes until he was gone.

Loki took in a shuddering breath and looked up at the sky, wondering if Heimdall could see him now.

Ready or not, he would have to face his past.

Authors Note: The reason Clint can see through the bad guy's glamour is because of the mind control thing.