At the next Avengers press conference, where they discussed what they'd done in Samara, Loki couldn't shake the feeling that someone in the crowd of reporters and journalists was watching him. He knew they all were, so the feeling was ridiculous, but it just felt like there was an extra intensity to their stares today.
"How many more Hydra bases do you think exist?" One reporter asked.
"We won't know until we find them all," Rogers replied, "And we may never truly be rid of them. After all, I thought they ended after Johann Schmidt was killed by the Tesseract, but…"
Loki blinked in surprise as the good captain proceeded to promise everyone that they were weakening Hydra and that eventually they would be so weak that it wouldn't even matter if they existed or not. He didn't care much about Hydra, but he was curious about this Johann Schmidt person. While an Infinity Stone like the Tesseract certainly had the power to kill someone, it seemed more likely that it would have transported them. After all, it was the Space Stone.
"Is it true that you are unleashing untested robot armies into the streets to keep civilians in their place while you fight?" Another reporter spoke up after the question about the bases was answered.
Tony stepped forward and removed his sunglasses sauvely.
"You really think we'd let untested robots anywhere near people?" He scoffed, "They have been run through every trial program we could concoct. The Iron Legion isn't meant to 'keep civilians in their place' either. It's meant to advise civilians of the safest course of action and warn them about any trouble we might be stirring up while taking down the bad guys."
"But-"
"The Iron Legion isn't taking away anyone's choice to run into the middle of a battle if that's what they want to do. The Legion just advises against it. They are here to help and protect."
Loki was not personally a big fan of the Iron Legion. Jarvis controlled them at the moment, but even with Stark being as smart as he was it was still possible that someone else could sneak in. Someone else might fancy having a premade robot army to control and use against the Avengers.
"Thor! Thor!" A journalist shouted, "Reporter from the Daily Bugle here!"
Oh great. The Daily Bugle hated everything about Asgard and they frequently misprinted information. Stark had stopped inviting them to the press conferences and Pepper did her best to ensure they didn't hear about anything related to Asgard until it was old news, but the rats still found a way in.
"Do you have a question for me?" Thor asked, leaning against the podium and smiling easily at them. Loki tried not to make anything beyond a blank face. He wouldn't have to answer the question since it wasn't directed at him, but he didn't doubt that he would want to argue with whatever was said.
"I do," the reporter held a microphone forward, "Is it true that Hydra has contacted Asgard many times asking for their aid?"
"Until I came to earth I had never even heard of Hydra. However, they are an enemy to peace and therefore an enemy to Asgard," Thor replied, laughing it off. It was truly remarkable how much he'd matured since becoming friends with the Midgardians.
"Hydra says peace is their mission too," the reporter sneered.
"Hydra is confused then. Forcing people into submission will never result in peace."
"But isn't that what your brother tried to do? Obviously, Asgard is teaching a similar definition of peace as what Hydra is!"
"To judge a whole realm based off of the actions of one," Thor narrowed his eyes, "Is foolhardy. I might remind you that Hydra is a Midgardian organization and yet Asgard does not exterminate all humans in the hopes of ridding the universe of those bad few."
"So you are saying that you could exterminate us if you wanted to?"
Loki inwardly winced.
"Well… perhaps. But we would never-"
"How do we know that?"
"What?"
"How can we possibly trust Asgard? We've all seen footage of the Destroyer that you sent! How do we know your people aren't just going to try and kill us all because they feel like it one day?"
"The Destroyer was… not sent with the consent of my father-"
"Oh really?" The reporter smiled grimly, "So you're saying just anyone could send a weapon of mass destruction to earth and the king might not even know about it?"
"No. Odin keeps all of the weapons of Asgard secure in his Vault. He-"
"Then how did the Destroyer slip past him and level a town? How did Odin let that one get by?"
"He was… ill at the time."
"So who was in charge? Wouldn't you be? Are you saying that you sent the Destroyer, Thor?"
The assembly raised eyebrows, but most of them didn't come to learn more about Asgard, they were more worried about the threat of Hydra. A few others lifted their microphones higher to hear what Thor had to say, but most rolled their eyes at the Daily Bugle reporter.
"I did not send it," Thor's stance was no longer so casual and his fingers twitched. Loki even thought he saw a spark of lightning on those fingers.
"Then who sent it? How did they manage to get it to earth right under your and Odin's noses?"
"I think we've had enough questions about something that happened a few years ago," Tony stepped in and smiled at the reporter, "Today we are here to discuss Hydra and any questions you might have about our work against them so far."
"But I still have questions-"
"You may call the Tower any time you like and set up an appointment to have those questions answered whenever Thor has free time. At the moment though, does anyone have any more relevant questions?"
A few hands shot up in the air and the press conference continued. The Daily Bugle reporter looked to be fuming and stormed out of the room. Loki was glad to see them go. He could have easily answered the questions about the Destroyer and taken the heat off his brother, but he knew that despite some people's best efforts the Midgardians would still love Thor even after a bad interview. If Loki confessed to having actually launched two attacks on the planet then he would erase all of his progress. So he let Thor take the rage of the Daily Bugle for now.
When the press conference was over the reporters and journalists began to leave the Avengers were chatting amongst themselves and laughing reporters that they'd known for a long time. Loki started to leave, not wanting to accidentally run into any reporters with questions about Asgard because he knew he'd probably say more than Thor wanted him to. When he got off of the stage and into the room behind it, however, there was someone waiting for him.
"Hey," a middle aged woman nodded at him and raised her hand in a nervous wave.
"I'm not sure you are meant to be back here," Loki told her, but he couldn't help staring at her. There was something familiar about her features.
"I'm not," she smiled, "I just… needed to talk with you."
"As Tony Stark said, if you have any questions about Asgard or myself then you ought to schedule an interview with the reception staff," he took a step closer and met her brown eyes, "I cannot answer any questions at the moment."
"I don't have any questions for you, I promise," the woman grabbed a bag from a table and Loki wondered if she was hiding a gun and was going to try and shoot him. It would be a shame for her to find out that he was impervious to the lead shots and a shame that he would probably have to kill her if she tried to do him in.
She put the bag over her shoulder and opened it, flipping through the various pockets and pulling out a business card. With an awkward smile she handed it to him.
"I'm Pearl Franklin."
"I don't see why you think I should care about that in the least," Loki told her and glanced at the card she'd handed him.
Pearl S. Franklin
Journalist, Photographer, Illustrator, Ornithologist
"Right, right, sorry!" She shook her head, "This is a bit tricky to explain. I had to come see you though. To see for myself what you are like."
"Am I as terrifying as everyone makes me out to be?" Loki asked, shoving the card in the pocket of the black and green Avengers uniform Stark had forced him to wear. The getup would have been to his liking if it did not have golden A's on the shoulders and a tracker embedded in the belt.
"I guess so? I'm not sure. That's not what I want to talk to you about. I am here to, uh, talk about your wife," she bit her lip and Loki suddenly realized who she reminded him of.
"You are her mother," he said, "Aren't you?"
"Oh, um," Pearl blinked, "Yes. I am. How did you…?"
"She looks like you," he observed the woman more closely and saw Maisy's eyes and mouth on the woman. The same chin as well. And from what he recalled of the one time he'd seen Maisy's natural hair color, it was similar to this woman's honey colored locks.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm sorry I couldn't make it to the wedding, uh, it's a little hard to get off the planet."
"What are you doing here? Your home is in Canada."
Pearl tilted her head, "How'd you know that?"
"An elf told me."
"Oh. Well, I'm here to speak to you. About Maisy. And to see Maisy if she'll let me. I haven't seen her in almost thirteen years."
"Why have you shown up all of a sudden to speak with her? We've been on Midgard for two and a half months now."
"The bird watcher's magazine I work for sent me to do a piece about some falcons in the city. I thought while I was in town maybe I should stop by. I'm surprised at myself for working up the nerve to get this far, actually," Pearl laughed and then stopped suddenly, "Is Maisy here? With the other Avengers maybe?"
"She is at work," Loki said, "And I think it might be best if I were to warn her of your coming before allowing you to speak with her."
"S-sure! Sure! That makes sense. I don't want to just budge into her life after so long! Goodness. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude on your lives here at all or anything!"
Having now met both of Maisy's parents, Loki was having a hard time believing that this woman and Joshua Sichore had ever been able to speak to each other, let alone have a relationship lasting long enough to have a child.
"Brother!" Thor's voice called as he stepped into the room, "Oh, you have a visitor. My apologies!"
"Thor!"
"That is me! And who might you be?"
"I'm, well, you see, it's not that important, but I, uh…"
"This is Maisy's mother," Loki said, crossing his arms, "She wishes to speak to her daughter. Might she wait around the Tower until Maisy gets off work?"
"Maisy's mother?!" Thor's brows shot up and he nodded respectfully to Pearl, "I am honored to meet you. We are all quite fond of your daughter. One of us more so than the rest, eh Loki?"
"Keep an eye on Ms. Franklin. I will speak to Stark about allowing her to stay at the Tower until I can discuss things with Maisy."
"Of course! Maisy's mother and I can become acquainted with one another while we wait!"
Pearl looked exceedingly nervous about this, but then, she looked exceedingly nervous about everything. Her hands hadn't stopped shaking since Loki walked in on her.
After Stark eagerly cleared Pearl coming up to the common floor of the Tower until Maisy was done at work, Loki set off to walk Linn home from school and then to visit his wife at work. Her shift wasn't over for several more hours, but he thought she might want to hear the news he had right away. It wasn't every day that one's long lost mother showed up wanting to have a conversation.
Linn didn't want him to walk her home from school, since she was going home with her friend, Midnight, to study and work on their assignments together. So, Loki made sure she got into Midnight's father's car okay and that they drove off without incident and then he headed toward the boutique.
When he arrived he saw Maisy ringing up a customer's purchases. She spotted him by the door and grinned at him before finishing the transaction. Once the customer left Loki strode over to her and met her with a kiss to the forehead.
"Hello," she giggled, "What brings you by? How'd the press conference go?"
"The press conference itself was nothing truly exciting. What occured afterward… you might need to take a seat."
"Why?" Maisy's eyes widened and she held his hand, "Is everything okay? Is Linn okay? Did the Avengers do something stupid?"
"I had a guest greet me after the conference," Loki squeezed her hand, "It is your mother."
"What on earth is Ima doing out here?" Maisy wrinkled her nose and then her hand flew to her mouth, "Is my dad okay? Did she come to tell me that he died?! Please tell me that's not why she's here!"
"Your father is fine as far as I know," Loki put a hand on her shoulder, "Maisy, I didn't say stepmother."
"What?"
"Pearl Franklin is at Avengers Tower this minute. Your mother has come to see you."
A note from the author: *spins around throwing glitter* Plot twist!
Thank you all for reading/following/favoriting!
Special thanks to my reviewers:
ferbette: I've been having fun writing things from the view of a prince on earth learning about budgeting lol. It's even more fun writing the lovey dovey family fluff. :D
Ninja Squirrel: *glares at Google Docs spell check and Grammarly app * Yes, I meant "ruse" lol, thanks for catching that. Also, durians are really weird and cool looking, but if it smells like how you said I don't think I'd be able to handle it. :P
xlokiswolfx: Aww, marshmallows would be so cute! Now I kinda want to draw him wearing his newly babyproofed helmet! XD
Dragoncat: Don't worry! I promised everyone that this story will have a happy ending and I intend to keep my promise. Hopefully it will be happy from everyone's view. I think it's happy anyway!
You guys are awesome as always! See you in the next chapter!