I apologize for the wait. I know that this sounds like I'm repeating myself, but I've been busy with school and cross country practice/meets. Algebra has not gotten easier and school keeps me busy with its new schedule that everyone hates. I also decided to help my mom teach 2nd grade CRE (church classes at my parish) which is every Wednesday. That takes up one day of the week and it's quite a challenge since I'm an introvert and I don't plan on teaching anything in the future. I really don't know why I thought that it was going to be a good idea, but it helps me fill out community service hours that we need to get for high school. But enough with the complaining and excuses. Enjoy this next chapter! And stay in school, kids.

Chapter Four: Masters of Mischief (part 1)

It was quiet - too quiet - for Thor's liking. The normal Saturday in the middle of July had started off normal: the kids slept in until ten o'clock, Sigyn had to leave earlier for a sudden call from the local hospital that she worked at, and Bucky and Loki sparred for a couple of hours before Bucky disappeared into his room to play Minecraft with Pietro.

The sun was shining and the kids had decided to hang out outside, but Thor couldn't hear their usually loud laughter and shouts from his room. Come to think of it, Thor hadn't heard or seen them for quite some time.

Suddenly curious and partially worried, Thor turned off the TV from where he was watching football, a popular sport that American humans quite enjoyed, and rolled off his bed. Just before he hit the ground, Thor righted himself and stood up, stretching his arms up above his head.

Opening his bedroom door, Thor out onto the balcony that wrapped around the bedrooms on the second floor. From there, he could see down into the deserted living room. Normally the living room was the favorite spot to hang out in the house since it had the biggest TV house and several games and books stored on the shelves. The living room was also connected to the kitchen, which made walking to the refrigerator for snacks all that simpler.

Hela's bedroom, which was on the same side of the balcony as his, had her door open, meaning that she wasn't in her room. On the adjacent wall, the wall facing the edge of the balcony, the boys' bedroom was open as well. Nobody was in the bathroom and nobody was in Loki and Sigyn's room, which was down the hall and right before the stairs.

Having found nothing, Thor decided to go downstairs to see if anyone was outside. He knocked on Bucky's bedroom door, which was near the bottom of the stairs and shared a wall with the living room.

"What?" Bucky's voice called through the door.

"It's Thor," Thor replied and opened the door.

Bucky was sitting crossed-legged on his bed, a game controller in hand. Pietro was sprawled out on his stomach on the small couch that Bucky had in front of the TV, holding his own controller. The two were playing some car racing video game that Thor didn't know the name of.

"What's up?" Pietro asked without looking away from the screen.

"Have you seen Loki or the kids?" Thor asked and leaned against the doorframe.

"Not for a while," Bucky answered. He stuck out his tongue in the corner of his mouth and leaned to the side as his virtual car turned on the screen.

"Thanks," Thor said and turned around to leave.

"You're not going to stay?" Pietro called before Thor could close the door.

Thor shook his head, even though Pietro had his eyes turned toward the TV. "No. I would probably ruin your gaming experience anyways."

Pietro nodded in agreement. "Good luck finding Loki. You know how hard it is to find him if he doesn't want to be found."

Thor frowned and closed the bedroom door. Where was his brother?

He decided to check the backyard. The patio and swimming pool took up around a fourth of the total area that made up the backyard. A maple tree grew in each corner of the far side of the grass near the chain-link fence that surrounded the entire backyard. Patio chairs sat on the left side of the patio, across from the swimming pool. Sigyn had planted a garden between the far left side of the patio where it ended and the fence, right up against the edge of the house.

Thor scanned the grassy area. The trampoline near the pool was abandoned as was the round two-person swing that sat in the shade under the maple tree in the right corner.

Thor peered into the dining room window that looked out over the garden. Nobody was in there.

With one final urge to find his brother and his brother's kids, Thor pushed open the gate that led to the front yard and walked to the front. Just as he was rounding the corner near the garage, he heard excited whispers coming from the front of the garage. A head of curly, chocolate brown hair suddenly appeared around the corner. A startled face was attached to it.

"Found them," Thor thought to himself as he smiled when Fenris's head ducked back around the corner.

Turning the corner, he saw Loki with all four of his teenage kids huddled together, staring back at him.

"What are you up to?" Thor questioned, placing his hands on his hips. He tried to act stern but he couldn't stop the smile from crossing his face.

Loki motioned for his kids to get back while staring at Thor with a mischievous grin on face. "Go! Go!"

Laughing, Loki herded his kids back inside, away from Thor, which made it all the more suspicious.

They were definitely up to something.

/\/\/\/\/\

When they had finally reached the safety of Loki's study that was attached to his bedroom, Loki finally plopped down into a chair and let out a hearty laugh.

Fenris, the youngest boy, leaned against a bookshelf and slid down onto the floor. Hela, the only girl and the youngest of the four, sat on the window sill and swung her legs back and forth.

The oldest of the four kids, Sleipnir, pulled up a chair next to his father and collapsed with a small laugh. Jormungandr stood by the door, his arms folded across his chest with a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"Well," Loki finally said after his laughing fit calmed down. He sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly to stifle any last laughs. "I think he's onto to us."

"He's most definitely suspicious now," Sleipnir added.

"We gotta be more careful," Jormungandr said, "just in case he really thinks that we're up to something."

"We are up to something," Hela pointed out.

Loki held up a hand to stop the bickering. "Alright, since we don't have much time before Thor finds us and questions me about what we're up to, I'm going to wrap this up."

Loki stood up and looked at each of his kids individually before continuing. "Remember what I told you earlier outside - the pranks have to be non-lethal and not too extreme as to where someone's feelings get permanently hurt or something gets damaged. Only one prank per person and there can only be one target; targets cannot be repeated. You cannot prank anyone in this room. Also, try to be nicer to Sigyn. I plan on marrying that woman one day and I don't want her getting really upset with me because of a prank."

"Got it," Fenris said and braced himself on a shelf to help him to his feet. "Who's ready to prank everyone!"

The other three kids cheered before Loki put a finger to his lips and shushed them.

"Keep quiet about this," Loki said sternly. "It's fun pranking people but it's no fun when you get caught before you even pull it off. Now, who is pranking who?"

"Pietro is mine since we're the closest," Hela said.

"I'll prank Uncle Thor!" Fenris announced with a wide grin.

"I got Uncle Bucky," Jormungandr said.

"I suppose that leaves me with Sigyn," Sleipnir said.

"Good, I'll be judging your pranks based on the thought process behind it, how much work you put into it, and how well it turns out," Loki announced. "Whoever wins gets to choose where we eat for dinner next weekend and they also get out of chores for a day that they choose."

The kids nodded in agreement. Seeing that they understood their 'important' task, Loki stuck his hand out. Hela, knowing right away what he wanted, jumped down from the windowsill and put her own hand on top of his. Fenris followed and then Jormungandr and lastly, Sleipnir.

"Mischief on three," Loki said. "One. Two. Three!"

"Mischief!"

They broke the small huddle with a burst of laughter.

Sometimes it was fun being the kids of the god of mischief.

If you have any suggestions for pranks that the kids should pull, feel free to let me know by PM'ing me or leaving a review. I don't prank people that much and I really don't want to just Google pranks, so any help would be appreciated. Plus, it will be something that you want to see. If you don't, that's fine. I will try to update the next chapter as soon as possible. :)