Author's Note: And so, it comes. This is probably one of the most important chapters of the story. And, naturally, I'm writing it while half-exhausted. I hope you enjoy reading it, because I truly enjoyed writing it.

Loki kind of seems a bit...off, in this chapter, for a moment. But he's also dealing with a huge lie that he's believed being proven false and I know from experience that those moments are not pretty.

Again, hope you enjoy. REVIEW, FAVORITE, FOLLOW! PLEASE!

PS: For anyone who didn't catch the Firefly reference in the last chapter, it's a mash-up on the 'I swear by my pretty floral bonnet I will end you' line that Mal says. (I had Steve saying 'I swear by my spangled suit I will end you'). In other news, I am now thoroughly hooked on Firefly. That show is awesome.

Chapter Eight

When Peggy Carter had visited the Tower back in December, she had, among other things, given Steve the names of a few TV shows and movies that she remembered from various eras, for him to watch.

One of them had been an old, black-and-white TV series from the fifties: The Adventures of Robin Hood. It was classic and old enough to feel familiar, something to give Steve a break from so much newness.

Christy, after watching a few episodes with Steve, became hooked on watching episodes on YouTube. Her mom had read many of the Robin Hood legends to her and she adored the premise of the story.

Clint had grown rather attached to the series as well, after viewing an episode one day with Steve and Christy. He, too, had grown up reading the legends of Robin Hood and thought the show was rather well-done, for being from the fifties. (This had led to a bit of an argument between him and Steve—"Oh, so from the forties or fifties now means badly done? Really, Barton?").

Needless to say, it had now become a show that he and Christy watched together, as much as her and Steve.

Thus, one Saturday morning in early March, the two of them sat on the Common Floor couch, ensconced in the days of Merrie Old England. This was how Loki found them when he stepped off of the elevator.

Naturally, Clint froze a bit and tried to give Loki the proverbial cold shoulder.

Christy, being Christy, was having none of that.

"You can watch with us, Uncle Loki, if Uncle Clint is okay with it."

And how exactly was he supposed to say no to those big blue eyes? Besides, he had called a truce.

He shrugged. "S'alright, I guess." Seriously, it wasn't like Loki could do anything, what with his magic bound and all.

If only his emotions could accept what his brain already knew.

Loki looked floored. He edged closer to the couch and peered at the television screen. "And…what exactly is this about?"

"Robin Hood!" Christy said, her face split in her signature grin: mile-long. "It takes place in England a really long time ago and it's about a good guy, Robin Hood, who gets made an outlaw because bad people are in charge, so he hides out in the forest with a bunch of men and they help people in trouble. It's awesome! 'Cause he fights bad guys."

"'Fights bad guys…'" Loki repeated musingly. "I'm sensing a pattern here…"

"I think you would like Robin Hood, Uncle Loki. He causes a bunch of trouble, but he does it right."

Loki smirked indulgently. "There's a right way to cause trouble?"

"There're right reasons to cause trouble." Clint said softly. "And right ways to do it." He jutted his chin out towards the TV, almost defiantly. "Watch."

So Loki did. And, almost against his will, he found himself being drawn into this strange mortal story.

Piecing together what he could from Christy's hasty explanation (and his own fast research on his Stark Pad), Loki was able to follow the plot easily enough.

There was a man sentenced to hang for not having enough to pay taxes to the king. That, at least, was a scenario Loki could understand (although, thankfully, not relate to. Odin could be stern, but he was not unreasonable.)

Robin Hood, clever man that he was, connived his way into town disguised as a butcher, incited a riot, got arrested and managed to convince the Sheriff of Nottingham that he had a 'large herd of horned beasts at his disposal' and that the Sheriff should ride out with him to see them.

Christy began snickering at this. "The Sheriff thinks he's gonna cheat Robin Hood, but Robin's gonna get him!"

The episode ended with Robin Hood and his gang holding the Sheriff for ransom, and then exchanging prisoners—the Sheriff for the man sentenced to hang.

As the closing credits rolled and the annoyingly catchy theme music played, Christy asked, "So Uncle Loki, did you like it?"

Loki nodded, slowly. "Yes…I rather did. Just…one thing."

"What, that the power-hungry jerk didn't win?" Clint muttered sarcastically. "Well, hate to break it to you, but bad guys don't win. At least in old TV shows they don't."

Loki sighed. "No, no, not that! I didn't expect him to 'win,' as you so put it; that man was an idiot. He should have taken a guard into that forest. It's only…" He ducked his head at said, almost inaudibly:

"There was no respect."

Clint frowned. "What, for the Sheriff? And why should they? He's a jerk, even in the original legends! He's always ordering someone hanged for no good reason or cheating someone out of money, or…"

"There are legends?"

"Yeah! They're based on a real person, or maybe not, but I like to think they are. Most of the stories are set in England around the 12th century or so." Clint seemed to have forgotten that he was speaking to Loki for a moment.

Christy was staring. "Wow, Uncle Clint. You know a lot."

Clint shrugged. "I read the book as a kid, liked the story line. It was one of the few books I ever read for pleasure back then. I looked up things in my spare time."

"But…he was in charge. He had the power." Loki said insistently. "Respect comes with power."

Clint stared at Loki, hard. Christy just shook her head.

"Uh-uh. That's not true."

Loki looked as though someone had punched him in the gut. "What…what do you mean? Of course it does! Everyone always respected my father, respected Thor, but not me, never me! What else could it be but position?! What else could it be but power?!"

"I dunno, maybe behavior?" Clint said.

"Or maybe they were jerks who didn't respect anybody different." Christy added.

Loki was still looking like a frozen deer. Clint frowned.

"Look, should I call Thor or are you going to be alright…yeah, never mind. Jarvis? Can you tell Thor to get his muscled backside down here before his brother loses it?"

"I shall refrain from saying it in precisely that manner, but I will deliver your message, Agent Barton."

Clint rolled his eyes. "Tony made you too darn snarky, you know that?"

"I believe Mr. Stark has mentioned that, sir. Several times."

"Right…" Clint gazed over at Loki, who was sitting on the couch shaking his head and muttering under his breath.

"Christy, maybe you should…" The girl shook her head.

"Dad's rule is fists. If a fight starts, I get out. Otherwise, I can stay."

Clint sighed in half-exasperation, half-amusement.

There's a rule. Of course there's a rule.

"Fine, but get over here."

Christy complied and stood beside Clint. The man sighed.

How in the world am I the one stuck dealing with this…?

As much as Clint was loathe to admit it, the man sitting before him looked nothing like the power-hungry madman that had screwed with his brain. He looked like a lost child who'd just been told Santa wasn't real.

Clint slowed down his speech rate and tried to adopt a slightly gentler tone.

"Look, Loki, I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're gonna have to use your words. What is going on?"

"Power leads to respect. That's how it works." Loki whispered, sounding like a toddler stubbornly convinced of an answer.

"Uh, hate to break it to you, but no, it's not. Plenty of people have power; probably less than half of them deserve respect. That's something you earn."

"How?!" Loki threw up his hands. "How do you do you that? Because I have tried. All these long centuries I have tried, and…"

"Oh spare me the sob story! You get respect by giving it! Obviously."

Where is Thor?!

Loki just sat still, shaking his head and muttering, "No…no…"

Christy tugged on Clint's sleeve. "Is he gonna be okay, Uncle Clint?"

Clint groaned. "I have no…"

"Brother!" Thor cried, as he stepped of the elevator. "What has happened?"

"Right on cue. Thank God." Clint muttered. "Thor, please explain to your brother that respect does not automatically come from power? As in, just because you're in charge doesn't mean that you gain everyone's respect."

Thor looked puzzled, but complied as he sat down beside Loki. "He speaks truly, brother. Respect is earned, a lesson I had to learn when I was banished. If you treat others well, they will treat you well in return. Usually."

Loki stared at Thor, his eyes wide and panicky. "Then…then I was wrong?"

Thor frowned. "Well, if you believed the opposite of what I just said, then yes, you were wrong, but it is not too late to change your thinking…" Loki shook his head.

"No…no…I did everything…no, it can't be…no, no…"

Thor shook Loki's arm lightly. "Brother, you make no sense. Have your wits deserted you? Speak!"

Suddenly, Loki stood up and let out a howl of pure anguish. Thor's eyes went wide in shock as he grabbed onto his brother.

Clint was torn between running and staying, but somehow, he knew that the team needed an unbiased witness for what was about to go down.

Clearly, Loki was experiencing some sort of breakdown. And, call him a voyeur, but Clint wanted to hang around for this.

But Christy…

"Christy, you need to go." he whispered.

Christy, eyes wide as saucers, still shook her head. "Staying." She looked at Clint and then reached her hands up. "Up."

Clint sighed and picked the girl up, praying that Steve wouldn't kill him later for letting her stay.

"Alright. Try not to cry."

Meanwhile, Loki stopped caterwauling and sat back down, head bowed. Thor had a death grip on his shoulders.

"Brother, what is wrong with you?" Thor asked softly.

Loki slowly lifted his head. And, to everyone's surprise, there were tear tracks down his face.

"Everyone always respected Father." Loki said slowly. Thor noted with approval that he had slipped back into calling Odin 'father.' "And he was king. Is king. And you were the heir, the golden child. And I thought…if I could only be someone, become someone…then I would gain that respect. People listened to you. They never listened to me. Force and trickery were the only ways…"

Thor's face had morphed into quiet horror. Clint looked stunned.

"You copied the problem wrong." Christy said.

Loki spun around to face her. "Wh-what?"

"In school, when we do math, and we copy a problem from the board, sometimes I don't copy right. I do all the work right, but I do the wrong problem because I write it wrong. You did all your work right, but you copied your problem wrong."

Loki laughed, shakily. "I…suppose I rather did. I copied everything wrong. And now, I fear it's too late."

"Bull." Clint said harshly, bowdlerizing for Christy' sake. "You know it's not. Quit whining. Okay, so you believed a lie and did terrible things because of it. Join the club. No, seriously, there's a club, we meet on Wednesdays. But now's the time to shape your life up."

Nodding numbly, Loki looked at Clint. "I have never apologized…"

"Honestly, I wouldn't have taken an apology from you before now." Clint said. "But now…I think I might actually believe one."

"Then hear me now. I apologize…for everything." And at that, the one-time god of mischief slid to his knees on the floor.

Even Thor looked shocked. Christy's mouth slid open. And Clint…

Clint had nothing left to say.

Maybe this whole 'exile the crazy child to Midgard to learn his lesson' thing actually has some weight to it…

"I…used you in the worst of ways, forced you to kill and wound those you considered comrades, invaded your mind…I honestly don't know why you're not killing me now."

Clint snorted. "And what good would that do? I'd just have one more life on my conscience. Plus, I kinda make it a habit not to kill in front of kids." He gestured to Christy.

"You could make her leave."

"Like that would happen." Clint ruffled Christy's hair. "You're just a sucker for conflict, ain't ya, kid?"

Christy shrugged. "I like conflict resolution."

All three adults just stared.

"What? I learned it from Uncle Bruce."

Clint groaned. "Okay, that makes sense. But you were saying?" he added, addressing Loki.

"Yes, well…I don't believe there's really much left to say. I was…wrong."

Thor could not stop the cry of surprise that passed his lips. For he knew, he of all people knew how hard it was for those words to pass his brother's lips.

Loki was never wrong. Throughout his entire life, his knowledge and intellect had been his brother's bastions of security. Loki was someone because he was smart…

And suddenly, the hammer dropped (pun not intended). Thor nearly gasped, but held his peace; this time.

Clint nodded. "I…I accept. And, you can't lie, so I know you mean it."

Loki frowned. "Actually…I could have."

Pandemonium erupted for a moment.

"Loki, what do you mean; you know the spell as well as I…?"

"What do you mean, Uncle Loki?"

"What! Thor, what's he talking about?"

"Peace!" Thor cried, suddenly. "Loki, explain."

"And stand up." Clint added. Humility was all well and good but having somebody on their knees before you got a little unnerving after a while.

Loki sighed and stood up. "I do not know, I do not understand. All I know is that before I apologized…I felt the restraint come off of me. It was always there, humming under my blood…"

"Okay, that's creepy." Clint muttered. "Continue."

"Right…I could feel it. But here, just now, it was gone!"

Thor frowned. "Has it returned? Look me in the eyes and swear by our mother that you speak truly!"

Loki did. "I so swear. And it returned…after I stood up." He shook his head looking utterly bewildered.

"Well, he's got to be telling the truth, 'cause he wouldn't be able to lie with the spell anyway. And only Odin can lift it…yes?" Clint asked Thor.

Thor nodded. "Only my father could lift the spell. But I do not understand…?"

Clint looked thoughtful. "I think this calls for a team meeting."

"So wait, wait; Reindeer Games had the spell lifted?" Tony asked.

Everybody had gathered on the Common Floor, trying to piece together what had just occurred.

Thor nodded. "Yes, but only for a moment. It is back in place as of now."

"What did it feel like?" Bruce asked, curious.

Loki shrugged. "Like…something wet, dripping off of me. And when it returned, it felt like ice, the same as when it was put on me."

Steve frowned. "And this happened…right before you apologized to Clint."

"Aye."

"And you did it anyway."

"I…I had to."

Steve nodded. "Sounds like a test to me."

Thor gaped. "How stupid of me! Of course, a test! Father said that he would be looking in; monitoring what was happening with Loki…"

"He did?" Loki asked.

"Well…to me, not to you."

Loki rolled his eyes. "Lovely. My own adoptive father spying on me."

"But, see, it must have been a test of character!"

Natasha shrugged. "Makes sense, I suppose. If it's true." She folded her arms skeptically.

"Tasha, look at me…" Clint urged. "See, no blue eyes; just good old hazel. This actually happened. We've got three un-tampered with witnesses; plus Jarvis' feed."

Natasha managed a smirk. "As if Christy would let anyone get close enough to mess with her brain."

"Nope!" Christy said, firmly ensconced in Steve's arms. Steve grinned and hugged her close.

"Not my girl. There would have been a bloodcurdling scream…"

"Okay, so Loki has an epiphany, gets the spell lifted for a minute to test if all these lessons he's learned have stuck. Apparently, they have." Bruce summed up. "So what happens now?"

Thor shook his head. "I know not. My Father will summon us when he feels Loki is ready. Until then…nothing else, I suppose."

Bruce nodded. "Well, then I'm co-opting you for the lab." he said, grabbing Loki's arm. "If your time here is limited, then we need to get moving on that treatment."

Tony groaned and muttered something about 'non-authorized visitors in my lab,' but there was no real protest.

They all knew that something very big and very real had just occurred.

But there was one final thing that Thor wanted cleared up. Later that day, when they were both back on their own floor, he walked across to Loki's room and knocked.

"Come in!" he heard Loki call.

He entered. "Brother…there was one thing I wished to ask you."

Loki nodded. "Name it."

"Before…on the Common Floor, you said that you were wrong."

"And so I did. I thought you would be pleased."

"You are never wrong, though…always, you had to be correct. Was that where you found your value?"

Loki tensed.

"Even when we were children, you found out everything you could. Everyone said you were such a bright boy. You always had to be right. Or else you were wrong. You were wrong."

Loki looked puzzled. "Well, the opposite of right is wrong."

"Yes, but you…in lessons, if you got the wrong answer, your face would be horrified, as though it was a personal strike against your honor."

There was silence for a long while.

"Knowledge was the only thing I had." Loki finally muttered. "And without it…what was I?"

"You are my brother! You are our father's son; whether you admit it or not!" Thor looked anguished. "Loki…brother…who has been putting these lies in your head? Did they come from me? From others?"

"I…know not. They have always been there. And they grew worse after…after I fell."

Thor let out a long, low growl of frustration. And then he pulled Loki into a strong embrace.

"You are my brother. And that is all you ever need be. That is all I care about."

The ice cracked.

And Loki, for the first time in many ages, wept on his brother's shoulder.

"The test succeeded, Heimdall."

"Indeed, sire. It worked even better than I might have expected."

Odin sighed. "I fear there is more to this that I realized…when they return, I will need to have a long talk with my son…" He balled his fists.

"Curse whatever power made him forever grasp to find value in things! By the Norns, am I the worst father in the Nine Realms? How does my own son…?" he shook his head. "But never mind. We shall speak face to face soon."

Heimdall nodded slowly. "And when shall you send for them, my lord?"

"Soon. But not until my son has completed the cure for these strange, Midgardian diseases." He smiled.

"It is so good to see him build, instead of destroy. It gives me hope."

Heimdall said nothing, but a small smile crossed his lips.

Hope. Yes, hope was beginning to return. And all thanks to the Midgardians.

It was the Gatekeeper's private opinion that those on Asgard had much to learn from those they had often deemed inferior.

But that was a conversation for another day.

I hope this worked out alright. I was gonna have the "final test" in another chapter, but I suddenly realized that there would be no better moment to test Loki than during an apology. And an apology to Clint, no less.

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