Loki knew he could have chosen a less conspicuous means of transportation but he had taken what was on hands, borrowing the Greys's horses with Damien as the boy had been very eager to help him. They took the shortest road to the near by town where the boy lived, riding through the fields and over the great hills and vales, crossing highways and causing a small chaos in the traffic. They rode like a pair of true equestrians, spurring their horses jumping over stony walls and small creeks, enjoying the wild riding in the nature. It had taken only half an hour when they finally arrived in front of a handsome old Victorian house alongside by one of the main roads of the town of Stafford. Their arrival aroused curiosity among the people passing by but they didn't let it bother as Damien and Loki dismounted and tied up their horses on to the black wrought iron fence like they would have done that everyday.

"Ouch! My bum is sore but it was worth it. We have to do that again, Loki! That was brilliant!" Damien said enthusiastically to the god of mischief, padding his horse fondly before leaving it. "I will bring you a couple of apples, girl."

"Indeed. I haven't had that much fun riding in a long time," Loki admitted and followed the boy, letting his gaze wander on the walls of the old, charming house. "Is there anyone home?" he asked a bit concerned for possible encounter with the rest of the boy's family. He didn't want to go intimidating the whole bunch. The old lady Grey had been left horrid enough.

"My sister might be, if she hasn't gone for shopping. But don't mind about her," Damien said and ran up a few stairs to the door, picking up his keys from his back bag. "Now you can meet Phantom, and I can show you the rest of my stuff," Damien told as he opened the dark wooden door and rushed inside and straight to upstairs.

Amused by the boy's enthusiasm Loki walked in and closed the door behind him, taking a short look at the small entrance hall he had entered, taking his time studying the apartment and some family photos on the walls while making his way towards the stairs. His thoughts had kept circling around in his mind and everytime they had returned to Emma and his time spent with her. He needed to find her. He needed to save her.

"Damien, I'm so going to kill you! You weren't supposed to come home today!" a teenage girl shrieked as she hurried into the entrance hall from the living room and nearly stumbled onto Loki.

He turned fast towards her and when she saw the tall, dark stranger standing in front of her instead of her little brother, she froze with a gasp, staring at him in fright. "W-who are you? How did you get in?" she stammered. The man was very tall, dressed strangely in black and green clothes with golden details and a long green cape like he would have been on his way into some comic-con. He didn't look like one who would have come to rob the place, though.

Loki had been prepared to pull out his daggers, but luckily hadn't done that. Calmness filled his emerald eyes as he beheld the girl, trying his best to act friendly. The girl had dark-brown hair and brown eyes, and she wore a white lace shirt and blue jeans. She was sixteen but her make-up made her looking a bit older. This must have been the boy's sister, Loki thought and he wished not to alarm her. "Please, do not be afraid. I am a friend of Damien. I came here with him. You must be his sister? He has told me a great deal about you."

The girl would have called for her mother for help if she would have been home, but instead she reached out for the second best choice. "Terry!" she cried out for her boyfriend, worry in her voice, the gaze of her brown eyes stuck on Loki, a small frown rising on her forehead. "W-what kind of friend of Damien?" she asked suspiciously.

"Come on, Loki! I found the camera," Damien shouted, running back at the stairs, carrying a pocket-size digital camera with him. Then he noticed his sister downstairs with Loki. "Oh, hi, Kate. You're home. So, you met Loki? Isn't he great? He is a magician and he's my new best friend," the boy explained proudly, and Loki cast his gaze on Damien. "We won't bother you. We will be in my room," Damien promised and waved his hand at Loki to come with him. "Can I borrow you laptop, Kate? We've got some stuff to do."

Awkwardly and slightly upset Loki could only imagine what the girl was thinking of him at that moment, the thought of how the situation might have looked like occurring to him as well. He clasped his palms together slowly, conjuring a reluctant smile on his face. "I am sorry. I did not introduce myself. I am Loki Odinson…"

Greatly disagreeing with the idea of his brother spending time alone with a strange adult man, Kate shook her head and went to Damien up the stairs, glancing doubtfully at the stranger in their home. "Damien, you know what mother has told you about not get in the cars of strangers! Where did you meet him?" the big sister asked in a quiet voice, troubled.

Damien looked up at his sister with innocent eyes. "Loki is not a stranger. I met him at Nana's and Grand papa's place. Besides, we didn't get here with a car. We rode with horses. Didn't we, Loki?"

"You did what?"

"Um… yes, we rode here," Loki nodded, getting the feeling that he never should have gotten there with the boy in the first place. He should have been searching for Emma on his own and forgotten the videos he had been planning to make with the boy. But there had been something Emma had told him yesterday that didn't leave him in peace; that ruling this realm was nearly the same thing than entertaining it. So, there would have been no harm done by giving it a try. But mostly he would have wanted to send a message to the S.H.I.E.L.D that capturing Emma didn't change anything, that they had no reason to hold her imprisoned.

"Look, I don't know who you are, but you're better leave or I am going to call the police," Kate told timidly to their unexpected houseguest, her hand on her little brother's shoulder. "And, stay away from my brother!"

Maybe it was easier to go on his own, Loki thought. "Fair enough. I will take my leave now," he said taking a step back. He was going for the plan B. "Farewell, my young friend."

"No! You can't go! You haven't even seen Phantom yet!" Damien protested and ran down the stairs to Loki, despite Kate's attempt to stop him, and hugged the trickster god.

Loki was unaccustomed of expressing and receiving these feelings so openly and the hug from the young one felt more awkward than welcomed. And when he lifted his puzzled gaze up from the boy, he noticed an odd-looking young man with pale skin and a lip-piercing staring straight at him in awe.

Terry, Kate's 18 years old boyfriend, stood in the living room's doorway, his black/electric-blue hair sticking up like spikes of a hedgehog. "Wow! I know you, mate! You're Loki of Asgard!" Terry exclaimed, watching at the god of mischief gaping in bewilderment.

Pleased but a bit confused that he was known to the young man, Loki gave him a nod. "I am," he admitted simply, pondering what was it that the youngster wanted to express with such a strange appearance.

"It is really an honor to meet you, Mr. Odinson," Terry said and offered his hand for a handshake.

Loki hadn't heard those words spoken to him before and hearing them now made him smiling curiously. "Please, I would prefer to be called Loki," he said, wishing to drop the 'son of Odin' –part, shaking the young man's hand. But modesty had never been his virtue. "Or, you can simply call me your king," he added with deeper voice, his dimples growing on his cheeks.

"Great, king Loki!"

Damien gave a wild grin at Terry while turning at him. "Hi, Terry! So, you saw the video?"

"Hey, little mate! Oh, did I? The whole school has seen it. That was brilliant! Everybody loved it," Terry explained in an excited voice and gave Damien a fist bump, they both doing the exploding part in the end that made Damien giggling. Then Terry turned at Kate who came down the stairs. "Why didn't you tell me that the illusions master Loki Odinson was coming here? An awesome idea, though! It would make a killer party if he could show a few tricks."

Kate kept an eye on the tall, dark stranger, moving closer to her boyfriend and brother. "You know him?" Kate asked cautiously, feeling the whole situation getting just weirder, finding her own ignorance about the matter annoying.

"Oh, well yeah! He is like a god of illusions! Don't you ever watch your brother's Youtube channel?"

"Yeah?" Damien grunted giving his sister a questioning look.

A bit confused Loki just listened to the young ones talking. It seemed that people, he had never even heard about, already knew who he was, and Terry made it sound that they were appreciating his tricks.

"I'm still going to call my mother," Kate murmured.

"Yeah, a good idea. Are you going to tell her that we are throwing a party without her permission? And about me? The last time I saw your mom she told me to stay away from you, remember?" Terry asked and made Kate to stop in the living room's doorway.

Inwardly Loki's smile grew more, realizing that Emma had been right about his show and Damien had been right about it that people had seen his performance from that odd net the boy had been telling him about. He truly needed to make name for himself and that seemed to be his tool for it. Instead of using an army to conquer them all, he would simply give them what they wanted and show a few tricks and they would worship him.

Loki laid his eyes at the girl with the most sincere look in his appealing gaze, giving a small bow of his head. "My dear young lady, I wish not to upset you with my presence. So, I shall leave you in peace as you asked. My intentions here, whatever you mistaken them to be, were completely innocent, I can assure you. And your brother is a fine young man. You have many reasons to be proud of him," Loki spoke softly to her, noticing from her eyes that his words sunk deep. Then he glanced at Damien with a smile before he turned around and left to the door.

He heard a quite aloud disapproving whisperings behind him as Damien and Terry were telling Kate to let the man stay.

"Alright then. Fine," Kate sighed, finding Loki's presence making her nervous; his gaze being too bold, his voice too smooth, his charisma too strong for a sixteen-years-old to handle. The man was clearly much older than she was, but she was forced to admit that she did like the way he looked; one more reason to feel nervous near him. "You can stay, Mr. Odinson," she said and murmured under her breathe that her mother was going to kill her for this.

"Yes!" Damien grinned.

Loki tried not to grin too much when he turned towards the young ones, doing his best to keep his face straight. "I do not want to be trouble."

"He won't, I promise," Damien said, excited. "Loki, can you do that snake trick now, please?"

The doorbell rang all of a sudden and for a moment Loki was worried that the S.H.I.E.L.D. had already gotten on his trail. But when Kate went opening it, her friends stormed in, they all pondering why there were horses in front of Kate's house. The girls cheerful chattering ended as they noticed Loki standing tall and mighty in the entrance hall. All the five new girls stared speechless at the god of mischief with the same astonished expression as Terry had just a moment ago, and Loki dropped his guard.

"Oh my god! It's Loki of Asgard!" one of the girls shrieked after recovering from the bewilderment and they gathered closer around him like they would have just met their idol.

"Hey, you all. Why don't you come in," Kate grunted, took a quick look at the horses outside, and closed the door, the attention of her friends captured by the strange in her home she had no idea who he was. It had been the first weekend in ages, her mother hadn't been home and she had spent the last night with Terry, not bothering really to watch the video link Damien had sent to her and Terry. Now she regretted it.

"Mr. Odinson, we saw your video!" "Your tricks were awesome." "Could you please show us your magic?" "Yeah, please."

The admiration given by the young people around Loki tickled his wounded self-esteem and made him revealing his grin. Never had he been idolized like this before, their open enthusiasm flattered his broken spirit, and he kind of liked it even the young girls' bold eagerness was a bit intimidating. Emma had been so right about his show.

So, this was it what Thor must have felt like his whole life. When the living wall of aloud teenagers grew tighter surrounding him, Loki noticed Damien pulling away from the crowd in a silent submission giving his space to the others. Loki so knew that feeling being left in the giant shadows cast of his brother and father, being ignored by everyone else around him. With only one small step forward he took the whole space to himself, changing his outfits into a neat black suit, conjuring his appearance more approachable, the girls moving back a bit in awe.

"My friends… It seems that you already know me. And I am truly flattered of your kind attention, but I would not really be here without my very good mate, Damien," he said reaching his arm towards the boy, forcing the girls to give Damien his own place back.

Hesitatingly the boy moved next to him, looking up at him in surprise. "He is young yet but I am sure he is destined for greatness. So, you all better treat him fairly. He might even have a few tricks in his sleeve," Loki said with a smile and winked his eye at the boy, tapping his shoulder.

Damien felt something tickling his left arm and he pulled out a long black serpent from his sleeve, his expression turning wild with excitement. "Wow! Yees!"

But most of the girls ran into the living room screaming after seeing the snake. And Damien and Loki exchanged mischievous grins.

"Now, that was wicked!" Terry said sharing the little boy's enthusiasm.

Kate wasn't so excited about them driving her friends out in a fright and she gave a sullen look at the charming magician. "You're as bad as my brother!" she said in a grumpy way. "I want that serpent out of my sight or I will flush Phantom down the toilet!"

"I am awfully sorry. I meant not to frighten any of you," Loki said with an apologetic smirk. "Damien and I have some work to do but we will return to you shortly and I will entertain your friends with my… more refined magic tricks. You have my word."

"Hey, can I come too?" Terry asked, and Kate thought that was great idea for having someone keeping an eye on her brother and Loki.

"Terry is a wizard making videos. He could help us," Damien told.

More than pleased Loki accepted all the help he could get, lifting his gaze at the young ones with a prominent promise of grand destiny gleaming in his eyes. "Good. Today we will not just create illusions. We will be making living history. When some do battle, others will just take the world."

"Brilliant, mate! Count me in!" Terry said, excited. "I really loved your show. And when you said that our world needs saving, I think you're absolutely right."

"You think so?" Loki asked curiously walking with the boys up the stairs.

"Yeah. Let me tell you, there are a lot wrong in this world. Hey, have you considered adding some green ideas to your performances? I mean like environmental things and stuff like that?"

"No, but please tell me more. Green is always good," Loki grinned.

… …

After two long hours Emma still sat in the Quinjet that was landed in front of the royal palace of Buckingham, in London. Her fingers crossed she was begging for forgiveness for the stunt she had pulled. She had never meant it to go on that far.

The red-head female agent and a couple of male ones in heavy combat outfits were babysitting her, none of them saying a word to her, making her feel an unwanted guest. Her thoughts were with Loki, wishing he was alright and not doing anything stupid without her. She snapped out from her thoughts as the rear hatch opened and the team of S.H.I.E.L.D agents, including Thor and Ironman marched back in, casting mean glares at her.

Thor seemed to be the only one in a jovial mood. "Well, I think she was a nice old lady. Very kind of her to offer us tea after the misunderstanding was unraveled," the god of thunder said, being grateful that he hadn't smashed his hammer in the queen's face.

Emma held her breath when agent Coulson sat opposite her on the bench, lifting his eyes at her. "Ms. Morgan," he sighed, annoyed, "is there any chance, even a small one, you could have been mistaken?" he asked her sounding surprisingly calm for a man who had been fooled to go threatening Her Majesty, the queen of Great Britain.

Even she was troubled Emma fought hard not to burst out laughing, imagining how the things had been in the palace a while ago. "There is always that possibility. I take it he wasn't there?" she asked cautiously.

Coulson shook his head, controlling his grave upset. They had almost killed the queen. Thankfully she had been a very understanding lady in a time of great distress. "Do you think this is funny, Ms. Morgan?"

A small smile visited Emma's lips and she shook it off. "A bit, yeah. Sorry!"

"I just got a call from one of our agents that Nathaniel Grey kidnapped his son from the Grey's manor."

That got Emma more worried. "Damien? Oh no..."

"I actually talked with the man myself. What I found odd about that is that Nathaniel Grey has been dead for two years but he looked pretty fresh to me. You knew Loki was there, didn't you? You saw him? You send us to a wild goose chase, Ms. Morgan. What happens to that boy now is your fault! Do you still think it is funny?"

Thor had gotten his own share of Coulson's strict interrogations a few days ago in New Mexico and he felt sorry for the young woman. So he walked to Coulson, knowing that she was not been blamed alone; she had gotten in her situation because of Loki. "I knew that man was my brother but the boy with him had me fooled." Thor turned at Emma then, his ocean blue eyes looking down at her. "If you know, then tell me, what is he planning? We could save the boy!"

"Loki wouldn't hurt Damien. He's not a monster!" Emma defended him, unbuckling her seatbelts and getting up on her feet, staring up into Thor's eyes. "You keep calling him your brother, but here you are helping these people who only want to kill him!"

"That is not true," Coulson hurried to assure to the god of thunder. "We are only trying to restrain him. He's making that a bit difficult!"

Natasha stood close to the cockpit her arms crossed her over her chest, glaring at Emma. "Loki has killed 18 people and injured 3 in three days. That doesn't count anything to you?"

"It was self-defense! Your people opened fire at him first."

Thor gave a sour glance at the people around him and then returned his gaze at the small defiant woman in front of him. "I am helping them to catch Loki. Then I will take him back to Asgard facing justice." He felt like he was repeating himself over and over again.

Emma was getting angry at the Asgardian deity. "For what? So you can toss him again into a collapsing wormhole hoping him to die this time?"

"What? No, that is not what happened."

"He told me everything about you." Emma turned at the agents, pointing at Thor with cuffed hands. "You're better watch out this guy. He's mad and he was banished from his own realm for starting a war. He has a bad attitude and he likes to break up stuff, like bridges to the other worlds and aircrafts while people are in them! I could have died up in the air because of him!"

"Well… I am sorry about that," Thor said but was bemused listening to her. "Loki has always been a talented liar and you would not been the first one he had fooled. I do not know what he has told you, but he tried to destroy a whole race while his was sitting on the throne of Asgard. I did all in my powers to stop his schemes."

Emma looked serious, unsure would she believe that. "Um… maybe he had his reasons…"

Thor frowned. "The Jotuns may not see it that way. Their realm could have been completely destroyed because of him."

"Jotuns?"

"Yes, he tried to annihilate the whole realm of Jotunheim and the Frost Giants with it. Loki has always been on the side of mischief, causing trouble to others, but now he simply went too far. My father, Odin, send me here to bring Loki back."

Emma fell silence and sat back down, taken aback of that information. Loki had told her he had killed his biological father but could he have been able to destroy his own entire race. She didn't know who to believe. How little did she know of him?

Coulson rubbed more salt into her wounds, telling the facts. "Scott Davis is dead. He died in blood lost a few hours later after you left him lying wounded on the ice. Now, I don't about you, but I wouldn't be defending a killer so eagerly if I'd be you."

Emma closed her eyes with a long sigh. She had so completely forgotten Scott, and Peter, and everything else for that matter.

"Sir, you should see this!" one of the agents with a laptop shouted at his boss.

"What is it?"

"A new video from Loki was just posted into that Phantom Channel in Youtube!" The agent said and put it rolling on a big screen.

In the video the illusion master performed in an assertive way, showing some of his new tricks and talking like he would have already owned the world. His act was more polished, impressive and appealing than in the last time. And for everybody's surprise he was talking about saving the planet together, his willingness to fight against the global warming, hunger and wars, encouraging everyone join his 'Green Mission' like he would have turned into some eager eco-warrior. The video lasted five minutes and his last words were meant to his chasers: "And to my friends in the S.H.I.E.L.D. I say," he begun, revealing his mighty grin, but continued his talk with some strange, unheard language.

"Get me someone from the linguistics here," agent Coulson ordered.

While listening to his brother's recorded talk Thor glanced at Emma with a sorry look. "That is the language of the Light Elves," he told.

Agent Coulson turned at Thor. "You know what he is saying?"

"Yes. He must have assumed that I am with you interpreting the message."

"Well, I want to hear it, word to word."

"Word to word?" Thor hesitated.

"Yes."

"Right now?"

"Yes!"

Thor swallowed, giving another worried glance at Emma. "He put it out something like this…" he begun and continued with a quieter voice. "So, you caught my pet? You can keep that lost creature. I have no further need for her. I have already found other ones. Since you might have been informed about my little schemes in England I decided to change my mind about those. Why would you not all kneel before me and I will save your realm!"

Coulson frowned. "That's what he said?"

"That was it."

The video had ended with an image of a golden horned helmet on a green background and a text 'Loki's Challenge'.

Natasha and the men turned at Emma with a pitying expression like she would have been the saddest creature on earth. And Emma did her best to swallow her frustration, after hearing Loki's disillusioning words spoken by his brother. A lost creature, huh? She didn't hear him complaining last night!

"Wow! And I thought I was being mean to you. He just dumped you in front of the whole world," Natasha said, looking down at Emma, and went on the pilot's seat.

Emma dropped her gaze down, mortified. Yeah, that's what it looked like.

Coulson buckled up his seatbelts when they were getting airborne again. "So, Loki was after the throne like you told us, but changed his mind when he saw we caught you, knowing you might tell us," the agent reached to a conclusion.

Puzzled Emma looked at the agent, wondering how Loki had known about her mad idea she had pulled out of nowhere and how on earth he had made that video. Was it really that little he thought of her? And why were her hands suddenly starting to feel so cold and aching?

... …

Loki's time with the young ones was successful. After giving them a magic show of a lifetime, they were all willing to aid him, promising to share his videos in the net and publicize him everywhere. He bid goodbyes to Damien and asked the boy to send a message to his grandmother that he was alright. The boy let Loki borrow a horse once more when he told that he had to go looking for Emma. He knew he could have continued to carry on his plans on his own with the world domination (it strongly seemed that the humanity welcomed him with his tricks as an idol) but he simply wanted Emma back. He found it irrational but his thoughts had never left her.

Selecting his spot carefully, Loki rode a half way back to a green hill and dismounted, letting his horse go free. There he dropped all his mental guards and sat on the green grass under the wide blue sky, letting his presence to be revealed and summoned his brother telepathically, approaching Thor with a projection of himself only briefly. It surely surprised the god of thunder who was back at the Grey's manor when Loki emerged in front of him.

"Thor, we must speak. You will find me now. But I will speak with you and you alone," Loki said to his brother and then he was gone.

After that Loki waited, wishing he would not be late for Emma's sake. He could sense her, though, from far away when he concentrated hard. She was still alive, that much he knew.

It took a bit more than quarter of an hour when Thor finally arrived, flying there with his hammer and landing on the hill, not far from his mischievous brother.

Loki had been immersed into his thoughts, staring far ahead over the hills and vales to west. When he sensed Thor arriving he turned and walked to him slowly. "Thor," he greeted his brother, not so brotherly.

"Loki," Thor answered back and quickly glanced at the saddled horse eating grass further away. "Where did you get a horse?" he asked, pondering how Loki had gotten one since he hadn't had any luck finding a mount in New Mexico.

"You are not the only one having friends here," Loki smirked grimly.

"So, are you willing to give up, brother?"

Loki snorted like that would have been a poor joke. "Never. But I did not ask you here to fight," he promised.

"Then why did you?"

Loki gave him a sad smile, taking a few steps closer. "Because I might be just that desperate to need your help. Before you say anything, I remind you of all those times I stood by your side, defended you and fought for you. I even marched into Jotunheim with you."

Thor looked grumpy. "And I have grown tired with your games, brother. I will take you back to Asgard even I would have to drag you up there. What do you want?"

Loki moved closer to the god of thunder, placing his trust on the man who once was his brother, a short hesitation sweeping across his face. "Emma Morgan," he said that name with a gentle voice, looking into Thor's eyes. "You know where they keep her. All I am asking is your help for saving her. Then I might consider coming back home."

"She is safe. Son of Coul promised me they will not harm her."

"Well, I doubt that," Loki frowned, annoyed that Thor hadn't even given a shred of hope of helping him. He was even a bit surprised.

"What about the boy you took?"

Loki chuckled softly thinking about Damien. He should really adopt that child. "Adorable, wasn't he? Reminds me of… me as a child. The boy is home. Safe."

Thor watched at his brother angrily. "Is this all merely a game to you, brother?"

"No, but I like this. It must burns you that for once in your life everything does not circle around you," Loki said in a scornful manner.

"I am changed from what I used to be."

"That is what you keep saying. But perhaps it was too much for me to assume that you would help me."

Thor took a breath. "That woman, what is she to you?"

Loki gave him a short dreaming smile. "We had a bit of fun together," he admitted. "No, lots of fun actually."

"So, she is nothing more than your plaything? I think she wants nothing to do with you. She heard your message. You do understand that her whole life is at stake here!"

Loki frowned and his eyes darkened. "If her life is at risk, it is not because of me, but because of your newfound friends she has been hiding from for years. You have no moral higher ground to judge me, when you are fraternizing with liars and killers. They hunts down, tortures and kills her kinds for sport," he said in a headed tone. He was quiet for a moment, stepping closer to his brother, considering his next words carefully. He hated to ask it. He hated to beg after all the fights they had gone through. His voice turned softer, so did his eyes. "Do not think I would approach you lightly in this matter. I am not asking this for me, but for her sake. I would have not asked you if there would have been another way. Brother, will you help me or not?"

After his words Thor lowered his head looking miserably regretful. "I am sorry, Loki."

The sound of the Quinjets filled the air as the aircrafts circled around them and Ironman landed next to them, pulling out his weapon arsenal. Loki glanced around him, finding himself been surrounded, outnumbered and betrayed. He snorted and gave a small disappointed smile. "Well played, son of Odin. It was unwise of me to believe you would help after all I have done. But this once, I honestly thought that you of all people would have understood."

"You left me with no other choice."

With a small gesture Loki lifted his hands up, yielding. He turned at his brother, his brows curving down in a sad look. "Hm… At least now we know where we stand, brother," he spitted the 'brother'-part with a mocking tone. "You better be careful, or they might catch your precious Jane too."

Thor frowned, hoping that was not true, and grabbed a hold of Loki's arm, escorting him into one of the landed jets. The god of thunder pondered had his brother really been looking for his help to save the woman. He had sounded sincere, and it stung his heart to set Loki up.