"So, Mr. and Mrs. Arrington, while Linn is on a tour of the school let's get to know one another," the principal closed the door behind them and Maisy winced as it latched. She had to remind herself that it wasn't locked. She could get out at any time she wanted and nobody at a high school would force her to stay.

"Might we open the door just a crack?" Loki asked from under his disguise, "My wife is a tad claustrophobic."

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" She did as she was asked and Maisy was annoyed to find that it let her breathe easier. Closed doors had never been a problem before Muspelheim and she was eager to be rid of the fear of them

"Thank you," Maisy said quietly, holding Loki's hand.

"Excuse me for saying this, but you both look a bit young to be parents to a fifteen year old," the principal said, sitting down at her desk and opening a nearly empty file. She slid in a picture of Linn that had been taken fifteen minutes previous.

"We are," Maisy replied, "We adopted."

"I see! Wonderful. That would explain her accent I suppose."

"And some of it she probably picks up from me," Loki commented, sounding very posh.

"May I ask what part of England you are from?"

"London. Born and raised." he replied without hesitation. Maisy was glad he knew the names of some Midgardian cities because she'd forgotten to prep him for questions about his heritage.

"How wonderful! I've always wanted to go to London!"

"I'm sure."

"And Linn is also from London?"

"Yes. As far as we know. It was a blind adoption," Maisy replied.

"And you, Mrs. Arrington? Where are you from?"

"California."

"Really? However did you two meet? And what brings you to New York?"

"Erm, we, ah..." Maisy scratched her arm, remembering that her acting skills were lacking.

"We are both involved in fashion," Loki supplied quickly, "And we met at the fashion show of a mutual friend."

"Oh…" the principal raised a dubious eyebrow at Loki. Maisy realized his disguise probably wasn't selling their story very well. He'd glamoured his face to look slightly different than his own with a convincing and impressive mustache and shorter hair. He was wearing a Hawaiian shirt, jeans, a fanny pack, and a plaid peacoat. All of it he'd come up with himself and though Maisy had objected to going out in public with him, he'd worn it anyway.

She also looked different since her face was known from the documentary and Loki had made her hair a dull brown. She'd picked out her own clothes, but they probably didn't help sell the fashionista bit. She was also wearing a Hawaiian shirt because she knew Loki's would make more sense if they matched, but she'd worn a plain T-shirt underneath and grey pants. Her coat was also a more subdued color. But really, the Hawaiian shirts were hurting their story.

"As for why we're in New York," Maisy quickly pulled the attention away from their clothes, "Well, Lo-uh-Lawrence and I are both interested in seeing how the fashion differs on the opposite side of the country. Ahem, it obviously differs quite a bit."

The principal seemed to like this explanation for the bizarre fashion choices and let it go.

"Alright, well, welcome to the Big Apple! Let's talk a little about Linn."

"Of course."

"Does she have any learning disabilities or struggles that I need to make known to the staff here?"

"No, she is probably superior to the other children here," Loki said with a roll of his eyes and Maisy elbowed him.

"She… is a little behind in certain subjects," she said, wondering how she was going to explain Linn's complete lack of knowledge about anything Midgardian, "Especially History, and Social Studies, and, uh, English. Oh! And possibly science."

"Do you have her transcript from her school in California? Perhaps I can sort out what classes she can take to get caught up."

"Her transcript? Right. Uh, we don't have her transcript because, um, well, because-"

"Oh, that's alright. I'll email the school and have it sent here. What's the name of the school?"

"Homeschool!" Maisy blurted, "She was homeschooled."

"Ah, that does make things tricky. Well, maybe we can have her take a standardized test and see where she places in each of the categories. How does that sound?"

"Great! Yup, that sounds good. That's a good idea."

"Excellent. I will have her sit in on a few classes today and then while the other students do their work I will have a teacher monitor her while she takes a few tests. That way she gets to see a bit of what a normal school day looks like here."

"Perfect," Maisy forced a bright smile, "That sounds great."

"Well, then that's all. You two can be on your way and remember that school is out at three!"

"Wonderful," Loki shook her hand when offered it, "Thank you for all of your help. I'm sure Linn will love it here."

Maisy couldn't help but think there was something else she needed to take care of before they left, but soon they were being herded toward the exit of the building. Right as they were about to leave it crossed her mind that Linn didn't know how to take a standardized test. And since even the homeschooled people that Maisy had met had taken the tests since they were kids she knew that this was going to be an issue. She stopped dead in her tracks and turned around.

"Can I say goodbye to Linn really quickly before we go?"

"Oh Mrs. Arrington, believe me, I've seen many mothers break down in tears with that 'one last' goodbye. You are better off just leaving her be."

"No, no. I won't cry. I just want to say goodbye and then leave right away."

"By this point she's probably already in a class. We don't want to interrupt."

"I just need to see her real fast," Maisy tried to walk past the other woman, but she got stopped.

"Go. She'll be fine! It will be wonderful! If she was homeschooled I bet this will be her first big adventure! Let her have it."

"But I need to talk with her."

"Mrs. Arrington…"

"Mary, dear," Loki said, "Perhaps she is right, we should get going."

"No, Lawrence, I need to see her before we go!"

"I'm afraid unless it's an emergency-"

"I'm her mother!" Maisy exclaimed, "I could pull her out of school if I wanted and you couldn't stop me!"

"Hard to let the little ones grow up, I know, but you really should-"

Maisy finally pushed past her and went back into the office. She smiled and the receptionist.

"Can I use your intercom for just a second?"

"No."

"I just need to speak to my-"

"No."

"She needs to know something!" Maisy shoved her way in and grabbed the microphone for the intercom and pushed the on button.

"No!"

"I gotta-"

"Stop that!"

"Linn!" Maisy called across the school, "Linn! It's Mais- uh - Mary - uh, Mom! It's your mom!"

"Get away from that, Mrs. Arrington!"

"No, you get away!" Maisy scrambled to get the microphone back in her possession after the receptionist pulled it away, "Linn! The bubbles! You just have to fill in the bubbles!"

"Mrs. Arrington!" The principal marched back into the office and Maisy finally let go of the microphone. Then she quickly dashed over to it again, pushed the button and shouted one last message.

"Love you! You're gonna do great!"

Then she felt Loki's hands around her waist and he pulled her away from the intercom and slung her over his shoulder. She yelped in surprise and saw that the school staff looked pissed. She blushed and gave an embarrassed wave as Loki carried her out of the building and to the Stark Industries car that was waiting for them. He dumped her in the back seat and joined her.

"What happened in there?" Happy asked from the driver's seat.

"I believe 'Mary' just embarrassed our child in front of the whole school," Loki commented, "It was quite the spectacle."

"I did not!" Maisy huffed, crossing her arms, "Linn will thank me later."

"That's what Tony said after he embarrassed Harley at his school."

"Who's Harley?"

"Just some kid Tony's pretty much adopted by this point," Happy said, "He flew all the way down to Tennessee just to say happy birthday in the Iron Man suit and stuff. He then proceeded to find out which kids had been bullying Harley and tell them to stop it. Which, of course, is the most embarrassing thing ever, apparently."

"Believe me, it is," Loki sighed.

"You were bullied as a kid?" Maisy asked skeptically, "You're a prince."

"Sif didn't care. And when Thor found out he yelled at her about it. It was humiliating to have my older brother fight my battles for me."

"I could see that being… not great," Maisy felt her face go red. She should have just let Linn figure out the test on her own. She was a smart kid and there were instructions written on the pages. She didn't need Maisy yelling at her over the intercom. "Do you think Linn's going to hate me?"

"Maybe."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Well, that was a totally lame thing to do," Loki countered, "If I were your child I'd be hiding my face in shame right now."

"Oh shut up."

They were silent for the rest of the ride back to the Tower. When they pulled into the parking garage Loki got out of the car and Maisy was about to follow him when Happy turned around in his seat and grabbed her wrist. She gasped in surprise and tried not to get riled up over having his hand clamped around her wrist. He let go quickly and gave her a worried look.

"Ms. Sichore, can I ask you a question?"

"Erm," Maisy rubbed her wrist and glanced at Loki outside. He was already walking toward the elevator, "Sure?"

"You seem like a nice person," the man said, also shooting a glance at Loki, "What are you doing with a guy like him?"

"What do you mean?" Maisy stiffened.

"He's a super villain - like something straight out of a movie! You're sure he's not forcing you to be with him? Threatening you or anything?"

"No!" Maisy exclaimed, "Mr. Hogan, I could leave him any time I wanted. But I don't want to. I love him. Besides, you've barely spent ten minutes with him. No disrespect meant, but what do you know? You don't exactly seemed qualified to pass judgement on him."

"I know that he's the reason my boss - my friend - has had panic attacks when he's reminded about the stuff that went down during the battle," Happy replied, "I also know that he made Barton kill his friends and coworkers."

"I know that too," Maisy said quietly. She had no valid excuse for him. She knew her husband was sorry for what he'd done - to a point - and she forgave him, but she couldn't make other people do so as well.

"I don't want to freak you out or anything, but you should ask Thor or Tony about a guy called Phil Coulson if you get the chance," Happy turned to face the front of the car again, "Alright, sorry. I won't bother you anymore."

"Thanks for your concern, Mr. Hogan," Maisy replied and started to exit the vehicle. She could see Loki waiting by the elevator impatiently, but she stopped for a minute and turned back to the man in the car, "Mr. Hogan?"

"Yeah?"

"I do appreciate your worry, really, but please don't bring it up again," she said firmly, "I've been with him for a long time. I can make my own judgments on him."

"Here you go Linnea," the teacher lady put a piece of paper down for Linn and the girl raised an eyebrow at it, "I'll be timing you and I'll call out when time is up, alright?"

"Um, yeah, okay," Linn pulled a pen out of her new backpack, but the teacher stopped her.

"Oh, no dear. Only number twos remember?"

"What?"

"Number two pencils? They are the only kind that can be used on the scantron tests."

"Oh! Right, of course. I knew dat," Linn pulled a handful of writing utensils out of the bag and eventually found a yellow pencil with a little number two etched at the top. She held it up with a smile and the teacher nodded encouragingly.

"Alright dear, just read the instructions and you should do fine!"

Linn nodded and then opened the booklet when told. She read through the instructions three times, but it didn't make much sense to her. Then the teacher told her to turn the page and begin the test and she tried to remember what Maisy had said over the speaking wall device. Fill in the bubbles.

Assuming the sheet with the lettered circles contained the "bubbles", Linn shrugged, glanced at the test booklet a few times, and then began filling in bubbles. It was actually quite fun.

When she'd finished it she handed it back to the teacher with a smile and then followed the other kids to lunch. Her assigned tour guide, who had introduced herself as "Alexis Clary Senior" (though, maybe it had been "Alexis Clary, senior"), met her in the hallway with a friendly smile. Linn was pretty sure the only thing that could compare to Alexis Clary Senior's beautiful personality was her beautiful face. She had smooth, dark skin and brown eyes that turned gold when she turned her face toward the light. Her hair was thick and curly and a shimmery shade of black. She wore clothes that, though they weren't as much fun as Linn's own ensemble, looked amazing on her and seemed to highlight her best features. Linn was pretty sure that Alexis Clary Senior was the most gorgeous teenager she'd ever met and found that she was a little jealous, but mostly just in awe.

So far the kids at the school had all been fairly nice to her, at least the ones that Alexis Clary Senior had introduced her to. No one even commented on Linn's unique style choices.

"How'd your test go?"

"Really well, I fink!" Linn replied happily, slinging her backpack on and trotting alongside the taller girl, "It was fun to fill in all dem bubbles!"

"Well, Principal Garcia told me that you'll have one for every period today, so I'm glad you like them!" Alexis Clary Senior laughed, "Are you hungry?"

"A bit, yeah. You got some food or somefing?"

"The cafeteria! You're going to love it because today is pizza day and it's pretty hard to mess up pizza."

"What's pizza?" Linn asked curiously.

"You've never had pizza?!"

"Not dat I know of, no."

"Today is going to be a really good day for you."

As it turned out, Linn adored pizza. It was a culmination of all things good in the world. Bread. Cheese. Tangy Sauce. Meat. She only wished that the lunch lady had given her a few more slices of the deliciousness so that this Terran experience might be better ingrained in her mind.

"Dis is the most good fing I've ever tasted," she announced over the last wonderful mouthful.

"I knew you'd like it!" Alexis Clary Senior grinned, delicately eating her own lunch. Once she'd finished her pizza she peeled open the little plastic cup of syrupy peaches and stabbed a few diced fruit chunks with her fork, "So tell me honestly, what do you think of the school so far?"

"It's great! I've only really met you and dose people you introduced me to earlier—"

"The office staff."

"Yeah. But everyone I've met seems really nice!"

"I think you need to meet a few more people our age before you can decide that," Alexis Clary Senior said. As if by magic, to girls walked up behind the tour guide and smiled at Linn. Well, one of them smiled, the other one just stared at her in an almost cheerful manner.

"I'm sorry, we were supposed to wait until math started because we're in your math class, but we got to talking and we thought you'd love it if we got to know you first and then we could all sit together in class!" One of the girls said.

Her hair was cut at chin length and was cobalt blue. She had tan skin, not as dark brown as Alexis Clary Senior, but much tanner than Linn's fake, peachy skin color. Her brown eyes were partially obscured by thick, round glasses that were almost as shiny as her smile. She was dressed in an outfit that almost matched Linn's for wildness with blue and white striped leggings, a blue frilly skirt, and a black shirt that boldly said "Star Wars" in shimmery writing. Her footwear was composed of brown sandals and lime colored socks, which Linn hadn't seen on anyone else on Midgard yet, but she thought was a little too bizarre.

"She forgets her manners," the other girl said in a monotone voice, "Her name is Habiba and you can call me Midnight."

Midnight certainly fit her name. Though her skin was so pale that Linn could make out most of the veins in her arm, her clothing was so dark that one almost could get lost looking at it. Her flared black pants were adorned with large, red stitches that matched the loose, red crop tank top that she wore over a black camisole. Her shoes were black, chunky boots that made her three inches taller than she would have been normally (which was already much taller than any girl Linn had seen before) and her last adornment was a red belt riding low on her hips. Her hair was long, straight, and as black as her clothes, save for the tips which were a brilliant white.

"Midnight and Habiba," Alexis Clary Senior gestured to them again, "Are the lamest people at this school and definitely my best friends."

The newcomers sat down on either side of Alexis Clary Senior and Habiba smiled hugely and offered her hand to Linn.

"You can call me Bibi if you want! I know your name's Linnea, but do you go by Linn?"

"Dat's what me friends call me," Linn smiled back and shook the girl's hand, "So please call me Linn."

"Oh my gosh," Midnight said, her voice still monotone and bored sounding, "Your accent is so freaking cool."

"Fanks! I like your shirt!"

"Ooh, careful Midnight," Alexis Clary Senior winced when she noticed Midnight's sleeveless top, "That's definitely breaking dress code."

"I know," the corner of her lips twitched just slightly, but she stopped herself before she could smile, "I'm protesting the sexist dress code of our school and how unfairly it treats women."

"Oh," Linn said, not sure what that meant.

"Haven't any teachers called you out on it yet?"

"I… wear a jacket in class," Midnight slouched a little and Bibi patted her comfortingly.

"You're trying though!"

"Yeah."

There was a long silence and Linn swirled her diced peaches around nervously. She wasn't sure if she should ask a question about the school, or about what was so sexist about the dress code, or if she should just wait for them to say something.

"So, Linn," Alexis Clary Senior finally said, "If you ever need something and I'm not around you should come to these two. They act like total losers, but they are seriously the best, okay?"

"Aww!" Bibi cooed, "That's so sweet! Can I eat the granola bar in your locker?"

"How did you know I had one in there?!"

"Um, because I already ate it."

"Bibi!"

The girls laughed (except Midnight who "hmmed" in an amused way) and continued to chat until the bell rang. Then Alexis Clary Senior had to go to her art class and the three others found their way to Algebra II, where Linn would be taking a math scantron test and Midnight and Bibi would be learning about imaginary numbers.

The three math bound girls were almost to class when a male teacher stopped them in the hall with a sinister frown on his face. Linn lowered her gaze to the floor respectfully, as she would have done with any angry noble who passed her by in Asgard.

"Jessica Carboni!" The man growled at them and Linn wanted to look around to see who this Jessica person was and what she'd done to get into so much trouble, but she kept her head respectfully lowered.

"Mr. Pie," Midnight said to the man. Was Midnight actually Jessica Carboni? Or was she covering for someone? She certainly didn't look like anyone who'd be named Jessica.

"Do I even need to tell you what you are doing wrong, young lady?!"

"I don't seem to be causing any ruckus, so no, I don't know what I am doing that could be considered wrong," Midnight towered over the man and jutted out her chin defiantly. Linn couldn't help lifting her head to watch better. The other girl's eyes were filled with worry, but her expression was just as bored as it had been for the past twenty minutes.

"You know very well that you are violating the school dress code!"

"Am I?"

"Oh crap," Bibi whispered to Linn.

"Your shoulders are clearly visible, young lady!"

"So they are."

"It goes against the code!"

"Then why aren't you stopping him?" Midnight pointed at a boy who walked past in a tank top. The boy froze and then quickly walked away, "Or him? Or what about that guy?"

There was another boy who walked past and his tank top had been made from an old T-shirt and the sides were slit all the way down to the hem, with just an inch of fabric holding the bottom together. He waved cheerfully as he was pointed out.

"Because he's probably on his way to gym class or something!"

"That's Ethan Jones," Midnight said, "He's in the math class that we're currently headed to."

"Well, it's different. You're shoulders are more distracting to the boys! You aren't distracted by his shoulders like he's probably distracted by yours. You need to cover up immediately or come to the office and a shirt will be provided for you."

"Dat's the dumbest fing I've ever heard in me life!" Linn exclaimed, "Why are Midnight's shoulder's distracting?! They is shoulders! Not boobies or butts! She ain't indecent! Dat Efan guy is indecent wif his shirt ripped to shreds like dat! Also, isn't he cold? Shouldn't we get him a sweater or somefing?! It's the winter!"

Mr. Pie took a shocked step back and Bibi covered her mouth. Midnight blinked in surprise and almost everyone else in the hallway stopped and stared at the short girl with pink hair and a bright yellow jacket. Linn felt herself blush, but she didn't back down.

"Hey Efan Jones guy!" She hollered down the hall. The boy stopped and faced her.

"Yeah, New Kid?"

"Are you cold?!"

"Not really."

"Okay, just checking!"

"Thanks, New Kid."

"You're welcome," Linn turned back to Mr. Pie, who's face was now filled with rage, "You see, I was distracted by his shoulders because they looked cold. I'm not distracted by Midnight because I know she's gotta jacket somewhere if she needs it."

"What is your name, girl?!" Mr. Pie snarled.

"I'm Linnea Arrington. Just enrolled dis morning."

"Well, Linnea," Mr. Pie said, "You just earned yourself a trip to the principal's office! And I'm strongly recommending that she call your parents and have you taken home!"

"You do dat, Mr. Pie," Linn crossed her arms.

"And Jessica, if you don't put your jacket on then you'll be in the same boat!"

Midnight sighed and dug through her backpack until she pulled out a black hoodie.

"Thanks Linn," she said quietly as Linn was lead away.

"Dang, I liked her a lot. I hope Garcia doesn't banish her."

"Me too."

"Hey, look over there!" Bibi looked over as Linn was being lead away and saw that Mr. Pie was physically dragging her along by her wrist.

Midnight turned and saw, just as Mr. Pie's free hand that was not gripping Linn's wrist landed on her lower back to help steer her. Her much lower back. Linn jumped in surprise. Midnight narrowed her eyes, but didn't plan on doing anything until she saw Mr. Pie's meaty fingers not so discreetly grab a large portion of Linn's behind and squeeze. The pink haired girl yelped and looked like she wanted to tell Mr. Pie off, but he just tightened his hold on her and hissed at her to shut up and do as she was told.

Bibi and Midnight clenched their fists and jumped into action.

"Hey!"

A note from the author: First of all, if anyone thinks this chapter needs any sort of trigger warning let me know and I will gladly put one up. I wasn't sure if it needed one or not, but I don't want to cause anyone any distress so if you think it needs one let me know. Thanks!

Secondly, I'm not sure if I like this chapter or not. At least, the ending. I know it's totally unrealistic that a teacher would do that, especially on a students first day of school and everything (although with the world we live in I suppose it's possible) and it's not even that relevant to the plot of the rest of the story. But I think in the upcoming chapters it does help show more of Linn's character and how she reacts to this situation differently than Maisy might (like how she dealt with the Drin situation). And this might be horrible, but it also sets us up for Protective Loki - angry papa bear mode, which will be fun. So... yeah. I'm just kind of babbling at this point, but I suppose I'm just saying that I know this isn't particularly realistic so don't feel the need to tell me that, please (unless you really want to). Okay. Moving on.

Thanks so much for reading and a big thank you to everyone who is following this story and to those of you who have favorited it. I appreciate it greatly!

Special thanks to my wonderful reviewers:

ferbette: Linn is nothing if not loyal lol

Guest 1: Lobster head indeed. XD

Guest 2: Awwwwwwww! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SAYING SUCH NICE THINGS TO ME!

Dragoncat: Thanks! :)

Ninja Squirrel: Looks like Linn's got a good start to making her own army! I hope y'all like her friends because I had so much fun writing them in this and later chapters. :D

Guest 3: Sadly, no. This story takes place before Age of Ultron so I think Peter would be too young to be in high school at that point (idk if I'm understanding the timeline correctly though). Maybe I'll write a one shot where Linn and Peter meet though! They'd probably get along!

CheetahLover: No worries, friend! Everyone's busy with everything at this time in the year! In regards to shenanigans... let's just say that Loki wants to leave Stark Tower as fast as possible. ;)

Thank you so much everyone! See you in the next chapter!