Chapter 18

In his lifetime, Loki had fought in countless battles, against enemies of all kinds. He had faced impossible odds, and escaped certain death. Even in the height of his madness, never did he feel bone-numbing fear as he did now. The sight before him should not have affected him so, but no matter how much he told himself that there was no threat, he could not stop his palms from becoming slick with sweat, or stop his eyes from darting to each movement searching for a threat that would surely come.

Before him lay a construction of coloured tubes, blocks and bars on which children swarmed over in the middle of the sunny day. He stood before it, weaponless, magic-less, completely without any means to defend himself and his three children that stood with him.

They were not alone of course; this whole blasted idea had been Rogers' own after all. The blond American icon stood to his right, along with Thor and Banner. They were all dressed in civilian clothes, himself included, the bulk of the ill-fitting jacket he wore disguised his pregnancy.

Fenris had an arm wrapped around his leg currently, and seemed to be feeling as anxious as Loki did about the whole thing. His brothers on the other hand, were watching the playground in front of them with a kind of hunger in their eyes and Loki had to concede that Rogers had something of a point. Now that Frigga had declared that Odin would not be coming for any of Loki's children, the state of house arrest he was under no longer mattered.

"It's not healthy for them," Steve had argued. "being cooped up all the time. They need some fresh air, at least for a little bit."

"Then I shall open a window," Loki had replied sourly. He knew that his sons were becoming agitated from their restrictions, and he never wanted to deny his children anything, but he was powerless and far too vulnerable.

But Thor had offered to come along as protection (and Loki still chafed at the idea that he needed it) and then Rogers and Banner had added their own offers.

"It's not like we're going to take them to a battle zone, or even a high profile area Loki. It's just a park, a normal park with normal kids."

Eventually he had agreed, despite his misgivings, and once the day trip was approved by higher authorities, they were delivered to a small park on the edge of the city via non-descript cars.

"You ok Loki?" he heard Rogers ask and he looked away from the playground for a moment to meet the man's eyes. It was almost funny, the mortal was worried for Loki when the truth was that he should be more concerned for himself. If something happened and he lost one of his sons now, after everything, he would burn the worlds. So he didn't answer, and instead went back to watching the playground.

Then Bruce stepped forward and kneeled down in front of the boys. "Hey, do you guys want to go play with the other kids?" he asked kindly.

Both Sleipnir and Jorgumand turned back to Loki, a question clear on their faces and against his better judgment he nodded jerkily. Instantly huge smiles bloomed on their faces and when they turned back to Bruce they voiced the affirmative excitedly.

"Alright, but before you go there's some rules ok? See that fence over there?" he pointed, "That marks the edge of the park, and you guys have to stay inside that line alright? If any of you step outside of that line we all have to leave right away and we won't come back. So this is very important ok?" The boys nodded solemnly. "Second thing is if you hear any of us call you, you come. Right away, kay?" Again the boys nodded. "Alright, last rule. You can't tell anyone that you live with the Avengers, if anyone asks you, you tell them you live with your Dad."

"But why?" Jorgumand asked.

"Because it's part of the game," Bruce said casually, and Loki was reminded of why he liked the small man so much. The boys nodded eagerly and Bruce gave them one last summary. "Alright, stay in the park, come when you hear your name being called and don't tell anyone where you live. Got it?"

"Yes!" the boys agreed.

"Alright, go ahead, play nice."

At those words, Sleipnir and Jorgumand took off running for the playground. Bruce stood up and gave him a sympathetic smile. "They'll be alright," he said reassuringly. Loki gave the man a small nod, and glanced down at his remaining son who was watching the playground with the sort of look that one might give a snake pit. Well at least that was one less son he would have to worry about. He bent over to pick the boy up, kissing his cheek as he did so.

"Come Fenris, let's go find a place to sit and watch your brothers."

Over the next hour Loki watched from a park bench as his two older sons ran about happily with the mortal children. Thor and Steve tried at one point to tempt Fenris into playing in the sandbox that was nearby, but the little boy seemed disinclined to play in the dirt. Instead he sat content in the grass at Loki's feet, playing with his toys that had been brought along.

Sometime later, it crossed Loki's mind that if he were ever to speak the cliché phrase 'I told you so', now would be the appropriate moment. The playground was in ruins, twisted spikes of ripped metal tubes reaching out from the settling dust and smoke. The children that played on it were long gone, taken to safety by their parents. As far as he could see there were no casualties, for which he was thankful. Even in the height of his villainous career he would never have wished harm upon a child.

When the small army of Moloids first swarmed from the sewer grates, Steve was the first to notice and called out for the boys. Sleipnir and Jorgumand, who were in the middle of a game that might have been tag, stopped what they were doing and ran for the closest Avenger. Unfortunately that was Bruce, who was already mid-transformation by the time the boys reached him. More confused than frightened, they changed direction just as the Hulk leaped over their heads and into the fray. Thor was with them instantly, and brought them to Loki before joining his comrades in battle.

The problem with this was that there was no cover, nothing to hide behind for protection as debris flew through the air. The Hulk was using chunks of the playground equipment as weapons, and the Moloids were fighting with an assortment of random weapons, from knives and axe's to maces made out of broken glass. All of this was flying through the air and Loki could not get out of the way fast enough.

So when he saw the piece of metal come flying at them, Loki turned and covered his sons as best he could and waited for the shrapnel to pierce his upper back. What he felt was a light tap, and saw the metal shard drop harmlessly to the grass. Dumbfounded, Loki looked from the metal on the ground, to the battle that waged meters away, and then to his sons. Jorgumand and Fenris were watching the fight with wide eyes, but it was Sleipnir who drew Loki's attention. His eyes were dulled, and he held onto Fenris' hand with his left, his right was holding on to Loki's pant leg, and now that he was paying attention he could feel the current of magic connecting them. He recognized the shielding spell for what it was and a great swell of pride filled him. It was a simple spell, not strong enough to defend against a sword or axe, but rubble and shrapnel would bounce right off them.

Making sure that all four of them kept the physical contact needed for the spell to continue, Loki moved them further from the fight, and managed to find meager cover behind a large old tree.

"That's my good son," Loki murmured into Sleipnir's ear as he pulled the boy into his lap. Fenris squeezed in beside his brother, looking no worse for wear, and Jorgumand kept peeking around the side of the tree to report on the battle.

The fight did not last much longer, the Moloids were hardly formidable enemies, their only real strength was in their sheer numbers. Soon enough the last little yellow creature was scuttling back into the sewers just as the fleet of police and Shield vehicles were pulling up.

()()()()

"You know, you have the best poker face I've ever seen," Steve said from beside him as Loki stood off to the side and observed the aftermath of the battle. "I can't tell if you're upset or angry or amused..." the super soldier broke off with a shake to his head.

Loki didn't bother to answer, and instead kept his eyes on the sight before him. When the sirens and soldiers had appeared, the Hulk had become agitated, ready for more of a fight. But then all of a sudden, Jorgumand, who had seen that the battle was over, ran over before Loki could grab him. Any fear Loki had felt was apparently unfounded, as the large green behemoth did not lash out but bent low to observe the small child that bounced around him talking excitedly.

Now as the agents in black suits kept the public at bay and started the process of closing off the scene, Loki watched as his three sons climbed on the Hulk in lieu of a proper jungle gym. Even Fenris seemed to recognize that there was someone familiar under all that muscle and sat happily on the creatures shoulder as Jorgumand swung from an arm.

Loki supposed he couldn't complain, his sons were getting all the fresh air and exercise they needed, all under the watch of the most power being on the planet. And they were happy, what more could he ask for really?

So short I know, but this is just a quickie. There are two huge chapters and an epilogue done and being proofread as we speak! I will post the next chapter tomorrow (or as soon as I get it back and the rest will follow shortly after!

For those who don't read the comics, Moloids are a population of yellow creatures that live underground and are ruled by the Mole Man (no seriously, true story) If you are curious, go to google, type in Moloids marvel, and search away! Also, go to your comic book store and get all the issues of avenging spiderman cause homg there be the rofls.

Thank you to everyone who has been reviewing and messaging! I hope you all enjoyed this mini chapter!