The next chapter! I hope you like it, please let me know what you think! As always thanks to everyone who read the last chapter and left a review, you're awesome! Though writing longer reviews instead of 'Update please' would also be possible and much appreciated, I might mention ;)

I've been thinking about a song for this chapter for a long time. In the end, I decided that this one won't be about the story. 'When We Stand Together' by Nickelback, together with 'Someone Singing Along' by James Blunt. My thoughts are with the people in the Ukraine in times like this.

I don't own the characters or places!

Tony

Loki was late to our practice. The others didn't seem to notice yet, still lost in several conversations about topics like our new outfits, the museum they were building in Brooklyn or our show. But I did notice it. In fact, I was getting a little impatient, wanting to start as soon as possible. Virginia Potts would watch the show the next day and we had to be in top shape.

The others were already wearing their costumes and I smiled when I looked at them. Our tailor had outdone himself – especially Anne in the violet suit looked stunning, though I wasn't sure if the wig was really necessary. It didn't fit Peter's outfit completely, but I didn't think that we had to change anything about that. Somehow, his red and blue suit with the cobwebs made a good counterpart.

Steve also looked good and I had to smile when I thought of all the ladies who were probably going to approach him after the show. We'd decided to name him 'Captain America' since his costume represented the colours of our country, with a big star on his chest. It had been Rhodey's idea. I knew that Steve felt embarrassed by his new title, but he didn't complain.

Thinking of Rhodey: he wasn't wearing a costume since he wasn't an official part of the show. He would be doing several things backstage to keep everything going, but he wouldn't step into the spotlight. We had a long discussion about this back when we first started this whole thing. I knew that he would be good at this, but he insisted that he would be of more use out of the spotlight. In hindsight, it had been a very good decision. He was a very essential part of our show, even if no one saw him.

"Something must have come in between." Someone whispered next to me and I turned around to see Phillip standing next to me. "Normally, Tom is never late."

"Probably." I agreed with a sigh. "But today isn't good for being late. We have to start soon."

"We could start without him."

"He's the first one to step out into the ring, remember?" This had also been a long discussion. Deciding who should introduce the whole show. Of course the first choice had been me, but since I was also the main act, we'd decided that it should be someone else in the end. And who would be the better to start a magic show than Loki, the god of mischief?

Phillip sighed and looked around. "I'm sure he'll be here soon." I noticed that he stiffened when his eyes fell on Anne and Peter who were talking about a friend of theirs – Ted? Ned? Whatever – but I decided not to comment on it. They had to figure this out by themselves.

"I hope so." I muttered and at the same time, I heard the sound of a door being opened. It was the one to the dressing room. Seconds later, Loki ran down the stairs, already dressed in his dark green costume.

I wasn't the only one who heard him coming. Slowly, all the conversations ended and the others also turned to our last member who was too late today.

"I'm sorry I'm late!" Tom exclaimed loudly. "Something happened on my way here."

"Don't say you've found a beautiful lady to spend the afternoon with!" Rhodey said with a grin.

Loki snorted. "You should know by now that spending time with a lady isn't my favourite activity." When we were alone, Loki didn't keep it secret that he wasn't interested in women. In fact, he was already having a partner he always met in secret. His name was Chris. Tall, blond, blue eyes, muscular... I thought that he would be a great addition to the show. However, Loki had refused to bring him along so far.

"But I indeed spend the afternoon with a lady and her companion." Loki added loudly and turned to me, ignoring the surprised looks of the others. "Her name was Virginia and she was with her uncle Phil. They got lost on their way back to the hotel and since I'm a true gentleman, I offered to show them the way." He smiled widely, already knowing how I would react to those news.

For a few moments, I simply stared at him, trying to process the news. "You..." I shook my head slowly. "You spent the afternoon with Virginia Potts?!" I didn't even try to hide the disbelief in my voice. Next to me, Phillip stared at Loki, looking a little pale.

Loki held up his hands in a defensive gesture. "I only realized who she is later, when I was on my way back and heard someone talking about her." He admitted.

"What did you tell her?" Phillip wanted to know and crossed his arms. "If you didn't know who she is... Did you tell her anything about the show?"

"I didn't." Loki replied and in short words, he told us about his conversation with Virginia Potts and her uncle Phil. We all listened quietly. Luckily, Loki didn't even tell her that he was working for me. I was glad about that. Phillip also relaxed and I knew that he thought the same. Luckily, Loki didn't give her information she could use against us later.

"Come on, I'm not stupid." Loki said and crossed his arms. "I would never tell anyone about the show. After all, we're not very popular in certain parts of the city." He meant the rich people and I could see many of the others nodding in agreement. Again, I felt lucky that I had such an amazing team I could trust so much.

However, I also felt something else. Something I wasn't used to. The feeling had flared up inside me the moment Loki mentioned that he'd spend some time with Virginia Potts. I didn't recognize it at first, but I'd figured out very quickly what it was. Jealousy. Though I didn't understand it at all. Why should I feel jealous, of all things? I didn't even want to spend time with the woman who could ruin me within the next twenty-four hours.

"We should start now." I said loudly and clapped my hands, forcing my thoughts away from Virginia Potts. "You all know that tomorrow is a very important day for our show. Maybe even the most important one so far. A very hard critic of magic shows will be there to show the people what's real and what isn't. We have to prepared. This has to be the best show we've ever done. Otherwise, the article she'll write won't be good for us."

The others all nodded seriously.

"How do we know that she'll really just look at the part with the magic?" The question came from Anne.

"She said so herself." I described our meeting at the gala in short words. Of course without mentioning that I hadn't been able to stay away from her or that she made a strange feeling flare up inside of me.

"So it's all up to you." Peter noted, looking at me. "You're doing all the magic tricks."

"What about me?" Loki threw in and quirked an eyebrow. "I'm also involved in that part of the show."

"But that's the problem, isn't it?" Anne said, ignoring Loki's comment. "It's all a trick."

"And you think the other 'magicians' don't use tricks?" Rhodey raised his eyebrows. "There's nothing like real magic. She won't find anything, no matter how long she'll search for it."

Anne didn't look convinced, but she also didn't argue.

"I'm sure Mr. Stark can convince her that everything is real." Peter threw in and glanced at Loki apologetically. "No offence to you."

"Not taken." Loki shrugged. "I know that next to him, no one would notice me in the ring."

"Next to him, no one can stand a chance." Phillip said simply. "And that's why everything has to be perfect."

"Which is why we're here." I agreed loudly. "But you should never forget that I couldn't do this show without you all. You're also a very important part." I looked at all of them seriously. "I never thanked you for all of this."

"You don't have to." Rhodey argued. "If someone has to say thank you, it would be us."

"Very true." Anne agreed with a smile. "If not for you, I'd still be living on the streets."

"Like many others here." Bucky said.

"Or we would be unhappy." Phillip muttered thoughtfully.

"Or both." Steve nodded.

"So thanks to you." Rhodey finished with a smile.

For a few moments, we all looked at each other silently, enjoying the fact that we were in this together. But then I clapped my hands and the moment was over. "So let's get started! Tomorrow, we'll show this critic what real magic is. She'll be speechless, I promise you that much! We won't let her ruin us!"

My words were followed my cheers of agreement. I pointed at Loki. "You, into the ring, now. I'll get my coat."

"Oh, that famous coat." Anne whispered and next to her, Lettie, another one of my artists, chuckled.

"He's been so secretive about it!" Peter agreed. "I can't wait to see what it looks like."

"If you won't stop talking now, you'll only get to see it tomorrow!" I said over my shoulder, already on my way upstairs. When the whispering stopped immediately, I grinned to myself.

Later that evening, I was standing in the empty theatre and looked around thoughtfully. Tomorrow would be the most important day ever since we started the show. I knew that I'd said that before, but now it was true. I couldn't shake off the feeling that Virginia Potts' presence in New York would change everything. There was no turning back.

It was strange, thinking like this about someone I'd only met once. Someone I shouldn't even want to meet again. How could this be so important? Or were those just the nerves? The fear that she could ruin us? I knew that it should be that. Unfortunately, I wasn't so sure. Something that never happened to me before. Was I losing my mind or what was happening?

"You shouldn't be here anymore." A voice said into the silence surrounding me, making me flinch.

I tried to hide it and whirled around, not surprised to see Rhodey standing in front of me, a thoughtful look on his face. "Weren't you the one who said that we all should get a good night's sleep after rehearsal?"

"I said that to you." I pointed out.

"You're the most important part of this show, Tony." Rhodey pointed out, making me grimace. My best friend looked far too serious. "What's wrong? You've been distracted today."

I quirked an eyebrow. "Did I look distracted on stage?" I had the feeling that I'd been very good.

To my relief, Rhodey shook his head. "Not then, maybe. But otherwise. Some of the others don't notice it, but I know you, Tony." I could hear concern in his voice. "Ever since the news that this woman would come to New York reached us, you haven't been yourself."

"Nothing's wrong." I replied immediately. "I'm just stressed. Like everyone else in here."

"It's not just that." Rhodey argued quietly. "I saw the look on your face when Loki mentioned that he talked to her. That wasn't just stress."

"I was afraid that he might have told her something." I hoped that Rhodey would just believe this lie and drop the subject.

"Why don't I believe you?" Rhodey sighed deeply. "You should stay away from her. It will only cause problems."

"Who said that I didn't plan that anyway?" Would I really approach her again? When I realized that I couldn't just say no, I realized that Rhodey's fears might not be that unjustified after all.

"It would really be better if she'd leave after the show tomorrow." Rhodey crossed his arms. "We already have enough problems at hand." I knew that he meant all the people who were protesting against the show lately. There were more and more who didn't want to accept that I allowed 'outsiders', as they called them, to go on stage and perform there.

"Maybe we'll be so convincing that she'll leave immediately." I threw in, though I didn't quite believe it. "Then we can concentrate on those people again. And maybe plan something against the attempts of the Carlyle's to ruin us and get Phillip to come back to them."

"The Carlyle's will try everything to make her stay in this city." Rhodey said darkly. "I don't think it will be that easy."

"Don't you have faith in my acting skills?" I placed a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe we should both go home."

"Yes, and I'll accompany you." He announced. "Otherwise, you'll find something else to do to distract yourself. Then you won't get enough sleep and tomorrow, you'll look like someone -"

"Alright, I get it." I interrupted him quickly. "No need to wait until I'm home, mother." I teased him. "I promise to go to bed as soon as I arrive there."

We looked at each other silently for a few moments. Then Rhodey sighed. "Fine. But Tony... I'm worried."

"No need to be." I smiled widely. "Now come on, let's go." When I turned around to walk towards the door, I could feel his narrowed eyes on my back, but I ignored it.

The next day, everyone was nervous. I could feel the tension the moment I entered the theatre. Phillip was running around hectically, telling everyone what to do. Rhodey was checking everything to make sure that nothing would go wrong. Loki was helping Steve to get into his costume. The kid was jumping around restlessly under the disapproving looks of Anne. Lettie was singing softly, a new melody I didn't hear before. A few others were also running around or whispering with each other quietly. And then there was Bucky, standing in a corner with crossed arms and a dark look on his face.

Great. Just great. I just hoped that they all would try to get calm again until the show started.

I stood there for some time and watched them silently and so far, it seemed like no one noticed my presence. Or they decided to ignore it so far, I wasn't so sure. In the end, it was Phillip who saw me first. He didn't say anything and just mentioned for me to follow him to the office. Once the door was closed behind us, he sighed deeply. "They're all incredible nervous."

"I noticed." I said simply.

"You have to say something to make them calm down again."

"I already made my speech yesterday, remember?" I raised my eyebrows.

"That was a rather short speech." Phillip noted dryly.

"Not every speech has to be long." I said thoughtfully. "And honestly, they have every right to be nervous right now."

"Are you? Nervous?" Phillip asked simply.

"No." I replied and to my surprise, I meant it. "And you?"

"Of course I am!" He hissed. "This is the best chance for my parents to ruin everything we've been working for!"

"We won't let them." I reminded him softly. "We have a plan, remember?"

He laughed dryly. "A plan that depends on everything that woman will write. That's no plan, that's desperate."

"Then we're desperate." I shrugged. "It will work out, Phillip."

"And if it won't?"

"Then we'll make it work."

He ran a hand through his hair. "Sometimes, I envy you for your optimism."

"That's not optimism." I threw in.

"Ignorance, then. That doesn't make it better." He closed his eyes and for the first time, I noticed how tired he looked.

"You should get more rest before the show starts."

"I can't." Phillip said, shaking his head. "I'm needed here."

"There are others who would argue about that."

"Since I'm not part of the show, I know." He groaned. "You're really bad at lifting someone's spirit."

"I wasn't going to say that, but fine, if you want to believe it." I held up my hands. "I won't stop you." After a few moments of hesitation, I added: "You could still be part of the show."

"I've got nothing to show, remember?"

"I know you're working on something." I smiled slightly. "And I've heard you sing the other day."

"That must have been someone else."

"You've got a beautiful voice."

"Tony..."

I held up my hands. "I get it and don't worry, I'll not mention it again." I walked around the office slowly, chuckling to myself when I heard someone sing loudly downstairs. It was definitely Lettie. When I walked past the window, I stopped, suddenly feeling like I was being watched. When I looked outside, I froze. There was indeed someone watching me. Outside of the theatre, close to the building on the other end of the square, a woman was standing in the shadows. I already knew that she had green eyes.

"Tony, what's wrong?" Phillip asked and I blinked, turning to him.

"Nothing. I've just been thinking." I lied, hoping that he would believe it.

He looked out of the window without answering me and I followed his gaze, already expecting to see Virginia Potts still standing there, but she was gone.

"What about?" Phillip muttered.

"What your act would be like." I said simply and was glad when he started to tell me about a few of his ideas. I forced myself not to think of her again until late in the afternoon when the show would start.