Author's Note: So much feedback on the last chapter! Thank you all so much! I re-watched Thor yesterday, and I also remembered that a 1st season episode of Agents of Shield guest stared Lady Sif (one of Thor's companions) and had her on earth. Thus, this chapter was born. It also references the myth where Loki cuts off Sif's hair. (I read it a couple months back and it's pretty hysterical if you picture MCU Thor and Loki in the myth). Hope you enjoy.

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Chapter Four

And everything had really been going so well, Loki thought, as he ducked into an alleyway. Christy was pressed up against him, breathing heavy. Actually some of those breaths might have been sobs.

"Well this maybe wasn't the best of ideas." he said lightly, fighting to keep his voice calm. "But everything will be alright."

Christy just moaned.

Loki leaned against the filthy brick wall and held back from copying her. He was, as the mortals said, screwed.

Brother, where are you?!

It had all started when Fury called a surprise meeting of all the Avengers, for 'undisclosed reasons.' Loki suspected it was to speak about him, but for all he knew, it could be some unknown threat.

Steve had promised to take Christy to the library that morning, since it was Saturday. She tried to hide it, but she was rather put out at the delay.

Loki couldn't really blame her. He understood the love of a good book.

"I could take her, if you'd like." he offered.

Romanoff shot him a glare so hard; he felt the phantom bite of one of her knives. Barton and Stark didn't glare so much as give him looks of pure disbelief. Banner just shook his head incredulously.

Thor looked ready to do battle on his behalf, when Rogers spoke up.

"I might…possibly allow that."

Pandemonium ruled for a solid minute.

"You have gotta be kidding me!" from Stark.

"Cap, have you lost it?" Barton.

"Might not be the best idea…" Banner, trying to be calm.

"Over my dead body!" Romanoff. Of course.

For a while, Steve let everyone work out their emotions. Then, he stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled, loudly.

"Hey!"

Everyone stared at him in mild shock.

"Didn't know you had it in you, Cap." Tony muttered.

"Yeah, well, there's a lot you don't know about me, Stark. Look, forgive me if I miss the whole point of him being here, but isn't it to redeem himself by doing good?"

"Yes, but letting him take your kid out with no safety precautions is insanity." Natasha argued.

"Who said anything about no safety precautions? I'm not stupid."

Natasha muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like 'could have fooled me.'

"Stark, do you have any trackers that could be attached to someone, discreetly?"

Tony smirked. "You're seriously asking me if I have something technological. How cute. Please, of course I do."

"Fine. And Loki, I assume you have enough magic to…change your appearance or something."

Before their eyes, Loki shifted forms, changing into a brown-eyed blonde with a good deal more obvious muscle. "Is this satisfactory?"

"Uh…yes. Now change back, please!" Steve said, glancing nervously at Loki's change in appearance.

"As you wish." Loki morphed back to his usual appearance.

"And Christy, you're taking the emergency cell phone."

From life and research, Steve knew that many kids Christy's age had cell phones. But Christy was already surrounded by so much technology that buying her an expensive cell phone seemed ridiculously overkill. So they'd compromised: he'd bought her a cheap phone for emergencies and promised to get her a nicer one when she turned nine or ten.

Christy nodded. "Okay, Dad. Thank you!"

"Good, now go get ready. I need to have a chat with Loki."

"Okay…" Christy went off in the elevator. Steve turned to Loki.

The Asgardian sighed. "'If I allow her to come to harm, I shall suffer grievous bodily injuries.' Does that about cover things?"

"Just one more thing: if anything happens to her, you pay the price. Understood?"

"Understood."

"Good. Glad we understand each other."

Roughly an hour later, Loki stood with Christy in front of a building entitled 'Public Library.' His disguise was firmly in place and he could feel the rub of the tracker underneath his clothes. Christy tugged at his hand.

"C'mon, let's go!"

She half dragged him into the building. It was huge. Loki was sure even the Royal Library on Asgard didn't have as many books.

"Can I go upstairs?" Christy asked. "That's where the kid's books are."

Loki nodded and glanced at a clock on the wall. "Will half an hour be enough?"

Christy frowned.

"Forty-five minutes?"

"That's better."

"As you wish. Stay safe and do not speak to strangers, or else your father will kill me slowly."

Christy grinned. "Dad wouldn't kill you."

"Aye, he would. You are far more precious to him than any jewel. It's quite obvious he would do anything for you."

"Oh…okay. I'll be good. Bye 'Uncle Tom!'"

Loki smirked. 'Tom Hiddleston' was the fake name given on his SHIELD issued ID card. Thor had one as well, to avoid raising undue suspicion.

And now, he had a full, glorious forty-five minutes to spend, surrounded by books!

He went from section to section, fully overwhelmed by the sheer volume and diversity of the materials. Particularly interesting was the section labeled 'science fiction and fantasy.' After a bit of searching, he was able to find the Lord of the Rings trilogy that Steve had spoken about.

He was browsing the biography section when it happened.

Finally deciding between two books, he stood up to put one back on the shelf. But someone else was there.

"Well, well; Loki Odinson. Or should it be Laufeyson, now?"

Loki whirled about.

"Sif?! What in all the Nine Realms are you doing here? And how did you know it was me?"

"I was told you would be here. I have been on Midgard, investigating an occurrence that involved one of our people. And I have come to protect Midgard from your treachery. Besides, I know your voice well, and you mumble under your breath."

Loki sighed. Sif was generally of noble intentions, but she was rather like Thor in terms of hotheadedness. Actually, she was worse.

"Sif, I am bound from working any magic that would harm another, surely you heard the All-Father's sentence…"

"Spare me your wiles…"

"I am also bound from lying…"

"Uncle Loki? I checked my books out."

And there was Christy. Lovely.

Sif gestured angrily at the child. "And what's this? Have you kidnapped a child, then?"

"She belongs to one of the Avengers, their leader." Loki protested, a bit incensed that Sif could think he would ever stoop so low as to kidnap children. "They were busy, so I took her out for the day."

"He didn't kidnap me." Christy said, eyeing Sif suspiciously.

Sif attempted to lay a hand on Christy's shoulder. "Come, little one, surely you have been deceived. I will take you to Thor…"

Christy backed up fast. "Get away, you're scaring me. I'm calling my dad!"

"No need for that." Loki took her hand. "Sif, if you have further questions, I suggest you ask Thor. We're leaving now."

"Not so fast." Sif began a chant, low and driving, a chant that Loki recognized, with a sinking feeling in his stomach.

It was a spell to lift his disguise. It also blocked his ability to teleport over long distances, making an escape.

"Now all shall know who you truly are, Laufeyson." Sif hissed.

Christy's eyes were wide with horror. "Sif? You're one of Uncle Thor's friends, why are you being stupid?!"

It was at that moment that some unfortunate soul happened to walk into the biography section. Loki tried to duck his head, but it was too late.

"Hey, aren't you the…"

"Time to disappear." Loki hissed, grabbing Christy's hand firmly. The spell blocked long distance teleportation, but there was a counter-spell that allowed for short-distance travel. The two teleported to an alley near the library.

Christy leaned against him, breathing scared, shallow breaths. "Change back, change back!" she whimpered.

"I can't—the spell she cast blocks me from changing for a day's time." Loki whispered frantically. "It also blocks me from teleporting over long distances. Now call your father, quickly! I cannot go out of here in this form!"

Hands shaking, Christy dug out the phone and dialed a number.

"Daddy! We need you to come! Some weird lady named Sif showed up and made Uncle Loki's disguise spell go away and he can't change back or go back to the Tower so we're stuck in an alley and I'm scared…okay. Okay, Daddy. Okay. Love you, too. Bye."

She hung up. "He's coming, and he's bringing Uncle Thor."

Loki sighed. And everything was going so well.

"Well this maybe wasn't the best of ideas." he said lightly. "But everything will be alright."

Christy just moaned. "I hope Dad gets here soon. What's with that Sif lady, anyway?"

"She is a friend of Thor's…she is good and noble, but sometimes…"

"She doesn't think?"

"Yes, that. And she…rather doesn't like me. Never has. It might have something to do with the fact that I cut off all her hair when I was younger."

"Well did you apologize?"

"I made it grow back…"

"You should apologize. That's not a nice thing to do. But this was just stupid!"

"Yes…I suppose you're right. Leaning against the wall, Loki sighed again.

Brother, where are you?

Steve's heart was racing as he hung up with Christy. Of course, something would go wrong. But this didn't actually seem to be Loki's fault.

He strode back into the meeting room. "Thor." he whispered. "Do you know anyone named Sif? Because apparently she just showed up and made Loki's disguise spell disappear."

Thor looked confused and upset. "Why would she do that?"

"I don't know, but my daughter and your brother are currently stranded in an alley."

"Then we must get them!" Thor cried. "Come!"

Steve glanced around the room. Everyone else was staring blankly at Thor and him. "Emergency. Gotta go." was all he had time to say, before Thor pulled him out of the room.

Fury looked annoyed. "Somebody wanna explain what just happened?"

"The kid's involved." Tony said. "No other explanation. And probably Reindeer Games."

Fury rolled his eyes. "Meeting dismissed."

Mjolnir touched down in the alley where Loki and Christy sat huddled against the dirty brick wall. As soon as she saw Steve, Christy jumped up.

"Daddy! I wanna go home!"

"Come here, baby." Steve said, immediately picking her up. She started sobbing. "Hey, hey, it's alright, it's over. You were so brave. Hey, no tears needed. That's my girl."

He shot a glance at Thor. "I'm takin' her back, on the subway."

"I could send you back by magic…" Loki offered, before realizing that no, he couldn't. That was why he'd needed Thor to come. Annoying spell-how had Sif even learned it in the first place?

"No! No more magic!" Christy howled. Steve nodded.

"I agree. No more magic for us today. See you two back at the Tower."

As Steve walked off, soothing Christy, Thor turned to Loki. "Brother, what happened?"

"I shall tell you what happened!" came a voice that was definitely not Loki's.

"Sif!" Thor cried, as his friend came into the alley. "Explain yourself!"

"He was wandering about, alone, on Midgard! The realm he attacked, in case it had slipped your mind."

"He had a tracker and several death threats hanging over his head." Thor protested mildly. "There was no danger."

"No danger?" Sif stared at him like he had lost all his senses. "He tried to kill you! He tried to subjugate this realm!"

"And as I attempted to explain, I am bound from casting spells that harm, and also bound from lying. If I do not succeed in redeeming myself, I am dead. Why would I want to try anything?" Loki said, exasperation permeating his voice.

Sif looked angry. "I still do not…"

"I apologize for cutting off your hair when we were younger."

"What?" Both Thor and Sif now stared at him like he had lost his senses.

"I apologize for what I did to your hair. It was petty and thoughtless, and I never truly realized how hurtful it was before now. So I apologize."

Sif looked at him like he'd grown another head. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because a seven-year-old child has made me re-think a few things."

"You think you can make me believe that child has made you change?"

"Well, Thor changed because of a woman." Loki pointed out sensibly. "Why can't I change because of a child?"

"Because…because you're Loki. You always lie!"

"True. But now, I cannot. A puzzle, isn't it?"

Thor sighed grimly. "Sif come back to the Tower and explain yourself. You caused needless confusion and frightened one of the very people you claimed to be trying to protect."

Sif had the good grace to look ashamed. "I was only trying to protect…"

"I know. But you should not have done this."

"So wait, wait; all of a sudden, She-Ra, Princess of Power shows up and blows off Loki's disguise with a spell?" Tony asked.

Christy nodded. "Only, her name's Sif."

"He knows, baby, he's just trying to be stupid." Steve said.

"And then you two teleported out of the library?" Clint asked.

Christy nodded again. "Somebody came in the aisle and recognized Uncle Loki, so we got outta there."

Natasha groaned. "Great. More magic and monsters and nothing we were ever trained for."

A loud thump outside told them that the Asgardians were back.

"My friends!" Thor cried as he, Loki, and Sif stepped in off the balcony. "I fear I must apologize for this most grievous misunderstanding."

Steve completely ignored Thor and marched straight up to Sif. "Ma'am, why on earth did you think it was a good idea to frighten my daughter?"

Sif, trained warrior of Asgard that she was, flinched back. Steve was in what Tony called his 'my name is Steve Rogers, you hurt my daughter, prepare to die' mode. And God help the person he was angry with while in that mode.

"I…believed her to be in danger from Loki." Sif stuttered. "Clearly I was wrong."

"Clearly. Do you think that if there was any, any chance at all for her to be in danger from Loki that I would have let her be with him? He may have done some absolutely vile things in the past, but he has yet to make my child cry, a feat which you accomplished ten minutes after meeting her!"

"I…I…forgive me." Sif pressed her arm, fist clenched, against her chest. "I was in the wrong. I behaved without thinking."

Steve sighed. "Apology accepted, from me. Now, apologize to my daughter!"

Christy inched over to her dad. Sif knelt down, looking anguished.

"Please forgive me, little one, I did not mean to frighten you so badly! I did not even know you would be present! You did not deserve to be caught up in that."

"I…I forgive you." Christy said quietly. "You didn't know. But you really can't keep being mad at Uncle Loki, it makes you not think good. And you're supposed to forgive your enemies."

Sif shot Thor a glance as she stood up. If those were the sort of lessons Thor had learned during his banishment, it was no wonder he had been so changed.

Perhaps there was some measure of hope for Loki yet.

"Sif, how did you even learn such a spell in the first place?" Thor asked.

Sif sighed. "I asked your mother to teach it to me, many years ago. Loki was constantly running about in disguise, causing mischief. After that one night he frightened me half to death by appearing as a headless corpse, I wanted to be able to uncover any of his trickery. I have never forgotten the spell and when I knew it was him, I just…all I could see was the past."

Everyone was looking at Loki now. He looked slightly ashamed. "I suppose I was rather unkind to you, and others."

"Yes, you were…but perhaps that may not have to be the case from now on."

Her voice was full of grudging acceptance. And Loki began to hope (a dangerous thing) that her words might really be true.

I hope I didn't make Sif seem like too much of a jerk here, 'cause I really do like her, but I noticed in Thor that she a) is very hotheaded and impetuous, and b) DOES NOT really like or trust Loki, especially after he goes off the deep end. So she's rather like Natasha in that regard, only armed with a magic spell and acting like a Well-Intentioned Extremist.

Next chapter should be up semi-soon. Thanks again for reading!