Author's Note: Well, this only took FOREVER! Sorry for the delay; I started work at a summer camp this week and by last night I was too drained to finish this chapter. I wanted to give you all my best, so I finished it today.

If you haven't read We Can Be Found, the two characters Christy talks to in the beginning are her best friends, both introduced in my other story. Tally has known Christy since they were both at the same foster care center, and they both met Sienna at school.

Also, I have another story that I have started; a one-shot collection set in this 'Verse. It could kinda use some love, especially in the form of reviews, if you have the time. Thanks!

Anyway, read, review, favorite, and follow (but especially review. I need feedback). Thanks to all who have responded to this story so far, you are very appreciated.

Chapter Three

"So the guy that destroyed Manhattan is living in your house?!" Sienna cried

Christy, Tally, and Sienna were all sitting against the playground fence, talking.

"Shh!" Christy hissed. "Not so loud! Remember, it's a secret."

Tally snorted quietly. "Everything about you is a secret. Even who your dad is."

"That's because Dad says it's safer and the news reporters won't bother us."

"So nobody knows you're Captain America's daughter?" Sienna asked. She was still rather new to the secret and regarded Christy's life almost like a fairy tale. Christy, on the other hand, was quick to humanize her 'family' as much as possible with a gold mine of less-than-flattering stories. The only other option was to constantly feel like she was bragging.

"Well, I think they know, at the center, but they didn't say anything. And maybe the principal knows, but I dunno. And important people like SHIELD, they know. But most people? Uh-uh."

"But anyway," Tally said. "back to the point. The guy who destroyed the city is in your house…Tower…thing."

"Well, he didn't destroy the whole city by himself. He had an army. That's what those weird alien things were."

"Those were creepy!" Sienna exclaimed. "My big brother found one in an alley after the battle! He took a picture of it on his phone and I drew it."

"You still have that picture?"

"Somewhere in my room…"

"So what's it like?" Tally burst out, unable to hold back anymore.

Christy frowned. "It's…weird. I don't know what he's supposed to be doing. I don't think he knows what he's supposed to be doing. He's supposed to make up for what he did."

"Well, he broke stuff, and the opposite of breaking is fixing…" Tally offered.

"But fixing what? They got most of the stuff cleaned up, from the battle."

"He scared me." Sienna said. "I saw him on the news. He scared a lot of people."

"And the opposite of scaring is…being nice? Protecting?" Tally said, thinking out loud.

"Maybe I could go with him to see some of the kids at the center." Christy said thoughtfully.

Tally shook her head. "You have to fill out papers to come in. They don't just let you inside."

"He could lie…but that's bad. Well…he does have fake ID, though."

Sienna looked upset. "That's bad!"

"Yeah, but Uncle Thor has to have a fake ID, too, because he's from Asgard and he doesn't have a last name."

"Where's Asgard again?"

Christy pointed at the sky. "Up there."

Sienna frowned. "Heaven?"

"Nuh-uh, Heaven's different. Asgard's like another planet, like Star Wars."

"Oh, okay."

"Didn't you say he had magic?" Tally asked. "Can he make sick people better?"

"Uh…I think so. Uncle Thor said he can't cast a spell that would hurt people, but that's not hurting people, that's the opposite…hey! Maybe he can fix cancer, or some other really bad disease!"

"That would be awesome!" Tally said, grabbing Christy's arm.

"But what if he can't do that?" Sienna asked. "What else could he do?"

"Well…I dunno. I've thought and thought. What else do you guys think?"

For the rest of recess, the three girls strategized about ways Loki could make up for halfway destroying the city and scaring the whole world. Several ideas were deemed impractical, but it was fun anyway.

And a few ideas, Christy filed away for that afternoon, to ask Loki about.

Like curing cancer. Definitely curing cancer.

As it turned out, Christy was correct about Loki not knowing how to really atone. This was quite possibly the strangest punishment he had ever been given. The only one that was anywhere near similar was when he had cut off Sif's hair and been told to make it grow back.

He had tested out his rejuvenation spells on a few plants around the Tower. Happily, they had worked. He then moved on to sneaking out of the Tower and restoring some dying trees in a nearby park. Of course, it was winter, so he couldn't make them bloom, but at least they were healthy.

But it was people he had wronged, not trees. Unfortunately, people were much harder to deal with than plants.

Ever since that…lovely first night, there had been no more enforced team dinners. And, true to all the Avenger's words, there had been very little verbal sniping.

But he was still horribly confused as to how to proceed. The others seemed just as clueless. One didn't just make up for halfway destroying a city, after all.

All he had to go on were the words his mother had hastily whispered to him, right before he had left with Thor.

She had not technically been allowed to see him, but Thor was smarter than Odin and knew that their mother had a good effect on Loki.

Loki hadn't been sure whether to be grateful or annoyed.

"My son, if you can learn the value of your strengths and the proper way to exercise your talents, you shall succeed."

It was anyone's guess what that meant.

It therefore was beginning to feel like practical redemption was beyond Loki in this case. And that, quite honestly, frightened him out of his wits. The punishment for failure hung ever-strong over his head.

So when Christy came up to see him that afternoon and complained of a headache, he almost shouted aloud in relief.

Instead, he restrained himself and said, "I can fix that, if you like."

Christy nodded, slowly. "You can do healing magic?"

"I can. If you would allow me, I have to touch your head."

"Oh, okay. Yes, please; make it better."

Loki stretched out his hand and lightly brushed it over Christy's forehead. He could feel his magic, warm and wriggling, seep out of his fingertips.

"It's better!" Christy cried excitedly. "It doesn't hurt anymore! This is better than Tylenol! Thanks Uncle Loki!"

She spun around and threw herself on him in a hug.

Loki just stood quietly and let her calm herself down.

"Uncle?" he said softly.

Christy stopped prancing. "Oh. Yeah. I call everybody in the Avengers 'uncle' or 'aunt.' If you don't want me too…"

"No, no, it does not bother me…" Loki assured her dazedly. "Only…are you quite sure you want to?"

Christy nodded. "I don't see why not. You're Uncle Thor's brother, after all."

Loki could see plenty of reasons why not. But he decided not to comment.

"Oh, I just remembered! Could you fix cancer?"

"What is that?" Loki asked.

"You don't even have cancer on Asgard?! That's awesome!" Christy's face morphed into a thousand-mile-away smile for a moment. Loki grasped her shoulder.

"But what is it, child?"

Christy's smile melted away. "Cancer's a disease. It's when your body stops working right and starts attacking itself. You get really tired and you lose your hair for the treatment, 'cause the treatment's pretty bad, too, but not as bad as cancer. And some people die. Like my mom. She's been dead for almost a year. That's a long time."

Something flashed through Loki like a knife. Guilt? He wasn't sure. All he knew was, he suddenly wished he could take back every griping comment about his adoption.

At least he still had a mother, even if he could not see her.

"I see." he said. "And is there a remedy for this disease?"

"Not really. Chemo kills the bad cells but it kills the good ones, too. There's no cure."

The wheels in Loki's brain started turning. He didn't know if his magic was strong enough, but he had to try. Perhaps this was the atonement that had so long eluded him.

It was certainly the best idea he'd gotten yet.

Clint came down to the Common Floor to meet Natasha for a sparring session, and found Steve on the couch, reading.

"Hey. Where's Christy?"

Steve jerked his head up. "Thor's floor."

Clint frowned a bit. True, he'd declared a truce, but that didn't mean he had to be happy that Steve's kid (the team's kid, really) had built up a rapport with Loki. Somehow.

"You mean she's with Loki."

Steve sighed. "Are we getting into this? We're not getting into this."

Clint spread his hands wide. "Do you see me getting into anything? I'm not getting into anything. This is me, gonna go spar with Tasha, totally not getting into it."

"Uh-huh. Right. You know, you might just wanna have it out with him at some point. Clear the air."

"Maybe. But I'd have to trust myself not to get angry enough to kill him. And I'm not sure I'm there yet…"

"Daddy, Daddy!" Christy's happy voice came booming out of the elevator as the door opened. "Uncle Loki fixed my headache!"

Clint stared at the ceiling and willed himself not to say anything stupid, or snarky. Or both.

Steve, to his everlasting credit, took things pretty much in stride. "Really? Well, that's great, baby."

Loki got off the elevator behind Christy, much more subdued than the seven-year-old. "I hope I did not overstep my bounds…"

He sounded almost…afraid. Clint snorted.

He should be. If Christy's involved, Steve can be a holy terror. In a really not-subtle way. Loki's not stupid, whatever else he may be.

Steve shook his head. "It's fine. I know my kid. If anything different happened, she'd have punched you and come running screaming down the elevator."

Christy nodded. "I can punch good. Aunt Tasha taught me how."

Loki shuddered slightly. Clint smirked. "That's two deadly assassins we'll have around, soon enough. At least your face isn't on the punching bag."

"My daughter is not becoming a deadly assassin!" Steve protested. Clint merely stuck out his tongue and disappeared into the sparring gym.

Steve rolled his eyes. "Chrystal Elizabeth Allen Rogers, you are not allowed to become an assassin, understand me?"

"Yes, Daddy." Christy sighed. She padded into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of milk. "Uncle Loki can maybe cure cancer."

Steve whirled around and shot Loki a look of pure…something. Loki was unclear of the exact emotion. But he got the message most clearly.

If you gave my daughter any false hope, I will strangle you…

He held up his hands in a placating gesture towards the super soldier. "I know not if I can; my magic may not be strong enough. But I may be able to at least mitigate the effects of some 'incurable' Midgardian diseases. Would that not count as atonement?"

Steve sighed. "It would…look, talk to Bruce, alright? And maybe, I can't believe I'm saying this, Tony. They're the science geniuses around here."

Loki nodded. "I shall…later."

"Can I braid your hair?" Christy asked, coming out of the kitchen.

Steve was prepared to tell Christy to leave Loki alone, but the Asgardian merely replied, "If you wish."

Christy nodded excitedly. "Sit down on the couch."

Loki did so, though not before catching a glimpse of the bemused Steve Rogers, who was most definitely not reading his book, even if he was pretending to.

"And what is so amusing, pray tell?" he asked, with just a touch of hauteur.

Steve coughed. "Uh…actually, I don't know how it is on Asgard, but on earth, usually only girls have braided hair. At least in this culture."

Loki shrugged. "It matters not on Asgard. Females generally have more elaborately braided hair, but both genders wear braids of some sort. No doubt you have noticed my brother wears his hair in a half-braid."

"I did, actually." Steve watched as Christy carefully separated Loki's hair into three strands and weaved them together. "That's really good, baby. Who taught you to braid?"

"Mommy used to braid my hair. And me and Tally used to practice on each other. I liked braiding Tally's hair 'cause hers is thicker. Mine won't stay unless it's wet. It's easier braiding someone else's hair, anyway."

When Thor stepped off of the elevator, this was how he found them. Christy had just put a hair-tie at the end of a neat, tight braid in Loki's hair.

He nodded to Steve, who was glancing over at the duo while attempting to read his book. "What are you reading, my friend?"

Steve held up the book. "It's the first of a trilogy called The Lord of the Rings. Apparently, there're movies, too, but everyone got into an argument over whether the books or movies were better. So I'm just gonna read the first book and then watch the movies, for a compromise. You would probably like these, Thor."

Thor glanced at the cover and tried not to shudder at the thought of reading so thick a tome. "I have learned the value of reading, but I love it little for enjoyment."

"And he reads like a snail." Loki added.

"I do not! Just because you take to reading as a duck takes to water does not mean I read slow."

"Yes, you do." Loki smirked. "We had to read the same books as children, for lessons. I would finish and wish to discuss them, but Thor would still be on the first chapter! I often would simply read them aloud with him, just so we could both finish at a decent pace."

Steve laughed. He could actually picture that scene: a tiny, boisterous Thor and a tiny, exasperated Loki.

"So have you almost finished it, Daddy?" Christy asked. "'Cause I wanna see the movies soon! Uncle Tony promised we could have a movie night."

"I'm over halfway through. Remember, Bruce said the first one goes a little slow for reading." Steve said patiently.

"What are they about?" Loki asked, his curiosity finally getting the better of him.

"They're all about a quest to destroy a cursed ring and defeat evil." Steve replied. "The guy who wrote them writes how you two talk."

Loki looked mildly intrigued. "Could I possibly…when you are finished, that is…"

Steve nodded. "You can read it. Although I think there's a way to download books on your StarkPad…Tony did give you one, right?"

"Yes, but…" Loki bit his lip. "It is a rather useful device, but to read books on it…"

"It's not the same." Steve smiled. "I get it. Maybe one of us could take you to the library."

Christy was explaining to Thor about the movie nights. "We have them because Dad missed a lot of movies when he was frozen. Well, that's the official reason, but I think everybody just wants an excuse to watch a movie. For some reason, they can't just say that."

Thor chuckled. Steve rolled his eyes. "Yes, especially Stark. God forbid he actually be seen associating with us just because he likes us." He ruffled Christy's hair. "We'll have movie night soon, baby. Just give me another week."

"Okay." Christy sat down next to Steve and snuggled up to him. "So what's happening?"

As Steve explained what was occurring in the story, Thor shot a glance at his brother. Loki was sitting, head bowed, peeking sideways at the scene before him.

When he lifted his head, the look in his eyes was almost hungry.

Your father has a lot to answer for, in how he treated both of you…

Thor sighed. He was beginning to agree with Steve. Odin had certainly never sat and explained a book, to either of them. Or helped with training. That was what tutors and trainers were for, after all.

And yet, here sat a hero, the closest thing this country had to royalty, taking good time to simply be with his child.

"I am sorry, brother." he whispered, sitting beside Loki.

Loki shrugged. "It was not your fault."

"I should have spoken up."

"You were a child."

Thor nodded, slowly. "But I am not a child, now. And from now on, I shall never fail to speak for you."

And at that, the shard of ice stuck in Loki's heart began to wrench free a little more.