Hello my readers, hope all is well. Another chapter is written and ready to ready. and consider reviewing at the end :)
I'm really surprised that they haven't brought in help from their own realm.
Hena watched Lila and Nathaniel repeatedly tag each other back and forth every few minutes. They were both much slower than Mazi or Cooper, so if they were playing tag, the "it" position generally transitioned between them. Cooper hadn't caught onto the idea to let them catch him every once in a while, but Mazi was all too willing to take a turn being the chaser.
They don't want to start a panic supposedly. Midgard definitely doesn't have the type of mass control like Anaheim or Asgard. And when they do try it under their own means, they tend to kill off a large portion of people on the planet.
Loki was inside and Hena was outside with Mazi, but that didn't stop the two of them from talking every once in a while. It was cloudy like the majority of the day had been yesterday, but it wasn't the type of cloud that usually created a storm.
Well, not being prepared for someone like Thanos might be worse than that. Hena responded.
That's true. Loki said.
Laura hadn't asked for Mazi to spend the night, but she had gotten everything all ready for it. She had shared Lila's room. Hena had just told her parents that without anything said between her and Laura. The girls had a wonderful time, although Mazi did leave in the middle of the night to climb in with Hena. She'd returned before morning and Lila had never known the difference.
"That is not a happy face." Black Widow said over to Banner. He looked up at her from the screen in front of him.
"No, I...uh...am just thinking." he replied, gripping his face lightly and squeezing towards the edges of his mouth as stared at the board. There had been a few more invisible intrusions in the night and they all looked about the same as the first one.
"Well, if you're happy and you know it, clap your hands." Tony said, enunciating each word individually. He waited a moment, but half of them couldn't hear and the other half just didn't clap.
"I knew it." he said.
Cooper had somehow been tagged to be "it" and was currently chasing Nathaniel and Mazi towards the house. Lila seemed to have avoided the conflict for the time being. They ran in and into the kitchen almost instantly. Mazi's face was exhilarated while Nathaniel just looked petrified. She was ahead of them and therefore led the way through the people. She was also a lot better at squeezing through all of them. Nathaniel pushed both Fandral and Tony out of the way in his rush.
"Hey, hey! Take it outside guys." Hawkeye said in irritation.
Hearing this, Cooper changed course and tried to intercept them instead. But Mazi wasn't fooled. She slipped behind the couch and jumped over the cord extending from the lamp to hurry towards the door.
Nathaniel stumbled over the cord, but continued on. Unfortunately, Cooper pulled it sharply without noticing and it tugged the lamp sideways.
The only one nearby was Loki, who instinctually jerked to catch it and slowly pushed it back onto the side table. Mazi twisted around, her face anxious. She was only one who noticed something was wrong. Nathaniel went out the door, but Cooper nearly ran into her. He pushed her lightly before following his brother, yelling "you're it!" Laura called after them, but they didn't hear.
Mazi didn't move though, even with the force of the tag. Her eyes were still wide as she realized what had almost happened. Loki glanced over at her. He urged her on with a hand.
"It's alright." he said reassuringly "Go ahead."
She slowly took a few steps backwards and then rotated fully to run outside.
Loki turned back to his book, but then reached down to carefully straighten the lamp shade back to its original position. After a moment, he closed what he was reading and followed the children's footsteps outside. Thor leaned to watch him. It was a reaction to his brother leaving his sight he had not had for several days now.
"How many lamps would that have been?" Black Widow asked.
"They've only broken one." Hawkeye said, looking at her sternly, but with laughing eyes.
"This month?" Black Widow inquired.
"That's probably where your paycheck goes." Tony said.
Hawkeye scoffed at him, shaking his head, but he didn't reply. A comfortable silence remained after until Laura spoke.
"I'm confused." she said.
"Where my paycheck goes?" Hawkeye asked, glancing at her.
"No." Laura paused "I am usually very good and getting a sense for a person, but I cannot figure him out." She pointed at the door.
"Who, Loki?" Hawkeye asked. Thor's eyebrows went up.
"Yep." his wife replied.
"Join the club." Hawkeye responded with a short laugh "Trust me, we get it. I mean, Thor lived with him for..." he looked at the God of Thunder "I honestly have no idea how long, but let's say centuries. He lived with him for centuries and still can't figure him out. Don't be hard on yourself."
"What makes you say that now?" Thor asked Laura.
"Look, I get him catching the lamp." she said "Even if you didn't care about it, you just catch it out of instinct. But FIXING the shade? No hardcore killer does that. I mean, not even you-" she gestured at Hawkeye "-would do that." And looked back at the lamp "And it's straight."
"You're right, he should go into interior decorating." Tony said, looking around the house.
Laura took a deep breath "I'm just saying...that after watching what happened in New York and...with Clint and everything else, I really expected a blood-sucking devil." she looked pointedly back at side table "Not someone who not only catches, but straightens, a lamp."
"Well, believe it or not, this is closer to how he used to be." Fandral said.
Laura sighed "It's just...weird."
There was a second of thought among all of them, as if they wanted to say more, but had no idea what to say.
"Okay, enough characterizing, I'm going to go talk to Cooper." Laura said finally "He probably wouldn't have stopped even if the lamp had fallen over." Hawkeye replied "Now Mazi, Mazi was concerned."
"They told her to behave and breaking a lamp probably would have been equivalent to breaking the law to her." Black Widow said with a hint of sarcasm.
Banner muttered something to Tony, pointing out something on one of the many videos they were watching. Tony leaned in with squinted eyes before raising his eyebrows thoughtfully.
"Maybe we need him to come back in." he said "Loki. There's something different on this one."
"What do you mean?" Captain America asked, without moving from the kitchen chair.
"There's some sort of a shimmer." Banner said, gesturing at the screen vaguely "Or a ripple in the air."
"How can you see air moving?" Hawkeye asked. That was a fair question. After all, no tangible substance appeared to make it move.
"You know when there's a fire? And you can see the air right above it. Almost like you're looking through a magnifying glass the wrong way?" Banner asked, hand still hovering by Tony's board.
"Okay." Captain America nodded slowly.
"That's what I see. In a few different spots on the video." Banner said "But I don't see it on the others."
"Me neither." Tony confirmed. He cupped his hands around his mouth "Loki, oh, Loki, where hath thou gone?"
"He couldn't explain what happened before, why could he now?" Captain America asked honestly.
"We don't know what a 'portal' looks like unless someone is coming through it." Tony said "Maybe this is it."
"Or maybe, he'll tell you the exact same thing he did before." Captain America replied with a shrug.
"You don't like consulting him do you?" Tony asked.
"No, not really." Captain America said "We've done it plenty of times already."
"And he's been reluctantly helpful." Tony replied, spreading his hands.
"I agree. But we don't need to ask him every single time something changes in the slightest. Personally, I think you're annoying the heck out of him."
"Say hell. I dare you." Tony said, pointing at him with the pen in his hand. Captain America just tilted his head at him.
Laura had put a stop to the running outside the house, which might have been best because the sun was coming out and all of the children were already sweating buckets. She was coming back inside to get them water and Hena joined her on the way over. Nathaniel and Cooper had already taken seats on the porch, panting hard.
"What did he say?" Hawkeye asked once they came in. Laura shook her head in amusement.
"He said sorry. And claimed that he had no idea what happened."
Hawkeye sniffed "Of course not. Just like 'Not Me' always breaks the toys. We need official adoption papers for him."
"Or her." Laura replied. She glanced back at Hena, keeping her smile in check "Do you want some lemonade? I'll take some out to the girls."
"Hm?" Hena asked, confused. She smiled apologetically "I'm sorry, I don't know what lemonade is."
The comment earned a ripple of laughter in the room, which didn't seem to upset Hena.
"Oh, no, I'm sorry." Laura smiled now "It's a drink. Water with lemon flavoring in it."
Hena raised her chin in realization "We drink lemon water all the time."
"Well. It's not quite like lemon water. It has a lot of sugar in it." Laura said.
"Sugar?" Hena asked in surprise "In water? Interesting. We've never done that. I think I will pass, but Mazi might appreciate it."
"I'll put a little less flavoring in hers." Laura said "Maybe ease her into it."
"Thank you." Hena replied gratefully.
"No problem." Laura walked into the kitchen. She reached to open the cabinet and pull out a canister of powdered lemonade.
The Anaheimien woman looked around the room for a moment. She let out a startled breath.
"The emotions in here are very negative right now."
Fandral almost laughed at her, but settled for a chuckle under his breath.
"There we go, that's better." Hena said, glancing at him "Sometimes it helps to call attention to it."
"Can you really feel that?" Banner asked, sounding like he couldn't even imagine it "And I feel like I have to worry about my own emotions."
"You do." Hawkeye said, blinking at him "More than most of us."
"Unless you need the other guy." Banner replied, dryly "Then Banner's tossed out the window."
"Tossing you out the window would only bring him faster, so I'm sure we wouldn't do that." Tony said, clapping him on the shoulder.
"That's gross, you know that?" Banner asked, shaking his head "That's just gross to think that way."
"Okay okay. Peace, peace." Hena said, flicking her hands as if literally sending out the emotion "I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to start a war here."
"You didn't." Tony told her "Not at all, we're good buddies, right?" he squeezed Banner a few times before letting him go. The scientist nodded after him sarcastically.
Laura stirred the drinks with a spoon for a moment.
"Cooper! Nathaniel!" she called. Immediately, the two boys came running into the house, nearly tripping on the carpet this time. Cooper grabbed his first and took a big drink from his cup. He let out a huge breath once he stopped and wiped his mouth.
"Thanks, Mom." he said.
"Yes, thank you." Nathaniel echoed.
"You're welcome." Laura replied, picking up the other two glasses.
"Oh, I can take them out." Hena offered, walking over to take them from her.
"If Mazi wants plain water instead, let me know." Laura said, letting her take them.
"I'm sure she'll like it." Hena replied, turning. The sun was way out from behind the clouds now, allowing the light into the house.
"Oh, I hope Loki remembers that Mazi..." she walked closer to the door before smiling "Of course he did." she glanced back at the others, who watched curiously.
"Mazi isn't supposed to be in the direct sun very long." she explained "It made us both really sick from the time were born. It doesn't bother me anymore. Loki knew that while he was on Anaheim, but I wasn't sure if he would have remembered. But he did. He's standing in front of the sun. She's out there, playing in his shadow." Hena sighed through her nose happily. Then she turned to Nathaniel and Cooper.
"Word of advice. Be a man who remembers things you tell them. I promise, it will help you find a woman very quickly. It's very charming." she said.
Thor blinked in surprise, but she didn't wait for a response from the children. Neither of the two boys seemed to understand quite what she was saying, but to their credit, they did listen.
Cooper turned back to his mother, holding up his cup for more lemonade.
"Can I have gummy bears?" Nathaniel asked.
Laura nodded. Then her gaze moved to Hawkeye.
"I wasn't thinking about sugar until Hena mentioned it." she said, eyebrow raised "Now I feel like a bad parent."
"Well, they haven't died from their diet yet." Hawkeye shrugged "And I'm rarely here, so I think that you're doing just fine. I don't think she was judging you either."
"Oh I know she wasn't, but I am." Laura said with a laugh. She took a few steps back and opened the cupboard next to her to pull out the packet of gummy bears. She handed them to Nathaniel and he took them eagerly. He thanked her again and then turned to run outside.
"I think he's gonna have Mazi taste them." Cooper said as he waited for Laura to make more lemonade.
"Oh?" she asked "How come?"
"Because she hasn't had them before." Cooper explained. He reached to grab a handful of grapes from the bowl on the table "And they're his favorite."
"Yes, let's begin her journey in the American diet." Banner muttered under his breath as he examined the screen. It wasn't loud enough for the child to have heard, but it made Black Widow smile. It was true though. The Anaheimien people seemed to have a very healthy diet of mainly fruits and vegetables. Probably some meat or another and grains. It still didn't explain why both Valder and Svleiva were so much bigger than their children.
Hena came back in, relieved of the two glasses this time.
"What did she think?" Laura asked, looking over expectantly. Even though no one really cared that much, several of them in the room also listened for a response.
"Of the lemonade?" Hena checked. Then she shrugged "I don't think she noticed, to be honest. She'll just accept whatever you give her here."
The sun was hiding beneath clouds again, so Loki didn't follow Mazi to ensure she was covered any longer. She met Nathaniel about halfway to the house and he handed her what could have only been a gummy bear. Her eyebrows knitted together as she looked at it and then him.
Loki watched them briefly before something caught his eye out in the treeline. He glanced over, but saw nothing. The forest-like area was still. His eyes narrowed as he leaned his head to the side slightly. He raised his chin as it happened again just outside of his line of vision.
Continuing to peer out, he took a few steps back towards Mazi, Lila, and Nathaniel.
"Loki."
The God of Mischief did not jump at all, but looked back to see Thor approaching. He had a curious and slightly foreboding expression. He didn't know why he'd decided to come outside now, but he could tell Loki wasn't as relaxed as usual.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Loki returned his eyes to where the movement had first occurred, but then turned fully back to face the house.
"Nothing." he said as he began to walk back.
"What were you watching?" Thor asked, not letting him off that lightly.
"You were watching me, evidently." Loki replied, stopping a few paces away from Mazi and the others.
Thor looked back at where he'd seen his brother staring, studying the trees carefully.
"We've had a few close calls here. If something were to appear, you'd be the first to know. So, yes, I do watch you."
"Hm." Loki didn't look at Thor as he spoke. "Cover up honesty. Not very impressive, but I suppose it's a start. There was nothing there."
The God of Thunder didn't respond, but he continued inspecting the area.
"By all means, staring will make it better." Loki said with a small roll of his eyes.
"Can you blame me for trying to check for myself?" Thor challenged, giving him an irritated hard stare "You know when things are going to appear. You have an advantage."
"To have an advantage, I'd have to keep it to myself." Loki corrected.
"Then you have security." Thor reiterated to him.
"There's nothing there." Loki said again "Now, if you wouldn't mind, go away."
Thor scowled at him, shaking his head in annoyance. Then he left his younger brother's side, glancing back briefly to recheck the forest, as if something would have changed.
"How old are you?" Mazi was speaking to Lila head tilted.
"I'm seven." Hawkeye's daughter replied "And...four months. Almost five."
"That's very nice." Mazi said kindly.
"Do you know what you want for your next birthday?" Lila asked. Loki raised one eyebrow, interested in the little girl's response. They didn't have those same customs on Anaheim or on Asgard.
Mazi scowled briefly, confusion the main emotion on her face.
"No. We don't do that on Anaheim." she said, which was an impressive response for her being so young.
Lila looked taken aback "What? You don't get presents on your birthday?"
Mazi shook her head "No. We have celebrations other times though."
"We always have a party on our birthdays." Lila replied incredulously "My dad can't always make it though." she reached out to take Mazi's glass from her "I will take these inside. Be right back."
She turned and skipped past Loki by the porch and went into the house. The God of Mischief was reading his book now, but he did glance up at Mazi for a moment. She was looking over at the barn just a little ways away from the house, head tilted curiously.
Hena wrapped a piece of her hair around another bundle of hair and then wove it into the braid wound on the back of her head. Her eyes were concentrated, although she wasn't looking into a mirror. She was staring at Tony and Banner by the surveillance videos, but wasn't focusing on them. She'd done Mazi's hair in a similar fashion this morning, which had caught Lila's attention. Hena didn't need to see her hair as she delicately wrapped it into a design. Then again, she could have easily dedicated several years of her long life to learning.
Thor was watching her subtly every so often. She had grown comfortable with all of them very quickly. Hogun and Sif still tiptoed around his mortal friends warily. He supposed it was just personality that determined that.
Fandral was sitting nearby her, making it more obvious that he wanted to get her attention. He'd had a talent for attracting women his whole life and certainly wasn't going to suppress that now. Thor almost had to roll his eyes at his friend, but he found it entertaining more than anything.
"What's on your mind?" Captain America interrupted his thoughts with the question. Thor glanced at him and smiled slightly.
"Nothing that should be." he admitted with a breathy sigh.
"Well, you were eyeing Fandral, so you were either dozing off or waiting for him to make a move on Hena." Captain America said with a small chuckle.
"And they say mortals can't read minds." Thor responded, echoing his laugh.
"That seems like too much responsibility." Captain America said, glancing down with one more smile as the amused moment faded.
To top it off, Fandral finally did start a conversation with the maiden of Anaheim within seconds of them finishing speaking. She responded kindly and enthusiastically just as she always did, but they were interrupted commotion outside.
"Mazi, what are you doing?" that was Loki from just a few feet from the door.
There were a few clatters on the ceiling, making everyone glance in that direction momentarily.
Loki could be seen looking up above the house with his hands on his hips and face exasperated.
"How did you even get up there?" he asked, spreading his arms questioningly, although he was nearly laughing.
"Is she...?" Hena began walking towards the door, shaking her head with every step.
"Get down." Loki said, obviously being spoken to by Mazi. He raised his arms, beckoning her.
"Is she up there?" Hena asked, leaning out the door to look at him.
Loki pointed up, raising his eyebrows "Yes. Right up there walking on the roof."
Laura opened her eyes wide in surprise, but she didn't say anything. It was a very tall house for such a little girl to have managed to get up on top of.
"Mazi!" Hena scowled out the door even though she couldn't see her "Get down, right now before you get hurt."
Loki stared up at her, expression expectant. Then it faded to amusement. He beckoned her again and then Mazi could be seen jumping down into his arms. He set her on the ground and she turned, proud, yet sheepish.
Hena frowned at her and her little sister immediately looked down to avoid her gaze.
"Please don't." Hena said "I really would prefer that you didn't get hurt and especially under my watch."
"But you're not mother or father." Mazi mumbled.
"No, but I still love you. Besides," Hena folded her arms, suddenly looking indignant "I'm very fun, even if I do have to be responsible. I let you get away with things that they wouldn't."
"Fine, that's true." Mazi agreed "You are very fun."
"So, please don't get on the roof anymore." Hena told her. Then she raised an eyebrow "Plus, this is not your home, remember?"
"Oh I was very careful." Mazi nodded vigorously "And Nathaniel and Cooper said that they get balls stuck on the roof, so I threw a lot of them back down for them."
That brought a big, endeared smile to Laura's face. The other adults all shared a small moment of amusement, shaking their heads briefly.
"That was very sweet." Hena said.
"And it was also fun." Mazi added quickly, a tiny bit of defiance returning to her voice. Her older sister blinked in exasperation, but she did not scold the little girl any longer.
"Do you know where Cooper went?" Mazi asked her, changing the subject without even realizing it.
"He's upstairs." Laura answered for her "I think he is in his room."
"I like him." Mazi informed her randomly "And he likes me."
"You like him?" Hena asked in amusement. She looked over at Loki with a very bright expression and he shrugged.
"Yes." Mazi replied "He is very nice sometimes and he held my hand outside." she let out a deep breath and then her eyes lit up with anticipation.
"I'm going to go see if I can get him to kiss me."
All of them were so surprised that no one even responded to her as she ran upstairs. Most of them laughed, Captain America among them.
"Wow, she's practicing the art of seduction already. What are you teaching her?" Loki asked, turning to Hena plaintively. She gently shoved him.
"Young child love. It's sweet."
"Best tell her now that one of them is mortal and one of them is not." Loki replied with a hint of sarcasm.
"Why? I think it's sweet when we fall in love with mortals sometimes." Hena replied, still smiling "It changes things up a bit."
Loki glanced at her, corners of his mouth tipped up "If you say so."
"I do say so, thank you." Hena said. She sighed gently.
"Did you ever have child love for a girl?"
Loki paused, eyes flicking up, as if actually thinking about it for her.
"No."
"Really?" her voice held surprise."I did. Many times." she glanced at the Warriors and Thor, who were nearest to her "Did any of you? Maybe I am abnormal."
"I did." Fandral said hesitation, smiling "Many times."
Volstagg rolled his eyes and then shrugged.
"I wouldn't really know or remember. It's possible."
Hena looked at Sif and Hogun. Both of them just shook their heads at her, so she moved on to Thor. He took in a deep breath.
"Well, I suppose she wasn't really a childhood love as much as a girl I met when I was younger. She was very beautiful. We talked for a while one day and I really liked her. But after that, she left and I didn't see her again. I have no idea what happened to her. She must have been from Vanaheim or another realm. That has always irritated me." Thor turned to the Warriors "Do you remember her?"
"Only from your stories." Volstagg said with another shrug "We never met her."
Fandral nodded in agreement. Loki was scowling at Thor thoughtfully.
"Her name isn't coming to mind right now." The God of Thunder said.
"Wait. You fell in love with a girl after one conversation and you can't even remember her name?" Hena asked in amusement.
"I was young. That was a very king time ago." Thor replied, sounding a bit defensive. Then he glanced at Loki "Do you remember? You weren't far off, if I recall."
"Elainya." Loki responded, voice slightly curious.
"Yes, right." Thor said, voice a bit more bright as he nodded "I asked after her everywhere, but she wasn't known among Asgardians. At least the ones I asked."
Loki's eyes went to the ground, jaw shifting to the side slightly.
"What?" Thor asked, with a bit of indignance.
Loki looked back up with a deep breath, the laughter now showing on his face.
"You still think she was real?" he asked quietly, voice trembling with amusement. He stared at his older brother, shoulders vibrating as he laughed silently, a smile on his face.
Thor's expression immediately fell to seriousness, as if something had just dawned on him. Volstagg and Fandral shared a look, both hiding grins.
"What?" Thor asked, now in disbelief. The look on his face only made Loki raise a hand to cover his mouth as he laughed.
"Are you telling me she was an illusion?" Thor demanded.
"Didn't you find it odd that she disappeared off the face of the universe without a trace?" Loki asked, still smiling. Hena's own mouth curved up, lips pressing together. She tried to look scolding, but couldn't seem to manage that.
"She could have been from another realm." Thor said, voice outraged.
"Well, true." Loki replied "But she wasn't. You can let go of the vision of Elainya, Thor. Go chase another one."
"Loki, you're a bastard." Thor said, clearly not amused whatsoever.
"I thought you knew." Loki replied, getting himself under control now "It's been a very long time."
"Yes, it has." Thor replied, tone grudging as he glared at his brother.
Hena's eyes flicked in between them for a moment "Well, we can still call it young love, even if she wasn't real."
"Can we?" Thor replied, arms folded. Loki looked back at him, completely unrepentant.
"Yes, I think so." Hena said, nodding several times to pacify him "Anyway, back to Mazi and Cooper."
"Are they a couple now?" Hawkeye asked, smiling. Clearly, the other Avengers still found it amusing that Thor had been so fooled, even if he was a friend. The God of Thunder was still standing rather sullenly. The conversation was interrupted as the children whose emotions had created the young love topic came down. Mazi and all three other children hurried down, making a break for the door as if their lives depended on it all of the sudden. It became apparent they were having a race once Mazi let out a yell of triumph from outside.
"No, but we can entertain their fantasy for a moment." Hena said, waving a hand innocently.
She looked over at Loki, whose face had turned thoughtful again. Her eyebrows went up and she would have spoken if he had not done so first.
"Wait a moment." he said, turning to face Thor full on "If you didn't know what I had done, why did you come later that day and pick a fight with me? I thought that was because you knew about it. You were horrendous that day. You quite literally beat the life out of me. I know you remember that."
Thor went completely silent. Then his widening eyes moved away without saying anything. Hena looked slightly surprised, obviously also expecting an answer.
When Thor still didn't answer, it was Loki's turn to frown. He crossed his arms over his chest, eyebrows going up expectantly.
"That..." Thor was clearly trying to come up with something on the fly "That was just a..."
"A what? A random display of affection? I certainly hope not." Loki replied, clearly not in a laughing mood any longer.
"It was more like a...challenge..." Thor mumbled.
Loki squinted in confusion, eyes irritable "What?"
Thor went quiet yet again, obviously rethinking how he wanted to say it.
Then Loki's eyebrows rose in realization.
"You mean like a dare?" he asked, blinking several times at his brother.
"Kind of." Thor replied, keeping his answers short.
Loki glanced at Hena, who was staring at Thor in pure and utter disbelief. Captain America Hawkeye, Tony, Black Widow, Banner, and Laura were all listening very intently alongside the Warriors.
"Let me get this straight." Loki said, holding up a hand slightly "You came and beat the hell out of me on a dare?" then he looked over at Volstagg and the others. Fandral shook his head immediately.
"It wasn't them." Thor said, shaking his head as well "They were nicer than that. And it wasn't really a dare anyway. This was other friends. I just...wanted to impress them."
Hena opened her mouth, staring at him incredulously.
"Oh, wow." Loki said, rolling his eyes ever so slightly "And I'm sure you did. It was spectacular. You were a very successful abusive older brother."
"Look, I..." Thor let out a deep breath "I wanted them to like me, as I did with most people. I was young and impulsive."
"Right." Loki nodded in understanding "And now you're just old and impulsive, yes?"
Thor scowled, but then sighed. Hena was shaking her head slowly, clearly unable to fathom the thought.
"I felt bad, Loki." Thor said, sounding embarrassed.
"Oh, of course." Loki nodded as he waved a hand "You felt bad and that's why you didn't decide to beat me to death."
"You could have gone and told mother or father and defended yourself." Thor mumbled, weakly attempting to shift the blame.
Hena gasped as she turned to Loki "You didn't...?"
"One of the things I take pride in is never ever having been a tattletale." Loki replied.
"Oh my gosh." Hena put her hands over her mouth.
"I felt awful, I really did." Thor said quickly "I apologized. I tried to make it up to you."
"Why didn't you tell your parents?" Hena demanded from Loki, hardly acknowledging Thor's defense.
"Well...what older brother likes a little brother who gets him in trouble?" Loki asked, eyes falling to her dubiously.
"Oh no." Hena moaned, face falling into her hands. Loki patted her very gently on the shoulder.
"See, look what you've done." he said to Thor, gesturing at Hena. Then he raised his eyebrows.
"So. How often did this happen? Because I can remember numerous times where you seemed angry without cause."
"They didn't actually dare me to do it. I was just showing off...sort of." Thor said with a small uneasy shrug "That was the only time. And I'm aware that it was stupid."
"Did your mother and father not see that you were hurt?" Hena asked, eyes sharp. Thor pressed his lips together.
"They weren't always around. They were the king and queen after all." Loki reminded her. He shrugged ever so slightly "I just went to the healer by myself."
"You used magic to hide it, didn't you?" Hena accused, shaking her head slowly.
"They found out eventually." Thor said.
"Yes, but not from me." Loki replied bitterly.
"And do you remember who defended you?" Thor asked, voice drawing strength "Odin. He was so angry, I swear he could have banished me then too."
"He was livid." Loki agreed "I was very surprised." then he sniffed in contempt "Still am."
Thor scowled at him, but the annoyance didn't last long.
"Did they know the whole story?" Loki asked "That would make a lot more sense because I was so confused as to why they were so mad at you, but hardly batted an eye in my direction."
"Yes they knew." Thor obviously didn't relish that memory at all.
"How did they find out then?" Fandral asked, wanting to know more of the story, despite the tension.
Loki looked at the God of Thunder, unable to answer.
"Well, one of the women in the group who knew about it was...really unhappy with me." Thor said "She went and told Odin."
"Ah." Loki replied with a small nod.
"Did you even defend yourself while he was hurting you?" Hena demanded.
"Yes, but how could I really?" Loki spread his hands "He was twice my size at the time and I was just barely beginning to learn magic."
Hena stared at him as if she could start crying.
Loki smiled faintly "It's alright. I'm right here."
"Barely." Hena replied. She turned to Thor swiftly.
"How could you do that?" she asked, voice slightly higher pitched "He was your younger brother and he could hardly help himself then."
"It is not like I was pleased afterwards." Thor said, his voice now slightly indignant under the guilt.
"Are you sure?" Loki asked dryly.
"Yes." Thor replied shortly.
Fandral cleared his throat "Forgive my curiosity, please, but how do you actually start a fight if you don't have anything to be mad about?" he asked, tilting his head.
Loki smirked a bit, eyes narrowed.
"Would you like to tell them how you began your little challenge? Your little experiment? Your show?"
Thor opened his mouth for a moment, then let out a deep breath. He turned away.
"No."
"How?" Hena asked. She glanced towards the door for a moment. Mazi's voice could be heard calling someone from outside.
Loki paused a moment and then patted her again "Nevermind. Better not scar you anymore, dear Hena."
Thor frowned, peering back over at him.
"I'll be back in a moment. Best not leave your little sister unattended to." Loki said, giving his older brother a hard stare with a raised eyebrow. Really, he just wanted an excuse to leave the room.
As he left, Hena turned to Thor again with a sharp breath, but she said nothing.
"You can tell him about all the times you also defended him." Fandral suggested "That could help."
"No, don't do that." Hena said, shaking her head "He absolutely despises being viewed as the weaker of the two of you."
"I know." Thor replied with a sigh "But he's hardly that now."
"Technically he shouldn't be mad at you for that." Volstagg pointed out "He used magic to trick you many times."
"I started fights with my brothers too." Fandral said "Though, not like that."
Thor opened his mouth, shut it, and then opened it again.
"A lot of his tricks were harmless." he admitted. He shook his head "I was very cruel to him that day. Some of the ideas I put into his head were not corrected."
"I know, I can see the memories." Hena replied, her voice back to normal now "I mean, I know you were young and boys do stupid things, but you were old enough to know better. We may age slower than mortals, but we usually don't mature slower."
"Who were you with that would encourage you to do this?" Hogun asked. It was rare to have him speak around the mortals.
"Calder and Sten." Thor replied "And they didn't actually encourage me to do it. They'd been talking about Loki beginning to learn magic with my mother. I didn't like hearing about that from them."
"You were jealous?" Hena asked, watching him for a response as she blinked multiple times in disbelief.
"I suppose so." Thor said, with a roll of his eyes at himself "And I decided I could do something to prove I was definitely still stronger than him."
"You know, I'm starting to see why Loki turned." Tony said, nodding slowly.
"Aha." Hawkeye replied sarcastically.
"Don't let your sons do that to each other." Hena advised, looking at Laura. Then she returned her eyes to Thor "Honestly though, he kind of took that in a more light-hearted manner than I would have expected."
"He doesn't tend to forgive very quickly." Thor responded "At least when it comes to Odin and me."
"Well, just carry on with what you're doing now and needle your way back under his barricade." Hena said "He's definitely opened up a bit since you first brought him here."
"Really, since you came." Thor replied.
"While that may be true, I think you are confusing openness with friendliness. He more willingly gives information right now." she smiled slightly "He might snap at you while he does it, but it happens."
Thor thought in silence for a moment, as if pondering her words. Meanwhile, Hena glanced back towards the window.
"I think I will..." she pointed over at the door briefly "Go outside. Check on what Mazi wanted. Feel free to join."
Then she turned leave the house, her dress flowing lightly at the movement. Thor watched, lips pressed together.
"Thor, what are you supposed to do? Feel bad for everything you ever did?" Sif asked, knowing what was going through his head.
"No." Thor replied "But none of you were there to see it. I treated him as if he were lower than the dirt on my boots. And, he was different around me for a while after that. Wary. We fought verbally at that time, as you know, but he would be the peacemaker and withdraw."
"Well, I wish I would have been there. Probably would have wondered what the hell you were doing." Volstagg said. Him and Thor had been acquaintances at that time, not quite as friendly as they were now. But Volstagg had always been extremely just. Very dense in the mind, but just. Thor was aware he would have intervened. In fact, any of his friends most would have, if they'd been friends then. But it wasn't just that day that weighed on his mind, although that was probably the worst of it. It was the fact that he could finally begin to understand why Loki felt the way he did. Thor believed his brother took it too far and exaggerated somethings in their childhood, but there was also a ring of truth to his resentments. Even if the things Thor had done weren't intentional or even really thought through, Loki remembered and felt things far deeper than he did.
"You'll have to jump to get it." Loki said, holding the book above Mazi's head. She jumped up, eyes scowling in frustration that it was just out of reach.
"You're too tall." she said, folding her arms in frustration.
She'd initially tried to sneak the book as a prank, but failed. Now Loki was making a game of it. One that Mazi had enjoyed at first.
"You are welcome to try again later." he said smartly.
"I will." Mazi replied adamently. She backed up a few steps before pivoting and heading over to Lila.
"Height will always be her greatest frustration." Hena said, shaking her head.
"I don't see why, I mean, she's not even that short for her age." Loki replied, gesturing at her.
"But I was around that height then too." Hena said with a smile "She's worried she only has my fate to look forward to."
She was surprised to find that Loki wasn't eminating any strong emotions right now. She couldn't usually tell unless they were powerful, so he must have been fairly docile about Thor's revelation.
"Are you upset?" she asked pointedly.
"Upset?" Loki questioned thoughtfully, really only to buy him time to respond "No. It was rather nice to have him reveal his former arrogant and violent nature to his Midgardian friends."
"But, you're still not happy that he did that to you without known cause." Hena maintained "I've never understood boys very well."
"Don't try." Loki advised.
"Well, one thing you should be happy about is your parents anger when they found out. They did want to defend you." Hena said earnestly.
Loki scoffed slightly.
"Hey, don't do that to me. I know what I'm talking about." Hena sounded indignant.
"I know you do." Loki's eyes now shown amusement "But Odin finding out wasn't out of love. He didn't want Thor and I to hate each other. He needed us to form a bond for when I would become king of Jotunheim."
"That isn't necessarily true. He cared for you."
"No, he did not." Loki responded.
"You told me to tell you when you were sounding ignorant, and you're sounding ignorant!" Hena said sharply, pointing at him.
"Just because I'm stating truth you don't agree with doesn't mean I'm ignorant." Loki said, tilting his head.
"Your truth is false." Hena replied, eyes and mouth open in intense exasperation.
"Fine." Loki said. Her eyebrows went up in surprise suddenly.
"What?"
"You're right and I'm wrong." Loki replied.
"What?" Hena repeated, even more incredulously.
"You are right and I am wrong. Happy?" he asked.
"No, no, no, no, no, no. Do not patronize me. Because it is not what you say it is what you think." Hena replied, poking him in the chest and pushing him back. He smiled and shook his head at the ground.
"I can't win."
"When Odin brought you home from Jotunheim, he may have had plans, but you have no idea what he really did for you that day."
Loki waited for her to continue and when she didn't, he motioned for her to.
"He didn't just change the color of your skin. He didn't just make you look Aesir. He shared of himself with you. That action enveloped you into his blood and his family. He did take you out of mercy and love, Loki. And he loves you still. "
"Well, if you are going to try and convince me, at least use the past tense on that." Loki replied.
"No, I won't." Hena said.
Again, he had to chuckle breathily.
"You are very optimistic and kind, Hena." he said "And somewhat heavy handed on the advocation of others."
Hena blinked, dismayed for half of a second.
"But, it's who are you and it's alright with me." Loki continued. Her eyes lit up brightly, mouth open, although he wasn't looking at her.
The sun had finally begun its descent in the sky, now that late afternoon had come. It disappeared on and off behind clouds, causing Mazi to go in and out of the house repeatedly. She was currently outside and beside the Warriors. Her focus was on Fandral at the moment.
"You just don't like Adden because he's a rule follower and you're not." Hena was speaking to Loki still.
"No, that's not it." the God of Mischief said with a shake of his head as he stared at her "I get along with plenty of 'rule followers.' But there is a point where it just becomes pathetic. Do you remember that time when we gathered for dinner on Anaheim and one of your cousins tried to sneak out with his silverware?"
Hena grinned "Yes."
"He looked at that child as if he had just gotten someone killed." Loki said, face exasperated.
Then he straightened up, changing his voice to mimic what had to be Adden "'Don't take these okay? These do not belong to you. I will not tell anyone this time, but do not do it again.'" Loki relaxed and allowed his voice returned to normal. Then he scowled "I mean, honestly. I'm very sure your parents wouldn't have minded in the least."
"No, you're right. They wouldn't have." Hena agreed with a shrug "But he is a palace guard. He is expected to do such things."
"Did you see his face while he chastised that child?" Loki asked, eyebrows up expectantly.
"No." Hena replied, smiling "But I saw yours."
He let out an amused breath "Is that why he wanted to duel me?"
"No." Hena replied "Adden is very kind usually. Besides, the duel happened months later."
"People of Anaheim have long memories." Loki said pointedly.
"So do Asgardians, particularly for grudges!" Hena responded, hands rising to her hips. Loki's eyes sparkled for a moment, hiding a very mischievous look.
"Well, you look Asgardian, but your other friends are bigger than you, so I wasn't sure." Mazi said, looking up at Fandral. Loki and Hena caught the last sentence of her speech as they looked over.
"Well, I am one hundred percent Asgardian." Fandral responded in good humor "And while my friends rely on their rather brute strength, speed is also a valuable skill."
"Yes, I agree." Mazi told him, nodding "Hena is very fast and I am very fast."
"I would imagine so." Fandral replied definitively.
"Then race me." Mazi said suddenly, chin raised.
Fandral blinked in surprise "Oh, child, whatever for?"
"For fun." Mazi replied. The warrior hesistated a moment before shrugging.
"Alright, let us. You can have a head start if you desire." he said, smiling.
"No, you can." Mazi replied cheekily.
"Where is the finish?" Fandral asked, gazing at the field.
"The trees." Mazi told him, also staring over. She began to walk past the others towards the picnic table, which was sure to be the starting point.
"Are you actually racing a child?" Sif asked Fandral, shaking her head slightly.
"Since when is that wrong?" he asked.
"Since you're actually doing it for pride."
"Certainly not." Fandral said, bringing a hand to his chest "She may win this race. I already know my skill."
Volstagg rolled his eyes, but the slender man went to join Mazi anyway.
"At your word." he told her.
Thor turned at the same time as Loki and Hena. The pair of them both seemed happy as they anticipated something the rest of them didn't.
"I will count to three and say begin." Mazi said, not getting ready to run in the least.
"Alright." Fandral replied with a nod.
"One...two...three...begin!"
The little girl immediately raced forward, overtaking the warrior immediately. Fandral, who had been prepared to run slowly, suddenly had to quicken his pace. His eyes showed shock.
Mazi maintained a lead for several moments until he slowly began to gain on her. But she didn't seem bothered by that. She continued running at the fastest pace she could manage.
Volstagg leaned to see who was ahead, but from their vantage point it was hard to tell.
"This is what she saves that energy for." Hena said with a laugh.
The two racers reached the treeline a few seconds later. Neither of them appeared to stand triumphant though. Fandral was breathing deeply, saying something to the little girl quickly. Mazi shrugged, also trying to oxyginate her lungs again.
"Someone should have been there to be the judge." Volstagg said, enjoying the frivolity.
"If he fights her for the win, he's even more immature than I thought." Sif replied, though she appeared happy.
Fandral and Mazi began walking back, although she began trotting ahead to get to Hena. Her older sister crouched for her.
"Good job!" she said, eyes bright as she took her hands.
Mazi nodded "We don't know who won. But we are fast. Now I want a drink."
"And some food too." Hena advised "You haven't eaten much today. I can go get it if you like."
"Yes, please. Thank you." Mazi said gratefully. Hena dipped her head slightly before turning to walk back towards the house. The sun had just peeked out while they were running and was still there now. There were clouds all around though, so it wouldn't be long before she could go out again. Loki silently moved about a foot to the left to block it from shining directly on Mazi. She didn't seem to mind that, as she was already hot.
"Good job." Volstagg commented to Fandral.
"Would you have expected her to be that fast?" his friend asked, more out of fascination than annoyance.
"That depends. How hard were you running?" Thor asked with a broad smile.
"As fast as I could have managed without a monster on my tail." Fandral replied "Although, to be fair, I am a little out of practice. I haven't fought in a battle for quite a while and even then it isn't just running flat out across a field."
"So, who actually won then?" Volstagg asked.
"I honestly don't know." Fandral shrugged "It may have been a tie."
"I bet she won and you're not telling her." Sif said stoically, her voice lowered so that Mazi didn't overhear.
"I would never do that." Fandral objected.
"Wouldn't you though?" Sif teased.
"Not with a child." Fandral replied, with a cocky shake of his head. Even though giving him a hard time was enjoyable, they let it go after that.
Mazi laid down in the grass, splayed out in exaggerated exhaustion. Loki said something to her too quiet to hear, but she shook her head in response. Then she sat up, head tilted curiously.
"How long before you could do that?" she asked.
The God of Mischief shrugged "I don't know, it took me a little while. Best start with simpler things for now."
He held out a hand to help her stand back up. She took it and he pulled her to her feet. Then she cupped her hands, blew into them, and released a butterfly. Loki smiled and nodded with raised eyebrows.
"I am getting very good at that." Mazi informed him. She twirled around in a circle, leaving his fading shadow as the sun vanished. Loki watched her before giving a brief glance in the Asgardian's direction. He raised a single eyebrow at Thor, showing he was still peeved with him.
"I am just standing here, Thor. You could come and ambush me. Just a passing thought."
"I apologized." Thor replied "What more do you want me to do?"
"Realize that you actually took a part in all of this." Loki said "But, that would be going to far for your ego."
"Do you even remember how old we were? We were barely out of youth." Thor responded "I was an idiot, yes, but also still young."
"You were that way all up until the past three years." Loki replied pointedly "It wasn't because you were young. Frigga and Odin said the same thing when you nearly started a war with Jotunheim. And yet, suddenly when you returned, you weren't "young" anymore. Trust me, the 'he was just young and irresponsible' excuse would never have worked for me."
"I'm surprised you aren't flaunting that this is because your actions have always been smarter and more precise than mine." Thor said.
"Or because I'm just innately more untrustworthy as a frost giant." Loki replied and then continued so that his brother didn't initiate another arguable subject "Either way, even if there wasn't a whole history of bias, your lack of punishment should surely convince you."
"I was banished." Thor growled.
"And had lovely little Mjolnir sent after you." Loki replied "I had nothing of the sort. Redemption was clearly not thought to be possible, so obviously I ought not to bother. Yet another show of favoritism you do not acknowledge."
"If you truly can't see the the difference between what we did, then maybe that's the issue." Thor said.
Loki was obviously going to spit out another retort, but suddenly Mazi reached up to pull on his arm. She'd approached so quietly, some of them hadn't even been aware. Thor leaned back as Loki looked down at her.
"Please don't fight. I don't like it when you fight."
"How would you know? You've never seen us fight." Loki replied honestly, his voice immediately lighter as he spoke with her.
"Yes, I have." Mazi said, nodding "In your memories."
"Oh, you too now, huh?" Loki asked, looking away with a small smile "Don't tell me there are two of you I have to prevent from reading my mind." he paused for a moment, staying silent, before Mazi opened her mouth in surprise at something unseen.
"Hey! That's not fair. You can't do that." she protested.
"Magic." Loki said, waving his hands.
"Hmm." Mazi frowned intensely at him "I want to see your thoughts."
"You're going to be a little mini Hena aren't you?" he asked.
"Yes, but that is good because we like her." Mazi informed him. She turned away with a rather mischievous look. Then, as swiftly as a little girl could manage, she turned back, grabbed his book from his hand, and ran.
"Mazi!" Loki turned and sprinted after her, lips pressed in good natured irritation. She let out a trill of laughter, book hugged to her chest. She had apparently gained back the energy lost from racing Fandral. He was closing in on her, but she was also aware of that, so she changed direction sharply. Loki followed her easily, but it still slowed him a bit. He took much longer strides that the girl, allowing him to gain ground faster.
Mazi turned again with a smile, but then suddenly ran right into Loki. She squealed as he swung her around to a stop, making sure she didn't fall from the momentum. He took his book back with a quick snatch. She stared up at him, mouth hanging as she panted.
"You used magic!" she accused "That's not fair!"
"How is that not fair?" Loki replied, staring at her dubiously "You use magic all the time."
"Yes, but you are much better!" Mazi complained.
Loki chuckled and patted her shoulder to bring her close for a moment "You'll get better too, I promise. You did manage to get the book from me. I'm impressed."
Mazi immediately looked prouder. Then she blinked, as if aware of something they were not.
"Hena is waiting inside." she said, eyes wide with concentration "I will be back out in a little while."
Loki nodded at her and she started sprinting back to the house. Her gait was slightly slower after her run with him, but her energy apparently knew no bounds.
Thor waited until she was farther away before looking back at Loki.
The God of Mischief scowled "What? You're not going to convince me, Thor. Do you and your friends have nothing better to do than watch me? You have guards for that, remember? Right over there. They're very vigilant, don't worry."
Thor sighed in irritation, realizing he really wasn't going to get anything out of his brother at the moment.
"Alright, I don't want to continue the argument, but," that was Volstagg surprisingly, voice adament "I have to say, it really angers me when you say that."
"What, Volstagg?" Loki asked "The fact that I have guards? I'm a prisoner, remember?"
"No. The fact that you constantly say 'HIS friends.' So explicitly." Vosltagg replied.
"Why? You don't like me speaking truth?" Loki's voice was dry as dry could be.
"You do it to provoke us." Volstagg replied.
"There is nothing provocative about that. Facts. Simple facts. Our 'friendship' was conditional upon Thor being there." Loki said.
To their credit, every single one of the Warriors protested. Thor just looked bewildered, mouth open.
"No, it was not." The usually kind Fandral spoke in frustration "It wasn't at all. Why in the nine realms do you think that?"
"Would you have even glanced in my direction if he hadn't been my older brother?" Loki asked a return question.
"Yes. Actually. Yes, I would have." Fandral said. And that may have been true. In fact, it probably was.
"Then why did it evaporate when Thor left?" Loki asked.
Fandral scowled, blinking a few times. He glanced at the others, as if not sure what to say.
"What do you mean?" Volstagg asked for them finally.
"When he was banished and Odin fell into the Odinsleep." Loki replied "All everyone did was beg me to return Thor home. Undo his sentence from the Allfather. All of you. Even my own mother." he gave a look at Thor, showing that he clearly resented that "How could I do that when Odin clearly wished that upon Thor? And how could anyone ask me to do so?"
"You were acting king. It was well within your rights." Volstagg almost seemed to mutter "And probably best that you brought him back, not Odin."
"Why?" Loki asked, putting a hand to his chest, eyes narrowing "I never intended for Thor to be banished. Not once. I had nothing to do with his initial explusion."
Thor just looked lost "When we went to Jotunheim-"
"I did everything in my power to stop you from going to Jotunheim. Which, I will admit, there wasn't much I was able to do with you back then." Loki replied.
"You told the guard where we were going." Sif pointed out.
"Oh, I'm so sorry I saved your life, Lady Sif." Loki replied with a mock bow "What an intrusion." he scoffed in cold amusement, not believing he was having this conversation. The he turned his fierce eyes back to them "When I, as king, failed to materialize your hero for you, what did you do? You went to Heimdall. Guardian of the nine realms. My wish was for the Bifrost to remained closed. And yet, all you had to do was approach him once and down to Midgard he sent you. You left Asgard for Thor."
"It was...for a friend." Volstagg said, eyes flicking between him and the ground.
"My point exactly." Loki replied, staring at him. His voice was still soft. There wasn't anger in his eyes as expected. Instead, they almost seemed to show hurt "You betrayed me for Thor."
"That's not how it was meant." Volstagg protested.
"So, good intentions perceived wrong?" Loki asked, eyebrows up "Interesting concept. Perhaps widen your tunnel vision, Volstagg. That happens to others too. Even so, I had done nothing to warrant what you did."
"You allowed Frost Giants onto Asgard." Hogun said, his gruff voice without menace.
"But you didn't know about that then." Loki reminded them "The only reason you had for betraying me at that time was that I was not a legitimate king."
The group fell silent, ruminating his words as the God of Mischief watched.
"To be fair, you had only become king that day." Fandral said "It would have taken many many months for us to get used to you or Thor on the throne. And as for Heimdall. He is smart. He would have sensed you were planning something."
"And what was I planning?" Loki asked.
"To destroy Jotunheim." Fandral said.
"Would any of you have been sad?" the former prince countered "No. Odin was going to wake up to an era of peace. I was never, ever going to return to that damn realm."
"You wouldn't have had to." Sif said.
"Really? You don't know then, do you?" Loki asked, eyes hard "I was meant to be sent home to Jotunheim, Sif. To be their king. Leave everything I had ever known and bring everlasting peace with an unshakable bond between Thor and I. King of Asgard and king of Jotunheim. Brothers united."
"Those plans fell away, Loki." Thor said quietly "Both mother and father told me so."
"So they say." Loki replied with a bitter laugh "I found a new way to bring about that peace, and ensure that the race of frost giants was forever destroyed." he paused and then shook his head briefly "That doesn't seem to matter now, does it? After all, as Odin said, I am beneath all of you now. So let me be."
"I know he said that to you, but he has said things he has never said before to me in the past months." Thor said "He did not take mother's death well."
"Then I guess we do have something in common." Loki replied.
"You should know that there is gaping hole where you once were." Volstagg said angrily.
"Take care not to fall in." Loki replied sarcastically. His gaze flicked to rest on something behind them, eyebrows furrowing. The others didn't notice.
"If you won't believe what we tell you, how can you ever-"
"Mazi, don't touch that." Loki interrupted Volstagg, face intense as he walked forward several paces "Put that down!"
Thor and the Warriors both turned sharply to see. Mazi was standing near the Asgardian barrier, holding the scepter in her hands. It was pulsing rapidly, very similar to what the tesseract had done.
"Mazi, drop it!" Loki yelled, running in her direction. The guards from both realms were also hurrying over.
She didn't appear to hear him. Her body convulsed several times before she collapsed from the movement. The scepter shot a massive blast through the air towards the trees, exploding with a loud crash. Loki skidded to a stop for a partial second before sprinting over to her, followed by the others. Hena appeared in the doorway, eyes wide.
The God of Mischief slid to a stop beside the little girl about the same time the guards made it over. The scepter was still glowing in her grasp and he grabbed it, dropping it away from her as quickly as he could.
Hena was over in a moment, falling to her knees beside her sister. Everyone else inside the house was already out, having heard the earsplitting bang.
"What happened?" Hena demanded.
"Her powers are not as suppressed as you thought." Loki said, staring down at Mazi with fearful eyes, hands hovering a few inches above her. She was unconscious, eyes closed, with her hair partway covering her face. The group had gathered around them, sharing perplexed expressions as they watched.
"She's alive. Nothing seems wrong." Hena said, her voice still scared, but hopeful at the same time. Yet, she still stared at her sister, observing an unseen aura. Loki was silent, eyes flicking back and forth as he thought.
"She touched the scepter?" Hawkeye asked quietly to the others. None of them responded.
"She's alright." Hena repeated, watching Loki anxiously.
"We need to remove that memory." the God of Mischief said, without looking at her.
"What?" Hena asked in horror "We can't do that. Tampering with memory is extremely dangerous, Loki."
"You don't want her to remember that." Loki said.
"We should not do this."
"Hena." he looked up at her intently "You don't want her to remember that."
The Anaheimien woman blinked back at him, the uneasiness clear, but Loki wasn't going to wait for her permission. He carefully moved one hand under Mazi's head, turning it forward.
Hena placed a hand on him, and it took several of them a moment to realize that she was enhancing his power with her own. Loki put one hand right above the little girl's head, concentrating hard. He slowly began to move his fingers in precise motions, the familiar green glow shimmering dimly as he did so.
The group seemed to hold their breath until he lowered his arm. Hena watched in anticipation and then her eyes turned to relief.
"We should get that away." Loki muttered, speaking of the scepter. Hena glanced over before moving to grab it.
"No." Loki said "Not you."
So, she waited beside Mazi as he got to his feet. Thor watched him carefully, surprisingly wary as his brother picked up the staff that had given him so much power before. But Loki set it back on the stand uneventfully. Although, he always seemed to stare at it for just a heartbeat too long.
"So, what happened?" Captain America asked as the God of Mischief returned to Mazi.
"She picked it up." he replied shortly.
"I didn't know she would be able to magnify power yet." Hena said "Nor to that extent. I don't if I could even do that."
"The scepter in and of itself is a power source." Loki replied to her directly "So if she increased its power, it would likely do the same in return."
"Until she couldn't handle it anymore." Hena concluded grimly "But Mazi isn't generally one to mess with things like that. She'll play games, but she doesn't go around playing with things if she doesn't know they are safe."
"But she's not hurt?" Captain America asked.
Hena shook her head.
"Then let's take her inside." the soldier continued. Loki would have been reluctant to listen to him ordinarily, but he was planning on doing the same thing anyway. He eased his hands under Mazi and lifted her up.
When she woke up, the little girl didn't appear to be suffering any side effects. She had just as much energy as before and perhaps even more. She was currently playing with the other children upstairs, happy as could be. The adults were still a tad uneasy, but the elephant in the room didn't come up again.
Laura and Hena had given all the children another warning about going near the scepter. The Anaheimien guards were also stationed in front of the scepter now. Mazi had nodded just as earnestly as the other children when the request was made. There wasn't even a hint that she remembered any part of what happened. Techinically, there wasn't a way for Loki to remove a memory without doing serious damage. But he could mask it very well so she wouldn't know the difference. It was difficult for both him and Hena because they couldn't let on that they'd been worried about Mazi. The others were almost always awkward around her anyway, so that didn't matter.
"One, two, three, four." Cooper's voice could be heard up there, counting the spaces on the board game they were playing "Your turn, Lila."
"You skipped my turn." the girl responded with obvious annoyance.
"Then it's Nathaniel's." Cooper corrected.
It was fortunate that the scepter had not been pointing in the direction of the house when it went off, although it hadn't been that far of a distance from Thor and his friends. Contrary to the times it had been used in the past, the blast had exploded in mid-air instead of when it reached a solid force.
A few minutes after Cooper had spoken, there were angry steps going down the stairs.
Nathaniel looked sulky, his arms crossed and eyebrows creased in a scowl.
"Dad." he began "Cooper isn't letting me be the banker in the game."
Hawkeye looked at him with a very passive expression.
"Alright, Nathaniel, you have three times to come down and complain. Is this going to be one of those times?"
Nathaniel waited a moment before turning back away "No." he said grudgingly.
Hawkeye nodded after him without saying anything else. The boy went back up the stairs, taking two at a time to get up them quickly.
"Parenting is not that easy when you're with them day in and day out." Laura said, observing the scene skeptically.
"But it does mean it's easier on you when I'm here, right?" Hawkeye asked smartly.
"I wasn't talking to you. I just wanted to make sure everyone else knows that our kids are not this easy-going normally." Laura replied.
"Cooper, be nice!" that was Mazi from upstairs, sounding shocked and indignant. He immediately shushed her. Laura glanced up.
"I don't think we need to worry about people overestimating the attitudes of our children." Hawkeye responded, shaking his head with his lips pressed together.
"You're very peculiar to want people to see how hard they are, rather than how perfect they are." Hena told her with an impressed look "And more likeable."
"To be honest, it's still partially fueled by selfishness. I want people to know how hard I work keeping them in line." Laura replied, nodding with each word.
Even though the conversation was light-hearted, there was still a somber undertone around the room. Captain America was watching Loki, who was not joining in with Hena as usual, but had one finger over his mouth in a contemplative expression. The God of Mischief's eyes rose to meet his and they locked gazes for a moment. The soldier's face was serious and stoic, while Loki's was hard and almost goading, as if wanting Captain America to say something to him. They remained that way until the mortal took in a breath and looked away. Hena was the only person in the room to pick up on it. More because of the emotion flowing from Captain America. She glanced in between the two of them silently, but the direct tension did not reappear.
Longer chapter haha, so if you could spare a moment, please leave me a word below ;)
And, in case you were wondering, that was not the family conflict I was referring to in the other chapter. That is still coming. :)
Please review and thanks for reading!