No excuses; I know. (Don't hurt me!) HERE! HAVE A NEW CHAPTER!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Avengers. Hadley belongs to me, but I give all credit for the rest of them to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, they rock!

Hadley made her way to her father's temporary cell, an interview room where he was chained to the table by his ankle. He'd moved the chair to the corner of the room, and leaned his head back against the wall. She walked in, her Hill disguise firmly in place.

When she walked in he looked up, staring blankly at her until she let a slight grin out. He sat forward eagerly, then. "Well? Did it work?"

She nodded, once.

"Sketchy." Hill muttered, watching from the screen in Fury's office. When the rest of the audience looked at her she explained, "Watching myself, but it's not actually…me."

Tony nodded in understanding, and the team turned back toward the screen.

"Yes. The Realm Council has given Midgard a clean slate." Hadley-as-Hill spoke.

Loki's face registered immediate relief, though he tried to mask it with a smirk. "Good. Good. I would hate for all my hard work to have to go to waste." Loki leaned back again, taking a deep breath.

"Right. All of YOUR hard work." Hadley teased, taking a seat across from him. Loki rolled his eyes.

"I'll admit, the Avengers held their own. But I wasn't even trying." He pointed out with a raised brow.

"I noticed." Hadley grimaced. "So did your brother."

"He was suspicious," Loki agreed with a nod, "which is why I stabbed him." He relished.

"Don't sound like you enjoyed it." Hadley deadpanned.

"But I did." Loki looked innocently at her. At her dry look, he smirked, then, as if he couldn't help himself, laughed. It was loud, and joyous, nothing like the mocking chuckles that the avengers had been privy to before. "Was I not supposed to?"

Hadley pointed a finger in Loki's direction. "This might come as a shock to you, but stabbing your brother is not supposed to bring you pleasure.

Loki shrugged indifferently. "I do what I want."

"I saw the Big Guy got you." Hadley smirked, leaning back in her chair.

"The green giant?" Loki winced, rubbing his cheek self-consciously. "He packs quite the punch, I won't deny that. But I would like to draw your attention to my continued ability to walk."

"Barely." Hadley scoffed.

"I concede your point." Loki ran his hand through his hair. "The Avengers were a bigger threat than I was expecting, and my injuries are the result of my lack of preparation."

Hadley chuckled, then frowned.

"I understand the necessary evils you had to act out in order to prove your evilness; but did you really have to blue brain Barton?"

"The archer?" Loki clarified. At her nod, he sighed heavily. "Yes. I needed semi-intelligence on my side, and no one was going to choose to work for the enemy. Besides, if I didn't use the powers of the tesseract, they would have grown suspicious."

"The archer, though?"

Loki shrugged. "It was convenient."

"You messed him up. He wants your head." Hadley hated to point it out, but it needed to be said.

"And rightfully so. He'll have nightmares, for weeks, months." Loki relented. "They will kidnap his nights, steal his peace. Then one day he will be able to sleep, as if the nightmares plaguing him for so long never occurred; except for to attack rarely, when he least expects it."

"You speak from experience." Hadley stated, not asking, having seen some of what must've been in his nightmares firsthand.

Loki inclined his head. "I would not do to an innocent what had not been first tested out."

"Did it work on you?" It was a hard thing for her to ask, but she needed to know.

Loki raised a brow.

"For investigative purposes." She explained, unconvincingly.

He stared.

"As well as for just in case." Hadley grudgingly admitted.

Loki inclined his head, "To a large extent, no. In some instances, it worked surprisingly well."

"That's specific." Hadley lamented.

"It's all I'm prepared to give." He said sternly.

Hadley nodded her head in acquiescence. "Fine. I'll leave it." Hadley was silent for a moment, introspective. Then she smiled wryly. "You've completed your mission, done what you came to do. What's next for the great Loki?"

"Well, you tell me." Loki leaned back in his chair, wincing slightly. "I'm currently in custody of the Avengers; and of the organization that calls themselves SHIELD. My next movements are no longer my own. What have the mighty Avengers decided to do with me, a war criminal?"

Hadley said nothing, unsure of how to begin.

"Has Thor demanded Asgardian justice? Am I to be sent back to my allies to face the punishments they've deigned to mete out?" He grinned sardonically. His grin faded as she said nothing, only squirmed nervously. He must've recognized the guilt on her face, because his previously cheerful expression closed up and he glowered dangerously.

"You told them the truth." He said flatly.

"Fury ran into the Realm Council. I was unable to explain them away." Hadley tried to say, but Loki sent forth a crippling glare, and she fell silent.

"I am sorry," Hadley murmured, heartfelt. Loki waved away the words irritably, looking as if he'd aged terribly in between her announcement and apology. He tucked his chin into his chest for a moment; eyes closed before breathing in deeply and looking back up, a hint of his normal fire evident once more.

"What IS to be done with me, then?"

"We will, I will not let you die." Hadley stood and took a step toward Loki, eager to explain the plan; hoping he'd be agreeable. "Thanos wants your head, the Avengers have agreed to protect it."

"The Avengers have agreed to protect me?" Loki looked thoughtful at the statement, but then a scornful look passed over his face. "At Thor's request, I presume?" Loki snapped.

"No. At mine." Loki could find no rebuttal for the sincerity in her face, and he considered the young woman he considered an ally, if not a friend. Hadley continued, "You have done Midgard a great service, one that few will know about. Midgard honors those who have fought for it."

"I fought against Midgard." Loki corrected tiredly.

"And by fighting against Midgard, you saved it. I see no difference."

"The Avengers and shield cannot believe me entirely." Loki pointed out. "Some will still have doubts."

"Some will, yes. For your protection, and for those of others, you will reside in Stark Tower, with the rest of the Avengers."

Loki didn't like that at all if the way his face contorted was anything to go by. He stood angrily, and used the little room that his chain gave him to pace.

"Of all things…" He fumed, "Thor will be heading back to Asgard, yes?"

"To report and return the Tesseract, yes." Hadley confirmed. "But he will return."

"To babysit, I presume." Loki snarled, turning away from Hadley to fume further.

"To work on your relationship." Hadley amended.

Loki rolled his eyes. "What relationship?"

"The fact that you have to ask is why he's coming back."

"Why bother?"

"He's your brother." Hadley argued.

"He is NOT." Loki snapped.

"And when did that change?" Hadley yelled, fed up with her stubborn father.

"A long time ago!" Loki roared in retaliation, his voice matching hers in frustration. Like a light switch, though, he sobered nearly immediately. His face crumbled, and he turned away. "I do not deny that we were brothers, once. But circumstances have changed that; He is my brother no more."

"For you, you might see him differently. He sees you the same."

Loki shook his head. "Don't begin to think me an open book. You know not what I've lived through, what I've suffered. I've lost worse things than former brothers who only ever saw me as weak, and defenseless."

"You have never been that for Thor." Hadley hissed. "You have and always will be, his younger brother. His friend."

Loki scoffed, but his earlier heat was gone. "It is of no import. Not anymore. The fight as you said, is finished, the next move, no longer in my hands. They can do what they will to me."

Hadley's fists clenched tightly, as if she would say more, but she simply pressed her lips together tightly. "That's good to hear."

"Is this the last time I will see you?" Loki asked, turning to face Hadley once more.

"Yes." Hadley let the grief hit her. "In this form at least." He may not see her again, but he was now housed in her territory. She could check up on him. It wasn't goodbye, not really.

"I don't even know your name." Loki mentioned, brow furrowed as he thought back to their many previous conversations, slightly surprised that her name had not once come up.

Hadley smirked tiredly. "Do you need to?"

"I suppose not." Loki sat back down in the chair, brow still furrowed slightly.

Hadley, having nothing more to say, walked to the door. Before she left, she looked back, making solid eye contact with her father, a bittersweet smile on her face.

"Live long, Loki of Nowhere, and prosper."

Not understanding the comment, but recognizing the sentiment, Loki inclined his head as Hadley closed the door behind her.

She changed back to her regular form as soon as the door shut, and took a moment to lean against the wall; eyes unfocused and lip slightly trembling, before she took a deep breath and straightened, marching down the hallways determinedly, not stopping at Fury's office, refusing to make eye contact with any of the concerned looks sent her way. She didn't stop moving until she'd entered the Medic Bay, where she could hide and vent her emotions accordingly.

None of them stopped her as she walked by.

This chapter makes me cry a little bit. ;"( Loki and Hadley fighting makes me sad. BUT. Next chapter is Loki/Avengers interactions! Get Excited! Keep in mind; the Loki I write might seem OOC; because I've written a Loki who's co-parented a daughter with his brother;and a Loki with Hadley as a daughter will react very differently to things than MARVEL/Loki. Next chapter up later tonight!

I LOVE YOU ALL; REVIEWS AND FOLLOWS AND FAVORITES ARE THE BEST PRESENT EVER!

~CLC~