Chapter 11

LJ listened quietly with his ears pricked, his eyes glazed over with thought. "No hope"? How could there be no hope? Especially when this was his father's magic they were talking about! He listened to Lilli's soft, sad whimpering. She was distressed, he could tell, by the fact that her chances of meeting their mother had slipped through her fingers like water. No hope. The words bounced around the inside of Loki Jr.'s skull and rattled it, creating a rather unsavory headache. Loki attempted to calm his offspring, purring in their ears.

"Shhh…Do not worry. We may find a way yet." Loki whispered convincingly.

LJ's muscles relaxed slightly at these words, yet they confused him as well. One moment, his father was saying that there was no grasping the idea, for it was inconceivable. Now, he said there was. It was enough to make the boy's head spin. What was really going on here?

It was very late when LJ finally heard the pace of his father's breathing slow. His sister snored quietly beside of Loki, deep in some kind of hazy fantasy, he was sure. Loki Jr. opened an eye, the bright green surrounding his pupil shining in great contrast against the darkness. The little cat stealthily snuck away from his father's side (regrettably so) and to the very edge of the bush they'd been hiding in. He boldly stuck his nose out into the night air and sniffed, then quickly recoiled. The stench of hairspray was overwhelming, as if he'd just stepped into a salon. It disgusted the little Lokison greatly, and the boy stuck out his tongue and wrinkled his nose.

"Yuck!" he mumbled.

His sensitive nose throbbed in pain, the scent lingering like an unwelcome phantom in his sinuses. The young kit sputtered and coughed, then shook his head vigorously. He was determined. LJ had decided that he would face his uncle himself. His father and sister had suffered so much tyranny under the big blonde oaf. He hated it. He hated him. LJ hated Thor in a way that he'd never experienced or thought had existed before. He absolutely loathed the man. Although there were many other things that he disliked almost as much as Thor; the orphanage, those other Avengers, pesky Midgardians… However, they were all overruled by one person: Thor.

The young boy's cat tail twitched in annoyance as he thought of all the things that fueled his hatred for his uncle. He would get revenge if it were the last thing he did. That jerk had something coming, and it would strike with the velocity of the lightning he summoned, the magnitude of a flaming comet, and deadliness of a cobra's bite. With his feline stealth, LJ held his breath and padded across the pavement urgently. As he got farther and farther away from where his father and sister lay their weary heads, he could feel the cat disguise fade away. He had no desire to hide now. The instincts vacated his mind first, followed by the appearance. Pretty soon the façade had melted, leaving a boy wearing dark, foreboding trench coat to roam the streets.

Loki Jr. stuffed his hands in his pockets and lowered his head into the collar of his jacked, trying to appear like the average New Yorker walking down Main Street. He squinted against the annoyingly bright lights that glared at him. The car horns added to the headache of the city. LJ growled. The boy attempted once more to hide in the collar of his coat. He was beginning to regret leaving the bush. To be warm and in a more quiet setting sounded close to the blessing of Valhalla, where all worthy warriors went when slain in battle in return for their valor and bravery. I'm about to be slain by this city… LJ thought ruefully as he was shoved to the side by a random rushing person. The stranger snarled obscenities about indecent youth as he barreled away. LJ made a snarky comment about the man's apparel as he continued on his way to Stark Tower.

"Hey, kid!" yelled a gravelly voice from his left.

LJ didn't even bother to turn. He did not recognize the voice and did not care for its demanding tone. He dismissed its origin as another worthless street urchin and began to walk away, seeing no fault in his current action. The owner of the voice, however, begged to differ. The mortal lashed out in anger and grabbed LJ's shoulder.

"I said 'stop'!" the commanding person screamed once more as he spun Loki Jr. around to face him.

When their eyes met, the man in the blues uniform stopped cold. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped in disbelief, as if he'd never seen an adolescent out after dark. "O-Oh…my…god…"

LJ refused to speak. He only glared at this insipid excuse for an intelligent life form.

The police officer fumbled with his hand-held walkie-talkie, low, short mutters escaping his lips. The man managed to sputter a short emergency call into the small device. He then fearfully staggered backwards, beads of sweat racing down the sides of his face.

"S-stay where you are!" yelped the officer, his hand suddenly occupied by a shiny, black, L-shaped object. "I-I'm not afraid to sh-shoot!"

LJ stared curiously at the object that the man portrayed as some kind of weapon. The boy was intrigued as to what the mortal's toy did. At the same time, he thought that maybe he should find a safer way to figure out. He eyed the item that shook violently in the policeman's hands, wondering if it would suddenly slip and fall to the ground. LJ looked into the man's icy blue eyes and saw nothing but fear. What was he so afraid of? He acted as though he were a mouse at the mercy of a leopard's claws. The man's bottom lip quivered in his massive attempts to stifle whines of fear.

"Excuse me, sir, but what-"

The officer jumped at the boy's voice and slipped and staggered backwards, almost landing hard on the cold concrete. His fists closed in an attempt to grab the air, but instead squeezed the trigger of the gun.

KA-POW!

Searing pain shot through LJ. It bolted from his thigh to his stomach, then his head, where he registered the pain with a horrified cry.

"AAAGGHH!" he screeched as he fell to the ground in agony.

He would not weep, however. Menn of Asgard did not cry like feeble weaklings. Not a tear would escape him as he lay there, writhing on the ground, a great big hole in his leg from the bullet wound. He was dizzy and discombobulated for a moment, the world around him spiraling out of control. He felt inexplicably heavier, as if he were made entirely of led. Why had he left the bush? Why had he been so stupid? What in the nine worlds just happened?

He lay sprawled across the concrete wondering what he'd done as the officer loomed over him with peaked curiosity. Actually, he looked slightly relieved and…joyful? A half smile curled across his face as he laughed pathetically, proving LJ's suspicions to be true.

"Heh…Heheheh…Ahahahahahahahaha! I got 'im! I got 'im!" the mortal shouted triumphantly. "I got LOKI!"

Wait…WHAT?!

This mortal thought…that LJ was Loki! The boy stared up into a street lamp, wanting to holler out his feelings to the world. He wanted to yell out in protest to the whole planet, wanted them all to hear. But his words were nothing but a small crackle in the back of his throat. He could not speak, terror and pain stealing his voice away and locking it away deep inside him. The only place he could say anything was the back of his mind, where no one would hear or care. Although there was much resemblance, LJ couldn't believe that these foolish Earthlings could not see the height or age difference between him and his old man. LJ wanted to yell at the man, scold him for his ignorance. But he couldn't. The world began to slip away from his fingertips, making him feel as though the ground were leaving him. Suddenly, he was at a loss of consciousness as much as words as he fell into a dark sleep. The last thing he remembered was his silent apology to his family for his failure.

Loki was shocked awake by a sudden jack-rabbit kick in the ribs. His eyes shot wide open abruptly as he sprang to his paws, no breath entering his body until he had a complete panoramic view of his surroundings. The small, meek frame of Lilli in her kitten form laid before him, kicking relentlessly in her sleep. Her rest was disturbed by terrible nightmares, the father observed as he watched her little feet attack her non-existent enemies. Loki placed a paw on his daughter's shoulder and shook her, waking her from the horrid dream disturbing her so. Lilli opened her eyes and sat upright, much to her father's relief. She still shook and seemed scared when she looked at him, and he was about to inquire why when he noticed that something vital was missing: his son.

Loki dashed from one end of the hedges to the other, trying to locate the missing child. No such luck befell upon the desperate Laufeyson, who found himself collapsing in front of Lilli in exhaustion.

"I-I looked everywhere." he panted.

Lilli nuzzled his ear affectionately and tried encouraging him.

"Don't worry, Father. I'm sure we'll find him again." she lied.

The truth was that Lilli didn't know, either. She was only trying to be of a little help.

Loki remained in a sad, depressed heap in the dirt. What a failure he was. Such a simple task he'd had, too; Find the children, protect them, fufill his and their immortal lives. How? he wondered, How did I louse this up?

"Father," persisted Lilli, penetrating his thoughts. "Father, please listen!"

Loki rotated his head, this motion lethargic and zombie-like. Lilli blinked. Loki did not.

"Daddy! I believe LJ is in danger!" Suddenly, Lilli's shy nature came back and she looked at the floor, losing her split-second self-confidence. "I-I just know he is."

Loki opened his mouth to inquire how Lilli had possessed such knowledge when he heard a loud voice call out his name challengingly. It was a demanding voice, and a familiar one at that. Loki closed his mouth and peeked out of the bush. Outside, a uniformed man stood idly in the parking lot, his iPad-like device tuned in on the news channel. The SHIELD news channel.

Loki squinted to see. On the screen was a head-and-shoulders screenshot of none other than Nick Fury himself, his signature "I ain't takin' no crap today" expression looking extremely used lately.

"…If you find that damn Laufeyson, tell him this…" Fury was saying, his poker-face a solid-as-steel glare, "If he doesn't come out and take his punishment like a man, we're going to make his son pay for his crimes for him."


HI! Guess what! Chapter 11! Here! Yay! How exciting! Anyway, thanks for reviews, faves, and follows! I greatly appreciate the support! Oh, and Happy Halloween! And if I'm not on here before then, Happy Thanksgiving as well! XD