WASHINGTON, 7/3/14- 0330 HOURS, EASTERN TIME

The sound of his phone jarred him from his dreamless slumber, the first time he had slept without being plagued by nightmares for almost a month now. The ACDC riff played through his head a moment longer as he buried his head in his pillow, trying to block out the annoying crackle of the speakers as they played the tinny guitar and drums. He gritted his teeth and buried his face in the covers as his ears were screaming about the sudden noise.

After a few moments, the infuriating ring stopped, only to start up again. He grabbed the phone off the dressing table and glanced at the caller ID for a second before he answered, "What in the name of the Gods do you want?"

"Loki, we need you to come in."

"In case you have not noticed, Captain Righteous, I do not work for you," Loki sneered, "You better have a good reason for calling me, or so help me, I will give you the swift kick in the face that I owe you."

"This is important, and I would rather tell you in person," Steve Rodgers continued. As Loki awoke a bit more, he could tell that Stephen was talking in a rather somber way, and was attempting to skirt a particular subject that he was not looking forward to talking about.

Loki pulled himself out of bed, slipped his feet into the large, novelty Hulk slippers that Tony had given him and began to walk around impatiently, "If you have something to tell me, Stephen, I wish you would just tell me."

Steve gulped. There was a crackle as the phone changed hands.

"Hey," It was Natasha, "I have some bad news."

Loki's heart skipped a beat, "Bella?"

"The Hydra base that she and Barton infiltrated was destroyed," she said almost heartlessly, "there were no survivors."

Loki was silent for a long time. He felt dizzy; he had to sit on the end of his bed, "what?" he asked in a tiny voice.

"I'm very sorry, Loki." Natasha said, "Bella's gone."

0335 HOURS

He woke Sophia from her sleep. He almost didn't do it. She looked so peaceful, so calm. It seemed sacrilege to wake her from pleasant dreams to this nightmare, but even more abhorrent to him to lie to her, even for the sake of protecting her. He owed her the truth.

She rolled over, "ten more minutes, Mom. I'll be ready later."

"Soph," he shook her shoulder again, "I need to talk to you, now."

"Fine," she pulled herself out of bed and sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, "what's wrong, Loki? You look like you've seen a ghost"

He gulped before speaking, "there's been a problem on your mother's mission," he started, biting his lip.

She sensed his thoughts, "Mom's-." she started.

"She's gone, Honey."

It took a moment for it to sink in, and she began to cry. Loki held his stepdaughter close, and he held back his own tears. He had to be strong for her.

"I'll talk to the school tomorrow, get things sorted out for you to stay home for a few days," he told her as calmly as possible, "and I will be here for you."

7/4/14 0830

"Sophia will not attend school for one week from today," Loki told the receptionist at the school, "I am her stepfather, young woman. May I speak to the principal?" After another moment of incessant chattering he spoke again, "do you know who I am? I want to speak to the principal now."

He looked back at Sophia from the hall as she sat alone on the sofa with a book on her lap that was upside down and unopened, and he felt even worse. She looked haggard and tired, and completely destroyed, everything that he felt.

"Good morning principal Jackson," Loki said, "I am calling to inform you that Sophia will not be attending school for the next week, starting today, "because there has been a family crisis, that is why," he slowly got angrier, "what do you mean I am not authorized to pull her out of school? I am her stepfather for Christ's sake!" his hands tightened on the phone, "I am the Wizard of New York, my good man, which makes me the one person on this planet that can eviscerate you without leaving a mark. Yes, I suppose I am threatening you. That is fine. Thank you principal." He hung up and joined his stepdaughter.

He sat next to her wordlessly, and Sophia turned to lean on his shoulder, and hug him. He bit his lip, and somehow he kept himself from crying.

"What happened?" Sophia whispered to him suddenly.

"The details are sketchy," Loki said, "but your mom went to this Hydra base, and it was destroyed."

"Why?" Sophia asked him.

"I don't know," he sounded pathetic, even to himself, and a stray tear escaped his eye and dribbled down his face, "but this afternoon, we will go to see Anthony and we will find out."