Author's Note: So I ultimately decided to skip Mama's Gotta Hustle. Thankfully, that's one less episode away from getting to the holiday chapters in time.

The song featured here is a parody of "I See the Light" from Tangled.

After this chapter, we move on to the history project adventure. But the subject of Molly's project isn't going to be who you think. Let's save that a surprise for later.

Enjoy the chapter. Any and all comments are welcome.

"You know what I love most about McGee Family Movie Night?" Pete asked. "Recreating the theater experience." He sat in the living room with all the lights off. Sharon sat next to him holding a tablet that's currently on a video chat with Grandma Nin.

Just then, Pete's phone rang. But before he could answer it, Molly walked up to him with a flashlight shining on him.

"Uh, sir, I'm gonna have to ask you to turn that off."

"See? Movie magic." Pete said as his daughter, Loki, Darryl, and Scratch came in.

"I don't know about magic," Loki said holding up a huge handful of cash, "But you mortals really paid full price for tickets and food?"

"Paid?" Molly asked. "Loki, we weren't charging anything."

"I thought you wanted to recreate the theater experience." Loki said. "From my experience, you people pay for everything."

"This is why I sneaked in my own snacks." Grandma Nin said opening up a bag of chips.

"Good news." Darryl said. "Scratch and I found the scariest movie ever."

"It has a ghost!" Scratch said. "And there's nothing scarier than ghosts. No offense, Loki."

"Some taken."

"I'm gonna have nightmares for weeks." Molly said. "I can't wait! Hit play!"

The McGee's started the movie with high expectations…

…and were left with disappointment. By the end of the movie, everyone was bored and tired.

"That wasn't even scary." Darryl said. "Too many talking heads and not enough rolling heads."

"Yeah, and those ghost stereotypes?" Scratch said. "Do I talk like in a spooky tone all the time saying 'get out of my house'?"

"Sometimes, you do." Molly said.

"Well, that's just for effect."

Loki sighed. "You know, this was the one McGee family activity I was actually looking forward to, and now I'm disappointed. I've heard light elf mistrals play songs about dandelions that were scarier than that."

"As much as I want to hear a song lik that, I agree with Loki." Molly said.

"We could probably make a better movie ourselves." Darryl said.

Molly gasped. "That is a great idea! Let's make a horror movie! I mean, we've got a real ghost!"

"I'll do it." Scratch said. "And it'll be the performance of an afterlife-time."

"I will direct, obviously." Molly said. "Libby can write the script. Loki can use his magic for special effects. And Darryl, you can film it on your phone."

"I didn't get the phone with six cameras for no reason." Darryl said.

"Could we back up to me for a second?" Loki asked. "Why would I want to waste my talents on an amateur film?"

"So you don't want to prove that you can make a better movie than the guys who made the snooze-fest we sat through?" Darryl asked.

"…Well played." Loki said.

"Let's make some movie magic!" Molly declared.

The next day, Molly, Loki, Scratch, Darryl, and Libby built their set at the far, grassy field of the softball stadium. Scratch took the chance to look over the script given by Libby.

"Are we sure Libby's not a ghost? Because her script is spooky accurate."

"Put this on." Molly said dropping a white sheet over the ghost.

"Ugh. So degrading."

"Great work, Libby." Molly said. "Your script's great, the set's even better."

"Well, I did have some help from Lukas." Libby said. "I'm surprised you'd lend a hand. I didn't take you for the movie type."

"I admit, I do see myself as the face of something like, say, a streaming television show." Loki said.

"Now, all that's left is for you to try on your costume." Molly said as he pulled out a frilly, blue dress.

"But that's for Angela, the main character in the movie." Libby said.

"Yes, and who better to bring Angela to life than you, the writer who created her?" Molly asked.

"I'm pretty sure Neve Campbell didn't write Scream." Loki said.

"Would you like to call Lucy then and put her in this dress?" Molly asked displaying the costume.

Loki scowled. He didn't want to be seen in that costume, even in his female form. "Since when did the McGee's become master manipulators?"

"I can't, Molly." Libby panicked. "The very thought of people watching me… on screen… in HD… makes me…" She rushed behind one of the fake tombstones and threw up.

"You'll be fine." Molly assured.

"So… who's playing the ghost?" Libby asked after seeing Scratch covered in a sheet.

"Oh, him? That's… our Canadian cousin, Carl." Molly lied.

"Yeah. I'm the ghost… eh."

"You truly are a thespian." Loki commented sarcastically.

"All right, crew. Gather round." Molly said. "We are here for one reason and one reason only! To make the scariest ghost movie ever! Sure, we're just kids with a camera phone and cardboard props, but we've got something Hollywood doesn't! We've got… to be home for dinner! So let's get shooting!"

Throughout the afternoon, the crew began making their movie, but they kept running into many problems. Libby had a hard time fitting into her costume. Darryl spilled fake blood over his phone. A skunk showed up on-set. And the whole time, Darryl had his phone on selfie mode. And if that wasn't enough, they had to leave the field because a softball game was being played.

Everyone packed up their set supplied and cut through the town on their way home.

"Making movies is hard." Molly said.

"I barely got to use my fake blood." Darryl said.

All of a sudden, the door in front of Molly opened up right at her face. Andrea Davenport leaped through with her phone pointed at herself.

"Listen up, Fandreas! Warm winds are blowing this spring. That's why I stay cool with…" She stopped when she saw Loki and the others. "Whoa! Lukas! Hey there." She chuckled nervously. "What brings you to town?"

"These ding-dongs." Loki said pointing at his friends. "We're making a ghost movie."

"Shut up!" Andrea gasped. "I love horror movies! Totally unrelated, but did you know that I'm a professional actress?"

"You are?" Loki asked.

"Yep! Take a look!" Andrea passed her phone to the crew with a video loaded. Molly played the video of Andrea trying out several products of her family's brand while singing.

"For the best in clothing, beauty, and sports, spend your money at Davenport's!"

"We all know where this is going, right?" Scratch asked. "She wants to star in our movie."

"I just had a crazy thought." Andrea said.

"Andrea Davenport in our movie?" Molly asked.

Andrea gasped. "Molly McGee! You read my mind! Meet at the store warehouse tomorrow morning. It's where we shoot our commercials, so we've got all the sets and equipment we need."

"What?" Molly asked.

"We're gonna make the best movie ever! Okay. Love you. Bye!" Andrea said before walking away.

"Well, this should be interesting." Loki commented.

The next morning, everyone went to the warehouse that Andrea told them about. Molly opened up the door revealing a real, professional-looking movie set. Several crew members began setting everything up, there was a buffet table that Scratch immediately went to, and there was even a nighttime screen in the back in front of a few cameras.

"I was right." Loki said. "This is interesting."

"Okay, everybody. It's all very impressive," Molly said, "But don't be distracted by the razzle-dazzle. We just gotta focus on our goal and…" Molly stopped herself to gasp at a director's chair with her name on it. "SWEET BABY CORN! THAT CHAIR AS MY NAME ON IT! This is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen! Second is the Grand Canyon. Third is a baby deer learning to stand."

"Uh, Molly, I need to talk to you." Libby said approaching her with a stack of papers. "Andrea had a few notes on my script."

"What notes?"

"The lead character should be more relatable…"

"Why not?"

"Aspirational…"

"Sounds good."

"Beautiful, but not know how beautiful she is…"

"Is that a thing?"

"And also, her name should be Andrea."

"So she's recasting the main character?" Loki asked.

"It appears so." Libby said.

"Well… who cares what the main character's called, as long as the movie's great." Molly said. "Plus, now you don't have to be on camera."

"Eh, that's true."

"So this is a win-win for everybody." Loki said.

The bell rang to signal the start of the shooting. At Molly's cue, despite Andrea's distraction to her followers, the film began with her walking nervously through the cemetery.

"Maybe I shouldn't have taken this shortcut through the scary woods."

"Cue the ghost." Molly called out.

Scratch hovered behind Andrea wearing his bedsheet.

"Uh… line?"

"'Boo'."

"Oh, yeah. BOOOOOOO!"

"OH, NO!" Andrea acted. "The hitchhiker's ghost is coming to eat my soul! Thank goodness I'm wearing Swedish memory foam running shoes. Available now at Davenport's Department store."

"CUT!" Molly cried out. "That was great, Andrea, but how about we stick to the script?"

"Sorry. I just knew this was the natural spot for product placement."

"Okay, I hear you, but um… Maybe we don't do product placement?"

"I mean, you're the director, but it is how we're paying for everything."

"That may work for your family's commercials, Andrea," Loki said, "But this here is a movie. You might be pushing too hard with the product placement here."

"So what do you suggest?" Andrea asked.

"Easy. You can have the camera capture your shoes during the chase scene without you having to explain what it is. Like the Nike shoes in Back to the Future."

Andrea rubbed her chin before smiling at the trickster. "Wow. Good plan. Thanks, Lukas."

"WHOA! HOW DO YOU WORK THIS THING?!" Darryl yelled out as he was swinging himself around the main camera.

"Let's just hope the camera stays in one piece." Loki said.

"I got this. GERARD!" Andrea called out. Suddenly, a new man came out from out of nowhere. "Gerard does all our commercials. He can work the camera, and he knows my good side. Just so you know, Lukas, it's both."

"You're replacing me?" Darryl asked. "She can't do that!"

"Well… You can still do the behind-the-scenes footage." Molly suggested.

"Can't wait to capture how this all falls apart." Darryl pouted walking away.

"Look, Molly, I know how it hurts to fire family," Andrea said, "But like my daddy says, it gets easier every time."

"What?" Molly asked.

Loki chuckled. "This is more entertaining than I thought."

As Loki and Molly walked away, Andrea looked pleasurably at him and sighed softly. Just then, an idea flashed in her mind. She smiled keeping her eyes locked on Loki.

What was once a scary cemetery set was now a pink prom setting with a disco ball hanging overhead. Molly felt like she was losing control, so she walked toward the main actress.

"Look, Andrea, we need to talk about…"

"One second. Libbs!"

"Coming!" Libby ran over to Andrea with a whole new stack of papers. "Did you read my latest script? I addressed all your notes."

"And I super appreciate you staying up all night, but we decided to go in a bold, new direction. Ghost romance. Ghomance! Oh, and it can be a musical. People love musicals."

"But that's not even scary!" Libby said.

"I mean, do ghosts have to be scary?" Andrea asked. "Why can't they be cute and dreamy?"

Scratch overheard the conversation and became angry. "Because ghosts aren't dreamy! They're sick and twisted and sometimes a little gassy, especially after eating al lthe craft services." He demonstrated letting out a fart that made Libby faint.

"Yeah, about that, Carl," Andrea said, "You seem to be lowering morale around here with that attitude of yours, so I'm afraid we're going to have to recast your character."

"WHAT?!" Scratch yelled out. "That's insane! Who do you think will make a better ghost than me?"

"Why, Lukas, of course."

Loki overheard the conversation and shot his head up. "Say what now?"

"Congrats, Lukas." Andrea said. "You're being promoted from special effects artist to main cast. I'll have makeup working on you ASAP. Hopefully, they'll make you a more convincing ghost than the last guy."

"WHAT?!" Scratch shouted.

"But I…" Loki started to say, but he was grabbed by the makeup department and dragged away. "How the Helheim did we get here?!"

When the artists were done, Loki looked pale and ghostly. He felt dismal having to be forced into doing this. He snuck away from the department only to find Molly, Darryl, Libby, and Scratch (who was still wearing his bedsheet) slouching in the backstage area.

"You guys down too?" Loki asked.

"Andrea Davenport has taken everything over." Libby said.

"So I noticed." Loki said. "What about you, Molly? Isn't this still our movie?"

"It's not even my movie." Molly said. "Andrea replaced me with another director named Greta Gerwig for 'international distribution'. She took my chair. You guys were right."

"Never thought I'd be depressed even when you admit it." Scratch said. "You know, I could cause an accident on stage if you like."

"Let's not go that far." Molly said. "Someone just needs to go talk to her. Tell her how miserable we are."

"She won't listen to us." Libby said. "She doesn't listen to anyone."

"What about Lukas?" Molly asked. "She sure listened to him when he gave that compromise about product placement."

"You really think I can get through to her?" Loki asked.

"You might be the only one of us who can." Darryl said.

Loki sighed. "All right. I'll have a word with her."

"And if that doesn't work," Scratch said, "I have a screwdriver for a certain spotlight hanging over Andrea's head."

"This is going to be good." Andrea said excitedly as she looked at herself in the mirror. "This is going to be the best movie ever."

"You sure about that?" Loki asked revealing himself behind Andrea.

"Whoa! Hey, Lukas. Gotta say, that ghost makeup is killer, no pun intended. Did anyone ever tell you that you look like a young Tom Hiddleston?"

"That's great," Loki said, "But Andrea, there's something we need to talk about."

"If it's about who gets to appear first at the credits roll, that's all taken care of."

"But Andrea…"

"So I thought we'd have our casting list split into two different columns. That way, we'd both appear at the same time."

"Andrea…."

"And if you have any questions about the font, you can speak to our new writer. I'm sure they can…"

"ANDREA, YOU'RE RUINING THE MOVIE!"

Andrea paused at Loki's sudden outburst. She turned her stunned face to him. "What?"

Loki sighed. "I'm sorry. I have to be brutally honest here. You're ruining the movie for the others."

"What are you talking about?" Andrea asked. "This is our vision."

"No, Andrea. It's your vision." Loki said. "It was nice of you to use your resources to get us the proper equipment, but you've completely taken over. You basically fired Molly, Libby, and Darryl."

"And that's… bad?" Andrea asked. "I let go of a lot of people during the commercials. They never said anything bad."

"Did those people work for your family?"

Andrea was about to answer, but the thought passing through her mind really stuck itself there.

She looked out to see her classmates lowering their heads. She turned back to Loki with regret in her eyes.

"Wow. So they were only nice to me just because they wanted to stay on my parents' good side?"

Loki waited a moment before answering. "Look, Andrea, it's clear that you have a gift for a lot of stuff. But if you keep being blind to what you're being privileged with, you'll never know who might get hurt in the process. Believe me. I knew someone who was given everything and let it go to his head." His mind flashed back to his memories of his brother.

"And what happened?" Andrea asked.

"Well… I suppose I should admit that after learning a little humility along the way, he became a better person. So long story short, I think you should let go of control for a little while, for your friends' sake."

Andrea took one last look at Molly and the others before turning back to Loki. "Wow. You're really smart. Thanks. But I don't know what to do. We've already hired all these people, and it's way too late to send them home."

Loki thought for a moment before an idea hit him. "I have an idea. But you might want to stay hidden. You're in the splash zone."

Everyone was all set to film, but Loki and Scratch were ready to start their mischief. With a snap of Loki's fingers, the lights began to flicker on and off. Scratch then began moaning loudly sending shivers to each of the crew members. He knocked over one spotlight while Loki used his magic to knock over another and throw a dagger to the disco ball chord. Scratch popped out of the prom set curtains to give a loud shriek to the entire crew. He and Loki worked their magic to make everything float and act up scaring everyone out of the warehouse.

At the end of it all, when everyone ran off, Andrea walked out to see the damages caused everywhere.

"Wow. You weren't kidding about the splash zone, Lukas." Andrea said. She then sighed and turned to the other kids. "So, like, I'm so sorry I was a bit of a control freak. I admit, I was just into this for a bit of fun, but then, I got a little too into it."

"It's okay, Andrea." Molly said. "The only real downside is that we've got nothing to show for movie night."

Darryl laughed holding up his phone. "We got this." He held it up showing the carnage Loki and Scratch did around the studio.

"I might have an idea." Libby said.

"The Haunting of… the Haunting of Brighton!"

Molly's title shot was followed by pretty much all the scary damages done throughout the warehouse studio. It was only a few scenes before it ended, but everyone in the McGee living room applauded nevertheless. The McGee family, Scratch, Loki, and Libby were proud of what they saw.

"Wow. Carl really committed to his performance. You can't even see the wires." Libby said before realizing something "Wait a minute. There aren't any wires. Lukas, how did you make him float without…"

"Uh, where's Andrea?" Molly asked. "I thought that since she's sorry, she might want to see this herself."

"Oh, right. That reminds me." Loki said standing back up.

"Where are you going?" Sharon asked.

"Me and Andrea kinda made a deal." Loki said. "Don't worry. I'll be back in a short while."

Back at the ruined movie studio, Andrea paced around. She stopped when the door opened and Loki walked in.

"Sorry I'm late."

"It's okay." Andrea said. She picked up a tripod camera and set it up. "You ready?"

"To act out the scene that you were most looking forward to?" Loki asked. "That was the agreement in exchange for you not to ask questions."

"Don't worry. It's just one little romance song between the lead girl and the ghost." Andrea said.

"I've been meaning to ask. Why all the romance?"

Andrea had a little red in her cheeks and chuckled. "Hey. If I don't ask questions, then I don't think you should either."

Loki shrugged. "Fine by me."

"Okay. Now, for the camera." Andrea went over to the tripod and turned it on. "And for the music." She turned on the soft guitar music on her phone and placed it out of camera. "And now… the words."

Andrea:

All my life, always feeling lonely

All my life, longing for some care

All my life, I was always wishing

For something that wasn't there

Then, we meet, and everything is brighter

Then, we meet, and you open my eyes

If you're real

I know I feel

An emotion on the rise

And I feel you haunt my heart

And yet, I do not fear it

And I feel you haunt my heart

And I'm glowing up with pride

And though we are worlds apart

I can feel your warm spirit

When you speak, I'm happy to hear it

It makes me warm inside

After reading over his lines in the scrips, Loki tossed it and approached her.

Loki:

Afterlife, walking among the living

Afterlife, seeing nothing but fear

Afterlife, all that I'm giving

Is terror whenever I'm here

You see me, and you don't seem afraid

You see me, and this is something new

You make me

So happy

And that's why I love you

Loki and Andrea:

AND I FEEL YOU HAUNT MY HEART

Loki:

And yet, I do not fear it

Loki and Andrea:

AND I FEEL YOU HAUNT MY HEART

Andrea:

And I'm glowing up with pride

Loki and Andrea:

AND THOUGH WE ARE WORLDS APART

I CAN FEEL YOUR WARM SPIRIIIIIIIIT

When you speak, I'm happy to hear it

It makes me warm inside

At the end of the song, Andrea's blush returned to her cheeks and she coughed. "Well, that's.. about it. Thank you, Lukas."

"Well, that wasn't so bad." Loki said.

"Nope. It wasn't." Andrea said before pushing Loki out of the warehouse. "Have a great day. Love you. Bye." She immediately shut the door behind him leaving him confused.

"Cute girl, but she's got a lot of issues."

High up into the realm of Asgard, the Allfather, Odin, had granted audience to the Bifrost guardian, Heimdall. Beside him were Thor, Lady Sif, and the Warriors Three.

"You wished to see me, Heimdall." Odin said.

"Allfather, I bring strange and perhaps even dire news." Heimdall said. "Some time ago, I heard the mention of a very familiar name. I thought it was nothing, so I dismissed it. But certain events recently have caught my attention to the same general area. Just today, I have seen an entire warehouse affected by what may have been Asgardian magic."

"Asgardian magic?" Odin asked. "I admit, this is peculiar, but why is this dire?"

"Because I've only seen one person with magic like that." Heimdall said. "It's someone who's name I heard just a few weeks ago. Allfather… I think Loki is alive."

The entire court murmured fearfully. Thor was the most surprised out of them all.

"That is impossible." Hogun said. "Thor, didn't you tell us that Loki had perished?"

"Aye. I saw him vaporized before my very eyes." Thor assured. "There's no way he could have survived."

"Well, this is Loki." Fandrall said. "Nothing he does would surprise me."

"Where did you see these events?" Odin asked the gatekeeper.

"In a small town in Midgard. They call it Brighton."

Odin stroked his beard in deep thought. "I don't see any reason why Loki would seek refuge in such a small hamlet, but we cannot take any chances. Heimdall, keep constant vigilance over this Brighton. If you see any more signs of Loki alive, let us know."

"Aye."

"If Loki lives, then he will face the full force of Asgardian justice."