The next morning, Thor stumbled out of bed when he heard the voice of Loki calling his name. Instantly, he rushed to his brother's bedroom. Had Loki returned to normal at last? To Thor's surprise however, Loki was no longer a six month old, but rather around the age of three years old. Loki's eyes seemed even bigger now, and his raven hair was a scraggly mop on top of his head.

Thor could only grin at the boy as he lifted the child out of the crib into his arms. "Ah brother, what are we going to do with you?"

"I'm hungry, brather!" Loki exclaimed, looking slightly annoyed at kept from eating right away.

"Of course, Lokes. Let's go downstairs, shall we?" Thor chuckled.

The Thunderer hummed a little Asgardian tune as they rode the elevator down so to keep Loki calm. But the de-aged god didn't seem frightened at all.

"I want to walk!" Loki demanded. Thor put him down, and took him by the hand as they stepped from the living room into the kitchen. Bruce, Natasha and Clint were all awaiting breakfast, while Steve was at the stove. The Avengers all gaped at Loki as the pair appeared in the doorway.

"Good Morning, my friends!" Thor boomed in a tone that was much too joyful for this time of morning.

"Is that...Loki? Of course it is. Still has that imperious look on 'im." Clint muttered.

"Looks like we'll be shopping for some new clothes, I think." Natasha commented between bites of toast.

"Good Morning, Thor and Loki, by the way." Steve nodded to them both.

"I'd judge that he's about...three years old by my reckoning." Bruce commented, "I think a new bed is in order too. He'll need a toddler one." He quickly tapped at the Stark Tablet.

"What are you doing, friend Bruce?" Thor inquired, as he took a seat at the table.

"A little research." Bruce responded, not looking up to answer.

Loki was still frowning, but now his arms were crossed over his chest. "I'm hungry, brother!" He stomped his foot impatiently.

Thor put up his hands plaintively, "Okay, Loki, my apologies." He swept the boy up and placed him in the high chair, which earned another indignant look. "I'm sorry, Loki, but you're yet too small for the table."

Bruce got up and went to the stove, "I'll make Loki some oatmeal with some banana, I think that'd be best for him." It took only a few moments for the physicist to return with a small bowl and spoon. Along with this was a small sippy cup with orange juice in it, which he placed in front of the toddler, while Steve served the adults.

Thor looked over to Loki's bowl of oatmeal and slices of bananas. Puzzled, he said, "That is a small portion of food, Bruce."

"A child's stomach is much smaller than an adult's, Thor. We don't want him to over-eat. Besides, when Loki returns to normal, he won't be happy if he weighs an extra ten pounds. " Loki took up the baby spoon, holding it awkwardly and put it in his mouth. Some of the group looked baffled and shook their head.

"Hm...I wonder..." Bruce mused, "I want to try something." He looked to the toddler. "Loki? Can you tell us our names?"

Loki blinked for a moment, then began to point, "Thor broder." He announced, pointing at the Thunder God. Then he pointed to each around the table, "Bruce, Steve, 'Tasha.." He stopped at Clint and seemed to think for a moment, then blurted out "Lego!" For a moment, all them seemed perplexed, looking at the archer. Then Clint slapped his forehead, "Tony calls me, Legolas." He grumbled, before going back to his scrambled eggs.


After a morning of somewhat frantic shopping, both Loki and Tony went to take a nap. Several hours later, late in the afternoon, Thor decided to take Loki to the local park.

"Before you do that, Thor..." Natasha started, then ducked next to the left side of the couch in the living room and re-appeared. She was holding a fire engine red tricycle with a white seat. She set it down in front of him and both he and Thor looked puzzled. "What is that, Lady Natasha?" Thor inquired, bending down to examine the bicycle's frame with some curiosity.

"A Tricycle. It's..." she paused, trying to think of an appropriate analogy "It's like riding a horse, but with wheels." At the bemused look of the others she just shrugged, then patted the seat "C'mon Loki sit here." The toddler regarded it for only a moment before doing so. A moment later, Natasha said very quietly, "Now we won't let you get hurt, okay?" She then put his feet on the pedals while holding the bike still and showed him the motion of pedaling. This done, they watched as he was let go, to petal around the hardwood floors of the kitchen in small circles. His green eyes lit up with delight at this new discovery. A sheepish smile appearing when he accidently hit the dishwasher head on.

Much to everyone's surprise, and Thor's delight, Loki was soon riding around the halls with only a few bumps into the wall.

Bruce's eyebrows rose. "Thor, I think that Loki is a gifted child. Most kids master riding a trike in weeks if not months; Loki's done it within an hour."

Thor just raised his shoulders. "Loki has always be advanced in learning. Mother has often told me that he learned how to walk and speak faster than I did."

When he had made a circuit on the common floor, they decided that it would be safe for Loki to ride outside, provided that Thor looked after him. Natasha strapped a green helmet to his head. "For safety, we don't want to to fall and get hurt." she explained to him in a gentle but firm tone. "You can take it off when you're at the playground, but you have to wear it when you're riding you're bike, okay?" Loki nodded. Thor just gaped at her.

She smiled slyly, "Who do you think bought bikes for Clint's kids and taught them how to ride them?" Taking out her phone, she directed Thor to kneel next to Loki and the bike while she got a picture.

Nearly an hour later, Thor returned, holding the sleeping mass of Loki in one arm, and the tricycle in the other. He looked almost as tired as Loki did. When he stepped into the common room, Bruce looked up from the documentary he was watching.

"How'd it go, Thor?"

A momentary stormy look on the Thunderer's face was enough to concern Bruce. "He did well on his bike. When we got to the playground, he demanded that the older children bow and obey him. They pushed him down, then Loki...turned them into frogs."

Bruce's mouth dropped slightly.

"Luckily, there were few parents around. Some were preset, though they seemed busy on their mobile phones you humans seem obsessed with." Bruce still gawked, so Thor continued, "I told Loki to turn them back right away, or he would receive a stern talking to by all the Avengers. I also lectured him that there is a time and place for his magic, and that people disobeying him is not reason to turn them into animals. That seemed to do the trick as you mortals say. He returned them to their human forms and we left the park. Loki seemed tired from his...trick, hence why he is asleep."

Nodding, Bruce still sat a little gobsmacked as Thor turned and took the elevator, and took Loki up their floor. He could only shake his head, and return to the documentary.

TBC...


A/N: Sorry it took so long to write this; I had a virus on my computer that locked up some of my keys and made it impossible to write! I know I said this would be the last "baby" chapter, but I really want to write one more.

I have a picture of myself on a trike with my grandpa next to me, and that's what kind of what inspired that part of this chapter. I actually had to look up how to teach a child to ride a trike! LOL