As Sophie watched, the figure of light solidified into a woman. Sophie got to her feet quickly, feeling outraged that this...being...just punched through the living room wall, into her home, uninvited! Just as she was ready to step forward and smack the intruder, the service stairwell door burst open, and a man dressed in a very distinctive uniform stepped in.

"I don't think Fury wanted us to go about it this way," he said to the other stranger.

"Here on behalf of that cyclops?" Loki's voice said scornfully as he came up beside Sophie.

She spared him a glance enough to see he was outfitted fully in his armor, including his horned helmet. Sophie wasn't sure how she felt about them at first, but eventually decided it suited him. The effect was rather intimidating, and he carried it off well. She was looking back at the intruders, the man opening his mouth for a pithy retort no doubt. Sophie threw up her hands.

"Enough!" she shouted, "Who the fuck – "

"Language!" the strange man interrupted her.

Sophie pursed her lips, her brows arching, eyes narrowing.

"Whom the fuck – "

"No," the man put his face in one hand.

Loki was smirking.

"Whatever," Sophie said scornfully, "You, I know. My dad just loves you, Captain America. But her I don't know. Either way, I don't recall inviting either of you, pretty sure no one else did either judging by your entrance. So...what makes you think you can just barge in here?"

"I'm Carol Danvers," said the woman, "And Rogers and I are here on behalf of Director Fury, and all of earth actually. To save it from him."

Sophie took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself down.

"I'm surprised to find you awake, Sophie," Loki said out of nowhere, giving Sophie a perplexed look.

"It's not a big deal, I woke up."

"Not from the noise of Danvers making her entrance," Loki frowned, "You couldn't have gotten dressed so quickly."

Fuck.

"Well, no, it's not from that – "

"Then what?"

Maybe he'd dismiss it as just a dream, or think she was crazy. Because she couldn't lie to him. Well, she could, but she didn't want to. He wouldn't take it seriously anyway.

"I had a dream of her coming."

"Before it happened?"

"Yes."

"You have visions?"

Well crap. He did believe her.

"Only in my dreams. Hardly anything useful."

Loki was looking at her in a way she didn't like.

"You never told me this."

"You never asked. Besides, it's not important."

"I beg to differ!"

"Alright!" Danvers interrupted, "You can argue about this from jail. He's coming with us."

Sophie immediately stepped in front of Loki, putting herself between him and Danvers.

"No," she said calmly.

"No? By what authority do you have any say in this?"

"By what authority do you have to come in here and take him? In case you haven't noticed, he's literally king of the world. Pretty sure he outranks this Director Fury, whoever he is."

"He's a tyrant!"

"That's your opinion. And maybe that of Roger's and Fury's. But what makes your opinion any weightier than anyone else's? Besides, can he really be so terrible, if he took over Midgard with no physical violence?"

"He threatened them!" Rogers interjected.

"That's still a much more peaceful way of gaining power than we can say of many of our former world leaders when they wanted something. He's not as bad as you think. He's been doing rather well so far, I can tell you from first hand experience. Just give him a chance, yes?"

Rogers and Danvers exchanged glances.

"No," they said simultaneously.

"Alright, consider this then. There are worse things out there. You think the two of you alone are enough to protect this world from them? Or would Loki and his entire army be better suited to that task? Bonus points if you'd stop this nonsense and join us."

They stopped and seemed to consider this.

"Other threats?"

"Yes. There are other worlds out there besides our own. How arrogant are you to think Midgard is the only one?"

"Fury was putting together a team for just such a purpose," Danvers mused, "But... it didn't exactly work out."

"So our best bet is this guy?" Rogers asked, clearly unhappy with the idea.

"Tell you what," Sophie said, making a gesture with both hands as if smoothing out the air in front of her, "Why don't you stay here and get some first hand knowledge of your own? I certainly wouldn't trust Loki in your shoes, or the input of someone clearly on his side. So stay and see the changes he's making, for the better I might add, for yourself."

"I don't agree to – " Loki began, at the same time Danvers spoke.

"I seriously doubt – "

"I wasn't extending the offer to both," Sophie interrupted, projecting her voice to be heard over them without shouting, "I was addressing Captain America, and only him."

"WHAT?" That was from both Loki and Danvers.

"Why not me too?" Danvers asked.

"Because I don't like you," Sophie said frankly.

She didn't know why, because she hadn't even known Danvers for that long. But something about her made Sophie's hackles rise. The less she saw of Danvers, the happier she would be.

"This is my building," Loki said.

Sophie turned to look at him. She said nothing, only stared, but he got the message. Playing host to Rogers may not be what he wanted, but it was, at the very least, a temporary solution to the current problem, which could potentially lead to a permanent resolution between all parties involved. Loki sighed.

"Very well," he agreed.

"Go back and update Fury," Rogers said to Danvers, "Tell him not to make any rash moves. I'll scope it out and report back when I've made a decision."

"And in the meantime?" Danvers demanded, "He could kill you!"

"I'll call in. Nightly."

"God forbid you miss muster," Sophie muttered.

Rogers gave her a curious look as Danvers rolled her eyes.

"Fine."

Danvers flew back through the wall she'd created. Loki threw Rogers a withering glare and summoned a servant to show the solider to his room. Sophie resumed her trek to the library, but she didn't notice Loki was following her until he spoke.

"What else have you been keeping from me?"

Sophie turned to look at him incredulously.

"I didn't keep it from you," she protested, "It just didn't seem relevant enough to announce."

All this over some dreams? Loki glared at her.

"What else, Sophie? I'm willing to bet visions aren't the end of what you can do."

"Alright. Fine. I'm a wizard."

"I didn't think there were any left on Midgard."

"There's not, not in the way you're thinking. My magic is not on the scale that yours is, it's more like probability enhancement rather than 'I'll kick your ass'. Either way, I had to learn what I know on my own."

"And what is it, exactly, that you know?"

"Quite a bit. Firstly, the term 'wizard' means wise one, and can be applied to both men and women. In addition to vision dreams, I can control my dreams even without waking, but not the vision ones, what's up with that? I have some minor control over the weather, I can create energy shields, and go unnoticed when I wish. I'm skilled in sympathetic magic, I can heal in certain ways, mostly through herbs but through channeling energy as well. I'm good with animals, and I know a thousand random and seemingly useless things, otherwise known as lore. I can tell fortunes, interpret dreams, exorcise beings, cast and break various spells. And that's just a list of my abilities that I can think of off the top of my head."

"And...you taught yourself that magic?"

"Yes, I did. There was no one around to teach me, and when I want something, I usually get it."

Loki shook his head slowly.

"You are truly unlike other Midgardians."

Sophie smirked at him.

"Well, of course. There's only one of me, after all. Each of us is unique in our own ways."

"Mmmm," said Loki, a note of skepticism in the sound, "Well, enjoy your books, kitten."

Sophie sighed, frustrated, as he turned away.

"I'm not a kitten!"

"Oh, I disagree. A solitary nature, cleanliness, fastidiousness, a propensity for roaming at night...all qualities that you and cats seem to share."

Sophie muttered something uncomplimentary under her breath and went to grab a book from the shelf. Just the way he walked was annoying, hands in his pockets, that swaying, swaggering gait... she wanted to thump him upside the head. She settled for curling up in her chair by the fire and reading for a few hours, letting the book take her mind to a far off place where the circumstances had nothing to do with her. The cold was what roused her. Noticing the fire was out, the next thing she noticed was that the room was starting to get lighter, the sun was rising. Sophie yawned and put aside her book, stretching out her limbs in a long, luxurious stretch. When she realized she had seen cats do this many times before, she stopped immediately. Smug, stupid viking god.

The book back in it's place, she made her way back to her room to wash her face and dress in more appropriate clothes to face the day in. Cleanliness, Loki's voice taunted her in her head as she washed her face. Sophie scowled at her reflection. Fuck off, she told the memory ghost in her mind. Just in case it really was Loki, Sophie shoved the thoughts of him out and slammed down a wall around her mind to keep him out. Whether it was really Loki speaking to her in her mind or if it was simply her remembering his words from before and connecting them to the behaviors she exhibited, her mental shields worked. She got dressed without further mental inputs and went to join the real, solid Loki in the dining room for breakfast.

She downed more coffee than food, needing the caffeine because of her limited sleep from the previous night. And then she noticed Captain America wasn't at the table with them. When she asked Loki about it, he rolled his eyes.

"Bad enough I must play host to that halfwit, I refuse to dine with him too."

"Which reminds me, we need to talk about the problem they present."

"They?"

"Rogers, Danvers, Fury...what happens if Rogers can't or won't convince them to back off? If they decide to try and take you out anyway? We need some sort of plan. Forgive me but something tells me they are a match for your army."

"What are you suggesting?"

"It seems to me that for our plan B, we either need a way to tip the scales back in our favor, or we need to strike in a way they can't block."

"Meaning?"

Sophie took a sip of her coffee, and Loki's eyes narrowed as he recognized she was stalling. Whatever she was about to say, he wouldn't like it.

"Your brother, from all accounts, was a truly formidable warrior, like Rogers and Danvers are. Stands to reason that anyone capable of taking down someone like Thor could also take out Rogers and Danvers."

Loki's lips pulled back in a sneer. He definitely didn't like what she just said.

"Are you purposing that I use my brother's murderer to eliminate current threats to my power?"

"Um...I suppose so, yes. He won't do it just because you ask him to though, you'd have to offer him something in exchange. Maybe a pardon for – "

"No," Loki interrupted, "Absolutely not."

Sophie sighed.

"Loki..."

"That man is not going to be pardoned for slaughtering my brother. He's going to be executed in the most brutal fashion I can devise."

"But if he could help us deal with – "

"I'll find another way."

"I'm not saying you'd have to keep your end of the bargain. Lie to him, I don't care. I'm with you, he deserves to die. But we could still use him – "

"I said no, Sophie. That's the end of the matter."

Sophie's mouth went tight at his tone, but she bit her tongue and sipped her coffee. It wasn't the end of the matter, not until the man that killed his brother was actually dead. It was just the end of the conversation, for now. Just like it was a bad idea to question a king in public, it was also dangerous to push him too far in private. Sophie would give him some time to cool off and realize they needed an advantage over their enemies, then revisit the idea of using Thor's killer to do their bidding.

"I'm sorry," Sophie said at last, her voice quiet, "I'm asking you to do something extremely difficult. I can't imagine what it would be like to work with the person that killed my brother. I don't have one, you see. So of course I didn't think of the impact that would have on you."

Loki didn't answer for the longest time. She thought it was over, when he finally spoke.

"Someone very wise once told me I should stop being so selfish and think of others for a change. And it is a king's duty to care for his subjects. I can't do that if I'm deposed. I recognize your concerns over our current predicament, and from a logical standpoint your solution makes sense. But I cannot bring myself to do it. Regardless, I will find another way of dealing with the situation."

Sophie nodded. It was the best she could hope for, for now. Thinking of Thor, Loki thought it was truly regretful that he was no longer around. If he had his brother on his side, with his power, they could take on anything, even Danvers and Rogers. If he just had Thor back... that gave Loki an idea. He could never have his brother back, but maybe there was another way to get such a powerhouse on his side. He left the breakfast table to look into his theory, and when Sophie finished her food, she went to work on a painting in her room. She was actually terrible at drawing and painting, and this canvas was a paint by number...but she loved the feel of putting paint on canvas, enjoying the brush against the material.

She had the TV on to fill the silence while she painted, but even that didn't help her keep track of time. The soft knock on the door was what made her look up from her task, frowning with curiosity. That was the most polite knock she had ever heard. It had to be Rogers. She took a moment to put down her paint materials and turn the TV off, checked herself in the mirror for an instant to ensure there was no paint on her very expensive clothes...which there weren't, because she was always slow, neat, and careful when painting. Sure enough, it was Rogers behind the door.

"Ah, Mr...Rogers," Sophie paused, then shook her head to banish the mental image that conjured, "What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to talk to you, actually. Just... about general things. I'm uh...a little out of my depth here."

Sophie stared at him for a moment, unsure what he was referring to, then remembered that last she checked, Rogers went into the ice in 1945. Very, very different time than 2011.

"I see. Um, well... let's talk somewhere other than my bedroom."

Her bedroom was her space. And she was a bit old fashioned enough to be not entirely comfortable to have a man alone with her in her boudoir. Rogers seemed to appreciate this, as she could practically see the tension drain out of his shoulders. He was still in that tight star spangled uniform too...it had to be ridiculously uncomfortable. Loki might give him a place to sleep, but that seemed to be as far as he was willing to go. It would be up to Sophie to dress Rogers in an appropriate manner for the twenty first century. Wonderful.

"Why come to me?" Sophie asked as they moved to the living room, "There must be plenty of others here you could ask about living in a time that you're not used to."

"Maybe. But...I don't know...I feel like I might connect to you more."

"Oh? Why so?"

"It's what you said last night, about missing muster. You wouldn't happen to be in the Army, would you?"

"Navy, actually. And not anymore. And I'm not from 1945."

"Ah, a sailor. That explains the swearing...but still, I'm pretty sure you can get where I'm coming from on a lot of stuff."

Most likely, he was correct. But they'd see.

"You know," Sophie said suddenly, "There's far too much of a difference between our times for me to explain it all to you. It's something you have to experience for yourself. To that end, I think we need a little outing."

Rogers lifted his brows.

"I'm starting to feel very apprehensive about this."

Sophie grinned at him.

"You're smarter than you look."

She promptly whipped out her phone and called her friend Ava.

"Whatcha doin'?" Sophie asked.

"Not much. Why?"

"Need you to help me with something."

"You feeling okay?"

"Okay, it's not really for me. I'm bringing a guy over, we have to get him a decent wardrobe. It's gonna take a while, might have to get lunch too. It's on me."

"Oooh, is this the guy that you banged last time we talked?"

"No, dumb ass. Still haven't had sex with a man and not my vibrator in like four years. Besides, he's blonde. Not my type. You might like him though. So take a shower, we're coming over to pick you up."

Ava happily agreed, and Sophie hung up. Rogers was giving her a strange look.

"What?" Sophie asked.

"You insult her and expect her to still help?" he asked.

"Oh. Well, yeah, we do that with each other, we know it's not personal, no offense taken. Besides, that's not the worst I've done to her."

"Why treat a supposed friend so abominably? Is this common to this time period?"
"No. It's common for me. It's because...look, I don't make friends easily, and I don't make it easy to be my friend. I'm like the puppy of a renowned hunting dog that's been mistreated badly by every master it's ever had. I'm a gem worthy of some work, but I'll test you. Rigorously at first, and then randomly throughout our acquaintance. If you get angry and walk away frustrated, I know you're not the real deal. But if you surprise me and actually stick by me no matter how much of a bitch I am, well then. Then you'll gain a friend so fiercely loyal that I'd walk unarmed into a lion's den if you asked me to. Ava, she's the first and only one so far to stand by me through everything."

"And you talk about having...relations...so freely?"

Sophie smirked.

"I just told you, we have a very strong bond. I don't have many friends, for the reasons I just told you. I'm very selective. But it's the quality and not the quantity that counts. We can tell each other almost anything, talk about nearly anything. Including sex. Oh and uh, you'll find that plenty of other people can too. This isn't 1945. You're in for a shock, Rogers."

He smiled.

"You know, in spite of our differences, I think we'll get along rather well."

"Oh, that's just because I call you by your last name, like I'm sure your military buddies used to. Kinda hesitant to call you 'captain' or 'sir', 'cause I'm not entirely certain you're either. Did you actually earn that rank, or was it just a name they gave you for the shows?"

"It started out as just a name. But yes, I was actually promoted to the rank of O3."

Sophie lifted her brows. Jumping from E1 to O3 was a tremendous, ridiculous leap. Still, he wasn't exactly normal, and she guessed the circumstances hadn't been either, with a world war and everything.

"Well, I'm still not calling you 'captain' or 'sir' because I'm not in the military anymore, so," Sophie blew a raspberry at him.

Rogers laughed. They went down stairs and out the building to her car, where they drove to pick up Ava. The plump, frizzy haired red head eagerly got into the back of the car, and when she saw Rogers sitting in the front passenger seat, she lost it. Sophie had to listen to her squeals for two very long minutes before Ava started pelting Rogers with questions. Sophie smiled wryly at Rogers's bemusement as she drove. She could have warned him that Ava was far easier to become starstruck than she was, but his reaction was priceless, and Sophie didn't regret not telling him what to expect. This was going to be a very good day.