They went through their rout carefully and quietly. Many times Rowena felt like she should say something, but feared that even one word would shatter the stillness of the air and cause them to be found. But as she and The Phantom were walking back to Garmond's shop, she couldn't help but say something.

"I would really like to get to know you better, if I may?" The Phantom didn't reply. "Um, I've been meaning to ask you, what was that. . . thing. . . the other night? When we were being chased?" Still no reply. He just continued to look down in a brooding manner and as he walked, ignoring her. Rowena didn't dare talk to him again. She longed to know his identity, to become his friend. He seemed so lonely and distrustful. She felt that if she could just penetrate that dark exterior she could help him, make him happy.

"Oh, be quiet Rowena, you're sounding like a love sick fool," she thought to herself as they continued to walk along the street, keeping to the shadows.

All of a sudden, seemingly out of nowhere, The Phantom abruptly shoved her forward and said, "Run!" Before darting down a side street himself. Lightning rent the sky as she dove into a stable and cracked the door so she could still peak out. She could just make out Prince Thor in his crimson cape high above the city, causing the lightning to jump between the clouds and illuminate the city. After a moment he suddenly darted down into the city and out of Rowen's sight. Her heart was gripped with fear because she knew he must have spotted and gone after her partner.

The Phantom sped along the streets in a zigzag pattern, trying to find shelter from the illuminating lightning as a thousand curses for his idiocy ran through his head. He noticed the lightning seemed to abruptly tail off when his wraith companion suddenly hissed telepathically,

"Phase!"

The Phantom forced his body to become non-solid in the split second before Thor's hammer would have hit him square in the back, but instead passed right through him and dug a ditch in the street. The Phantom staggered from the effort of phasing, but managed to quickly stumble down a side street to avoid getting the recalled hammer in the stomach, but could hear the prince hot on his heals.

"Loki! Stop this madness!" Thor shouted from behind him.

"He knows," Loki, The Phantom, thought to himself. "Maybe I should stop, maybe I should try and fight him, I'm tiring quickly."

"No! Do not stop, keep running! He may be just guessing." His spectral partner insisted desperately, having read his thoughts as it stayed alongside him.

His ghostly partner suddenly fell back and pulled the same stunt in did but a few days earlier. It made itself visible for but a few moments and let loose it's blood curdling scream. However, Thor had been expecting something of the sort, and ran right through the specter unperturbed.

"Well that was a failure," Loki thought to the wraith. "You just used up all your energy. Great. Just great."

"I had to try something," the wraith thought back irritably.

Loki continued to run through the streets, not really even knowing or caring where he was going, just so long as he got away. But the more he ran, the more weary he became, and he started to stumble more and more. It wasn't long before Thor was literally right behind him.

"Loki, stop, this is pointless," he said as he reached out and caught the back of Loki's cloak as they were still running. Loki abruptly stopped, causing Thor to run into him, giving extra force to the jab he landed in Thor's stomach with his elbow. He managed to get loose and just as quickly as he stopped he took off again having caught Thor off guard.

He turned down the nearest alley to see that it was a dead end. A firm determination settled in his gut as he sped up rather than slowed down and quickly phased through the wall. Thor had to slam on the breaks and use his hammer to smash the small partition to pieces so that he would not run into it and he could continue to pursue The Phantom unhindered.

However, phasing in quick succession took a heavy toll on Loki, and he found that he had made a bad decision, for now he could barely walk. As he heard the crash and crumble of the rock wall behind him he tried to phase one last time into a house next to the alley before the dust cleared, but this time was different. Instead of easily phasing through he could barely push his hand through. He found himself applying more and more pressure with little results as Thor ran up behind him.

"Brother, stop!" Thor called as he yanked Loki by the shoulder away from the wall. Loki yelled in pain as the skin in his hand was torn off from the sudden movement and his hand started profusely bleeding. He carefully held his hand in front of him as he sunk to his knees in front of Thor and gripped his stomach with his other hand in pain from the effort of phasing. Thor dropped down to his knees in front of his brother and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Brother, what have you done?" Thor asked in deep concern.

"Don't touch me, I'm not your brother and you know it," Loki hissed as he tried to move his shoulder out from under Thor's hand. "Leave me alone."

"You know I can't do that, Loki. How did you manage to get out of your cell?" Loki didn't answer as he tried to struggle to his feet but almost toppled over from dizziness and fatigue.

Rowena was hidden behind the corner of a nearby building as she watched Thor and Loki, who was better known to her as The Phantom Watchman. She had come looking for The Phantom shortly after Thor had disappeared from the skies, hoping to cause a distraction so that perhaps her beloved partner would not be caught. But now she looked on in bewilderment as she processed what she had overheard.

"Prince Loki is The Phantom Watchman? This almost does not seem possible! He is in prison, or was, and he is reportedly a trickster and lier, why would he want to help the poor?" As she continued to peek around the corner at them, The Phantom leaned with his good hand against a building and coughed wetly, while Thor continued to kept a firm hand on his arm.

"Brother we need to go to the palace, you need a healer," Thor firmly told Loki.

"Oh course, so you can put me in chains for good this time," Loki spat back at his brother.

"Since you have escaped multiple times, is that not the logical course of action to take next?" Loki didn't answer, but just stood their looking down at his crimson hand in silent contemplation.

"Come, Loki, let us go," Thor said gently as he tugged at Loki's arm. Loki slowly followed, still looking down at his hand as if he were in a daze.

Rowena slipped back behind her corner into the deepest of shadows as they passed her by, and then silently moved to follow them to the palace. Being a noble woman, the guards would know her and let her in, though she determined it would be best if she entered through a different gate then the ones her quarry would go through, just to be safe.