"Father, you cannot keep him locked in the palace for the rest of his life!"

"I do not intend to."

"Very well, how long do you plan on keeping him here?"

"As long as I feel is necessary to ensure the safety of those around him."

"It has been four years since that one misunderstanding! And he has done nothing of any concern since."

Loki sat quietly outside Odin's study, reading a book, but not actually taking in any of the words on the page. He must have reread this paragraph fifteen times by now. Somehow he'd absorbed that said paragraph was about Midgardian theories of time travel. It was surprising that they were so interested in visiting their past when they'd scarcely begun to prepare for their future. The Mad Titan was no laughing matter and when Thanos wanted something he always got it.

"Four years only? That is not enough to be considered even a slap on the hand for the things he has done." Odin drawled.

"Yes, he let the Jotuns into Asgard and yes, he played a role in the Battle of New York, but both situations were not his fault completely. I was the one who initiated the problem with the Jotuns in the first place, was I not? Why am I not to be punished as well?"

"My son, your words are honorable, but it would be foolish of me to take you from your duties protecting the realms. It would do more harm than good."

There was a loud growl from Thor, a sound Loki hadn't heard since before things had gone bad between them. The crown prince of Asgard rarely let his temper get the better of him these days.

"Loki was raised to protect the realms as well. Give him a chance. We could stand together in battle and do more than I could alone. Why do you not see reason?"

"Because he thinks he's the smartest man in the universe and he won't be told off by anyone beneath him. Really Thor, I thought you knew this." Loki muttered from outside, turning the page of his book.

"We will continue this conversation later or else we'll be late for the feast." Footsteps sounded in the direction of the door, but halted at the sound of Thor's voice.

"I don't believe I am coming to dinner. In fact, I think I will say my farewells to Mother and get back home. Do not expect to hear from me any time soon."

Loki's eyes widened and he snapped the book shut. He jumped to his feet and stared when his brother exited the study with a rigid scowl on his face. Lengthening his stride to keep up with the obviously furious prince, Loki tried to comprehend what had just happened.

"Thor," He hissed, "What are you doing?"

"He asked me, after the invasion by Ultron, if I wanted to take up my rightful place as king. I refused him, thinking none could do his job better than he. Now I dearly wish that I had accepted."

"Do not create a rift between yourself and Odin on my account," Loki tried to lighten the mood a little, "Besides, he'll be dead soon enough and then you can do whatever you like."

Thor shot a glare at his brother and Loki realized joking about the death of one's father was not something reformed criminals were supposed to do. He winced but kept walking.

"So, what is your plan then? Leave Asgard and don't come back until he starts doing what you want him to? That might be a while."

And, he thought to himself, Then I would be all alone here.

"What else can I do?" Thor stopped and put a hand on his brother's shoulder, "I miss you, brother. Why can't Father see reason unless it suits him to?"

"As much as I hate to admit it, he does have generally good motives," Loki said quietly, "Perhaps he has some plan in mind and it simply has not come to fruition."

"I do not see the good in letting you waste away in the palace. I know you could do so much more if you were not confined here. Whether Father believes it or not, you have changed."

Loki spotted a look in Thor's eyes that only ever meant trouble. The blond prince had had the same look right before attacking Jotunheim. And then there was the time, back when Thor and Jane had been still dating, when some idiot named Dr. Doom had been foolish enough to capture Jane. Thor had come to ask Loki for strategy plans and had the same gleam in his eye then as well. To be sure, Doom was sufficiently punished, but Thor also broke many Midgardian laws in the process and was suspended from the Avengers for two months.

"Whatever you are thinking about, stop it," Loki warned, "Odin will be furious if you go against his word so don't try anything foolish."

"Perhaps making him furious is exactly what I want to do right now."

"Do you want him to take me off probation and toss me back in my cell? Because you know he'll blame me for whatever scheme you are thinking of attempting. And you're not listening."

Thor's pace quickened and Loki had to rush to keep up with him.

"I've come up with the perfect plan."

"I have only the highest doubts about that. Slow down and talk about this! If you are going to do something stupid then at least tell me so I can help you avoid getting caught."

"No, no. This plan only works if you have no idea what it entails." Thor had a wicked grin on his face now and Loki was getting ready to rush back to Odin and tell him to do something about it.

"You can't-"

"I will see you soon, but first I must collect something."

"Thor!" Loki shouted as his brother sprinted off, "Blast."

Heimdall was minding the business of everyone in the world peacefully when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned to see Thor with a large smirk on his face and an even larger bag slung over his shoulder. The bag was thrashing about wildly. The Gatekeeper raised an eyebrow.

"My prince," He clamped a fist to his chest, "Returning to Midgard so soon?"

"Yes, Father and I had a bit of a falling out. Besides, we are closing on the house soon and that will be a very busy time for Jane and I." Thor set the bag down and kicked it. Whatever was in it started wriggling about even more and then began to glow a green hue.

Heimdall sighed.

"My prince?"

"Hmm?"

"What is in the bag?"

"Uh…"

Thirty-two Minutes Earlier

"Brother? Could I ask you a question?" Thor stepped into Loki's chambers carrying what appeared to be a blanket in his hands.

"Does this question have anything to do with whatever ill conceived plan you came up with?" Loki looked away from the card tower he was building.

"Noooo…" Thor smiled innocently, "Not at all. I was just mixing a potion and I wondered if I did it correctly."

"You? Mixing a potion?" Loki scoffed, "Best let me have a look unless you wish to kill us all."

"Here, it's supposed to be a silencing potion, but something is missing." Thor held out a beaker to his brother. Loki took it and swirled it lightly.

"The color is off. Did you use fresh clover leaves or the dried ones from the cupboard?"

"Fresh."

"And the stardust?"

"From Mother's secret stash."

"Then I see no reason it should be this color," Loki furrowed his brow at it, "And frankly I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be touching it considering my probation."

"Come now, you are just giving me advice. You aren't actually making the potion," Thor took the beaker back and eyed it, "Wasn't there a personal ingredient I needed too? Like an eyelash from the person drinking it?"

"Don't be ridiculous, eyelashes are never used in potions," Loki rolled his eyes, "You need saliva."

"Oh!" Thor nodded, "Of course. I shall have to go collect some."

"Who is it for?" Loki asked curiously.

"Err," Thor froze, "Fandral. He has been driving the ladies of the court mad and I thought this might shut him up for a bit. I'll slip it in his mead."

"Ha," Loki went back to his card tower, "I'm surprised I never thought of doing that."

"Before I go, would you like one of these Midgardian candies I brought with me? I know you like Jelly Beans immensely."

"Thank you," Loki smiled and took the bag of candies from his brother, "The peach are especially good."

"Hmm, yes." Thor was watching him eagerly so Loki grabbed a peach one and popped it in his mouth. The moment he bit down, though, he knew something was wrong.

"Gaaah! Norns!" He gagged on the bean as his mouth was filled with the taste, not of peach, but something akin to vomit. Desperate to get the taste out of his mouth he spit the candy out into his hand. Before he could find a way to dispose of the bean Thor snatched it away and put it in the beaker filled with silencing potion.

"So sorry, brother, must have given you the wrong bag of candy. Those are called Bean Boozled… it's a game involving purposefully bad tasting sweets. Horrible, isn't it?"

Loki was still gagging. He knocked over his card tower to grab a glass of water that was behind it and swished some water around in his mouth.

"Water alone will never rid you of the taste…" Thor grinned and held out his beaker, "Try this!"

Loki wasn't thinking. His tongue had been violated and he would try anything to get rid of the vile lingerings of the candy. He chugged whatever his brother put in his hand right as he realized what his brother had put in his hand. He stood up abruptly and intended to yell at Thor, but no sound came out.

"Oh no! I must have handed the silencing potion to you by mistake. How foolish of me," Thor ignored Loki's silent murderous glares and began to unfold the cloth he had with him, "So oafish, I'm sure you'd agree. Terribly sorry. 'My bad' as the humans say."

Attempting to yell profanities while Thor calmly opened up the fabric into a bag, Loki began to put two and two together. He quickly dodged out of the way right as Thor lunged forward with the bag. Unfortunately, he wasn't quite quick enough to avoid the second swipe and he soon found himself in a very uncomfortable position within a stuffy bag.

Present:

"Your Highness, what is in the bag?"

"A baby Bilgesnipe. I promised Banner I would bring one back for him to study."

"You are not a very good liar, my prince." Heimdall said.

"I'm not lying. I'd best get back now. Could you open the Bifrost?"

"Could you leave the bag behind?"

"I'd prefer not to."

Thor picked up the bag again, prepared to fight his friend and make a run for it, though he wasn't sure that he could effectively operate the machinery. But, he didn't have to do anything drastic, as it turned out. Heimdall merely shrugged, turned, and opened the portal back to Midgard.

Nodding his thanks, Thor hoisted the bag containing the "bilgesnipe" over his shoulder and stepped toward the portal.

"Just so you know, it is my duty to tell the King of what I have seen," Heimdall said gravely, "I am sure he will be irritated that you have taken such a wild creature with you to Midgard. Bilgesnipe can be incredibly unpredictable."

"I will keep that in mind, thank you."

And with that, the crown prince and his thrashing bag stepped into the portal and traveled back to the middle realm.

A/N: Yeah, so four years have passed since the dance studio incident. Should be fun to write a five year old Tova. Imagine all the trouble she'll get into now that she can talk in complete sentences!

Thanks for reading! :)