Author's Note - Sorry for the delay in finishing this installment. This chapter really gave me a hard time, but I pushed through despite the bouts of writer's block, unruly characters and so many tiring rewrites. Best wishes to all, always.

Chapter Twenty-Seven - The Fall

Though no one accused Loki of setting Peeves loose on the unsuspecting public, the group still blamed him for the whole portal-related debacle. Darcy had plenty of time to brood on this fact between the hospital, her apartment and the frantic transition to Avenger Headquarters.

She wished she had a time-turner and could just rewind to before she'd told off King Odin and caused him to pay more attention to Loki's activities. That way Loki would be with her and not leaving again—forever.

Darcy wanted—no, needed—his influence and companionship, but admitting that to the Avengers might only make matters worse. Loki had manipulative tendencies, and Darcy didn't have the best track record for responsible decision-making. To keep Loki out of prison, certain individuals would have to be convinced that he could be both useful and compassionate to humanity. Perhaps with a few more people in his corner, the God of Mischief could somewhat redeem and reinvent himself in Odin and the Avengers' eyes.

Upon their arrival at HQ, the brainiacs scurried off to the lab with the remnants of broken mirror. Darcy tried to follow, but was deemed a distraction and shooed back out again. She couldn't give a quick hug or even a few words of encouragement to Loki before Bruce shut the door in her face.

"For rude!"

This Slytherin was kinda sick of being told what she could or couldn't do. Time to start pulling some strings, the girl decided, because if you're not the puppet master, you're just one of the puppets.

Those not in the laboratory, or still on site at the hospital, had collected in the rec room. When Darcy wandered in, she spotted Professor Lockhart hunched on a stool at the bar off to the left. He scratched down notes with a pen and stack of napkins. Excited mutterings and soft giggles of joy escaped him as he worked to capture the details of their battle. Interrupting him to weigh Loki's plight wasn't necessary, Darcy decided, since Gilderoy rarely cared about anyone beyond himself and the fraudster possessed no real influence outside his devoted fans.

Pepper had her hands full with the boisterous God of Thunder. In the attached kitchenette across the long room, Thor scavenged through cupboards and the refrigerator to amass a hoard of warrior-worthy snacks. From the tidbits of chatter Darcy deciphered, she guessed that they'd run out of whatever delicacy Thor craved most at the moment.

Luna and Little Jane sat on a couch in the central lounge area. Though they had access to a wide array of entertainments, the girls appeared engrossed in an urgent conversation. The two had expressed a willingness to help Loki the previous day, so Darcy would be dumb not to start this P.R. campaign with them. After all, the young Ravenclaws were smart, intuitive, generally well-liked and especially cute—a definite bonus.

Darcy sauntered over to drop into the armchair opposite. This action didn't interrupt really as the pair appeared to have already identified the problem and been awaiting her arrival.

Contemplation settled over Luna's features. "Loki can't win their trust by himself."

Little Jane agreed with a spreading frown. "You have a plan, right?"

"Yeah, sorta—but nothing solid, just yet," Darcy admitted. "Guess I kinda hoped you two would have some ideas."

"Well," Little Jane began, scooting forward, "who's the most sympathetic to him?"

"Us and Jane and Thor." Darcy cast a glance over her shoulder to catch the brother sweeping treats off the counter into a makeshift pocket he'd fashioned from his cape. "The Avengers think Thor is biased, though. And, of course, Jane will do anything for Thor."

Luna nodded, concluding, "We won't be enough then."

Thor strode toward them with the cape's overstuffed bulge swinging with the movement. Pepper trailed behind him, picking up the occasional muffin or fruit bar that tumbled free. "Never fear," the Asgardian declared as he came around Darcy's chair. "I have gathered the best items." He dropped the material, spilling the loot across the low table and onto the floor. Then with a wide, prideful grin, he added, "You're welcome," before any of them had time to react.

"Uh—thank you," Ms. Potts said with strained civility and placed her own offerings atop those on the table. She let out a soft sigh, reapplying her pleasant smile before waving Thor into the other armchair and easing onto the couch beside Luna. "Interesting day, huh?"

Thor snatched up a cherry pie at his feet, eagerly tearing into the wrapper. "You were very brave today," he complimented and held up his glazed treasure. "I salute you all."

They watched the ravenous demigod cram the entire pastry into his mouth before turning back to the silent Pepper. Darcy considered the woman's probing gaze. Pepper might consider herself a helpful Hufflepuff, but she had a knack for Ravenclaw analytics too.

"Do you think the others will be back soon?" Little Jane asked her.

"It will be a while yet." Ms. Potts scanned the group. "Why? What's up?" She had to be pondering every possibility, waiting for her moment to swoop in with well-intentioned advice to solve the problem.

"It's just—" emotion tweaked Darcy's voice "—Loki's trying to fit in and be good, but everyone hates him. So, Odin's gonna throw him back into the dungeons no matter what he does."

Pepper's smile dimmed, but she remained relaxed. "I see."

"Loki hurt a lot of people," Thor jumped in. "He was callous, self serving. We can't force people to forgive him." He made an earnest point, but it was hard to take the Thunder God seriously with his mouth half-full and flecks of the sugary coating caught in his beard.

"Loki didn't know any of us back then," Darcy argued. "Today he fought for us. He saved Jane from Peeves even. Doesn't that matter?"

"Of course it matters," Thor admitted while wiping at his face with a napkin handed over by Little Jane. "I don't think it will be enough, Darcy."

His remarks didn't appear to faze Pepper. The businesswoman was a powerhouse in both her role as President of Stark Industries and as the balancing force to Tony's rampant immaturity. She had to have a useful perspective to add to their discussion.

"Pepper, what do you think?"

"Loki's a complicated person," the blonde answered, "but what I saw today at the hospital, the way he engaged that crowd… He definitely has a knack for the theatrical."

Thor shrugged and reached for a sizeable sugar cookie with pink icing and rainbow sprinkles. "My brother has always been dramatic. He craves being the center of attention."

"So?" Darcy challenged. "He at least made those sick kids happy. You parade around breaking stuff and acting like everyone's hero all the time. He probably learned to be like that from you!"

His eyes narrowed at her, but Thor continued to unwrap the cookie. She grumbled and kicked at the leg of the table, resisting the urge to throw something at the glutton despite the excessive selection of available foods to choose from.

"Darcy," Pepper said, her authoritative tone warning her to cool down, "if you want to sway the team's opinions about Loki, you can't attack everyone. Make your case by emphasizing Loki's merits."

Luna straightened, catching their attention. "At Hogwarts he helped us all the time."

"Right." Little Jane added, "With our studies and bullies and Peeves, of course. Will anyone listen if we try to tell them that?"

Pepper's mouth twitched and she bit lightly at her bottom lip. "I don't know, girls. Maybe not."

"Then don't just tell them of his deeds," Thor stated next. He put the remaining cookie and napkin on the table's edge and pushed to his feet. Patting down his pockets, the prince finally withdrew the golden charm that had hung behind the mirror in Darcy's room. "Use the scryer's eye to show them."

Interfacing JARVIS's systems with the pocket dimension proved less difficult than the scholars first theorized. With the collaborative efforts, processing power, expansive network and sensor capabilities at their disposal, the group managed to weave a secure bridge between the magical and digital worlds in only a few hours.

"Portal stability at one hundred percent," the A.I. announced. "Firewalls are in place and secure."

With the group's sighs of relief, Loki stood, stretching his limbs and coaxing his mind to full wakefulness with the motion. He would have preferred to take a short stroll too, perhaps check on Darcy, but had promised to put forth his best efforts for the cause.

No time to rest. Move on to the next issue, Loki thought, rubbing his face.

When he dropped his hands, Loki found a circle of expectant gazes on him, Stark's the most adamant. This wasn't the sort of attention the prince had hoped to get from his involvement in this endeavor, but at least he wasn't in shackles—yet.

"Well, now we've got a doorway," Tony said, addressing Loki. "Let's crack it open for a peek."

"No." Loki angered at the Playboy Avenger. Could Stark really be so daft, so reckless and impatient after the morning's earlier mishaps? Did he believe that he'd not share some of the blame of whatever disasters occurred from this point forward?

"Why not?"

Bruce jumped in before Loki could arrange his thoughts. "Slow down, Tony. Let's not unleash anything else today, okay?"

Dr. Selvig looked up from his studies of Loki's grimoires. "There is a basilisk terrorizing Hogwarts Castle, if you recall."

Stark gestured to the state-of-the-art consoles. "JARVIS holds the keys to the kingdom now. He's not going to let anything through that doesn't belong."

"The entire framework needs evaluation!" Loki snapped. "Until we find out what went wrong in the first place, and the full extent of the malfunction, those firewalls don't budge."

Tony opened his mouth to continue the argument when Professor Snape stepped out of the distant corner, speaking with wizened authority. "I invite you all to get some fresh air. Perhaps fill in our companions on the progress that's been made."

"Good idea," Jane said, also rising to her feet. "I could use a bathroom break."

"I will begin the scans using the parameters already outlined," JARVIS suggested. "I estimate a quarter hour to complete the task based on the data load to be interpreted through the new matrix."

"Fine." Tony relented. "Take fifteen, guys."

The inventor/engineer slipped out of the lab with Bruce hot on his heels preaching about the need for caution. Erik and Jane also moved toward the door. The latter gave Loki's arm a supportive pat in passing. Erik only glared at the trickster before he exited.

"You stay," Snape commanded when Loki attempted to flee to the recreation room where the rest of their extended group had gathered.

Mildly surprised at the man's insistence, he halted, choosing to stand instead of retaking his chair. "Sir?"

"You have an opportunity here, a chance to better your outcome."

Loki shook his head, dropping his gaze to the books and notes. A year ago when Odin allowed Thor to bring him to Earth, he'd half-hoped to serve with the Avengers, believing his abilities could be useful to their cause. Plenty of time and bad blood had passed now for him to understand that joining the team was a fool's fantasy at best—a dream he needed to let go. They didn't want him then. They didn't want him now.

"I can't trick them into letting me stay, Professor. They expect deceit."

"Apologize. Admit your mistakes and shortcomings. Ask them to show you a better way?"

With an almost choking scoff, Loki stared back at him. His chest felt tight at the thought of what he proposed. "W-what? I can't bow down to them, grovel for mercy."

"Treat them as your saviors and they will believe. It's self preservation, Loki."

"It's weakness. I'd be their pet project, never an equal. No, no. Impossible."

Severus stepped closer, placing a hand upon Loki's shoulder. "Pride is often the downfall of great men. Do you think I would say any of this if I saw another path?"

"I won't do it." Loki felt sick and betrayed. Surely Severus Snape would not accept such advice if their circumstances were reversed. He backed away from the man he'd once seen as a hero.

Then as Loki turned, Captain Rogers leaned out of the shadows to partly block the doorway. His tense eyes and clenched jaws made it clear that he'd overheard them. Anger, fear, desperation, hopelessness—what a slippery descent his heart took in that moment before it plunged into a frigid, all-encompassing numbness.

"Don't bother with the threats or lectures, Captain," Loki said. "I have accepted my fate."

He sidestepped the super soldier, taking mere strides into the rec room when a new, unexpected scene stopped him in place. A crowd had formed in the seating area as images from Hogwarts played out before them, obviously conjured by a scryer's eye.

"Play the sorting part for them," Pepper requested and the image changed to Little Loki seated atop the stool with his eyes covered by the sentient headpiece of the school founder Godric Gryffindor. Then the view zoomed in and darkened as they spied upon the secret and highly personal exchange within the hat's dusty folds.

"You're not even a half breed. You're a full-blooded, severely stunted giant."

Loki couldn't feel the horror that tried to access his mind and heart. Nothing penetrated through the hard shell as Steve and Severus moved forward to flank him.

"Don't fret, lad. I was just surprised, that's all. There's still a place for you at Hogwarts."

"In Slytherin?"

"If that is where you wish to be. Though, Ravenclaw would surely benefit from your great mind, and the loyalty of the Hufflepuffs could soothe your troubled heart some."

"I want to be with my friend Darcy in Slytherin."

Loki noted the many faces that turned to look upon him in that moment. The truth was out now. They all knew, Snape included, that he wasn't even a proper, hat-picked Slytherin.

Friendship, heartache, despair—the God of Mischief and Lies and Schemes rejected these disruptive connections. He would no longer dip his toes into their pools or skip his heart across the surfaces in search of promise and acceptance.

With an abrupt about-face, the stunted, unwanted son of savage Frost Giants returned to the lab to await the scan results and, ultimately, his cage.