Author's Note: Now, this was pretty hard for me to do. I almost lost my conviction over writing this, but I pulled through and made it work.

In other news, the new Loki season is premiering this Thursday and I can't wait to see it. It's coming out much sooner than I had expected, so I'm pretty hyped about it.

The song featured here is "Go Back to City Hall" which is from the actual Ghost and Molly McGee show. I had plans for another song to play, but I liked this wholesome song and didn't want to remove it.

Anyway, after this, we head to the internship episode, which has a very original concept for Loki. Enjoy this chapter. Any and all comments are welcome.

Loki and the McGee family joined the rest of Brighton's citizens in front of City Hall where Mayor Brunson was readying his speech. The Trickster looked to his left seeing Molly tremble with excitement with Scratch hovering beside her.

"Will you stop shaking?" Loki asked. "You're one push away from making a scene in front of everyone."

"I can't help it, Loki." Molly said. "Any minute now, Mayor Brunson is going to announce the winner of the contest, and one lucky Brightonian is going to be Mayor For a Day. If I'm lucky, it'll be me, and I can get one step closer to enhappifying the town."

"Don't hold your breath. It's not that big of a deal." Loki said. "If it is, then I would've submitted a campaign video."

"Really?" Scratch asked. "I thought you'd jump at a chance for power. You've always wanted to be king, didn't you?"

"Yeah, for life." Loki clarified. "Not for a whole day. Do you have any idea how short that is for Asgardians? There are a million things I'd do if I ruled this town, and most of it, I can't get accomplished in just one day."

"Well, your loss." Molly said. "But I can't wait to see who gets to experience mayor-hood for the next 24 hours."

Finally, Mayor Brunson stepped up to the podium and tapped on his microphone to see if it worked. Once he was certain and everyone quieted down, he cleared his throat and made his announcement.

"My fellow Brightonians, today, we hold the first ever Mayor For a Day event where one lucky citizen is chosen to run City Hall. There were a lot of submissions, and very few showed the passion and ambition for the job. And I am pleased to announce that that someone is… Lukas!"

Loki's eyes opened wide as dinner plates after hearing that name. "I'm sorry. What?"

"You heard me, young man." Brunson said. "Get on up here!"

Though confused, Loki proceeded to break from the crowd and stepped on up to join Mayor Brunson at the front entrance of City Hall. He was then presented with a turnip.

"Lukas, do you solemnly swear to uphold the Office of Mayor and all the responsibilities therein?"

"Uh… Sure?" Loki responded unsure of what to make of the situation he was in. He turned to face the crowd who gave cheers and applause towards him. Though, he was still very confused, a reaction he shared with the McGees.

Mayor Brunson led Loki, Molly, Darryl, and Scratch (who was still invisible) into the heart of City Hall. They entered an office with four portraits hanging above the door. Across the room, past the chairs, was a decorated desk.

"And here's the mayor's office where the decisions get made and the papers get signed." Brunson said.

Scratch floated to the desk and gave it a lick. "Hey, this is real mahogany. Fancy."

"How many pages can this thing handle?" Darryl asked admiring a stapler with flames painted and a golden eagle perched on top. "30? 35?"

"Oh, it's been known to handle up to 36 if you put your back into it." Brunson answered before Darryl secretly pocketed the stapler into his jacket.

"Mayor Brunson," Loki said, "I'm honored to have won your contest, but I believe there's been a mistake. There's no way I could've won. I didn't even apply."

"Oh, don't be silly. Of course, you did." Brunson said. He walked over to a rolling mobile desk with a TV and a VCR player. "I have your campaign video right here."

As soon as Brunson pressed the play button, the TV screen turned on. It showed Loki standing in the middle of a sidewalk. As he walked past the various shops and businesses, he spoke calmly and confidently with a smile on his face.

"Hello. My name is Lukas. On the outside, I may be a common middle school student, but inside, there's a passion and ambition that is needed to lead this town. I was always born to be a leader, and this may be my first step to doing that. If I am chosen, I will begin to lead Brighton to a new golden age and make it shine like the sun. So choose me as Mayor For a Day, and I promise, you won't be disappointed."

The video ended leaving Loki and the others more confused than ever.

"I thought you said you didn't make a campaign video." Molly whispered.

"I didn't. Something weird's going on." Loki whispered back.

"I get that you're nervous, young man. Really, I do." Brunson said. He looked up at the four portraits hanging above his door. "These are all the past Mayors Brunson. My mom, her dad, his mom, her dad. Their eyes, always following me… with disappointment."

"So being a mayor is a family job?" Darryl asked.

"Kinda. All the past Brunsons have been known to run and become great mayors." Brunson said.

"Look, Mr. Mayor, I…"

"You don't have to call me that anymore, Lukas. You're mayor now and forever." Brunson interrupted.

"That's not what I…" Loki started to say before realizing something. "Wait. What do you mean by that?"

"I'm going away." Brunson said as he pulled out a briefcase and started filling it with various personal items. "You took the sacred Turnip Oath, which, as all Brightonians know, is legally binding, so you're in charge now, Mayor Lukas."

"WHAT?!" Loki cried out. "Hold on now! This is all happening so fast and suddenly! First of all, I didn't make that video! I don't know who did or why, but it wasn't me! Secondly, you're seriously leaving a middle-schooler to run the mayor's office in your stead? Do you have any idea how insane this is?"

"You'll be fine." Brunson assured. "You've got the passion and ambition for the job. That's all you need. And if you need anything else, you can ask my secretary, Sylvie." He pointed outside where a blonde girl in a blue suit and glasses sat with her eyes locked on the computer screen. "Nice girl. You know, the whole 'Mayor For a Day' thing was her idea. And to think, I just hired her."

"But why would you even want to quit being mayor?" Molly asked.

"Are you kidding me? I never wanted to be mayor. It's way too much pressure. One year, I didn't even run. People wrote me in anyway. But now, I'm free to find my true calling in life. We out!" Brunson took his goldfish and left the office without looking back.

"This is a mistake!" Loki said. "I cannot be mayor! I didn't even…"

"Slow down, Loki." Darryl said. "Let's think about the opportunity for a second. You're a natural leader, right?"

"Well, obviously." Loki answered.

"And you didn't campaign for the contest because you didn't want this to last for only one day, correct?"

"Okay… I think I see what you're getting at."

"Exactly. You don't have to worry about a 24-hour limit. You can run Brighton however you want."

"I don't know, Darryl." Molly said. "Doesn't he have to be a grown-up to know what he's doing?"

"Don't forget, Molly, that while I may have the body of a child, I have a thousand years of experience as an adult." Loki said. "Still, there's the inconsistency of the campaign video to consider."

"Are you sure you didn't make that?" Scratch asked.

"Yes, I'm sure." Loki said. "Darryl, you have connections, right? Can any of your contacts help discover who it was that made this fake tape?"

"I can make a few calls if you give me the video."

"I'll send you the link."

"So what'll we do in the meantime?" Scratch asked.

"Well, at the moment, I'm the mayor of Brighton." Loki said looking out the window with a smile slowly growing on his face. "Might as well enjoy it while I can."

"Ooh. Wanna try on this blazer?" Molly asked holding up a purple suit jacket offering it to her friend.

"Why?" Loki asked.

"It's the ultimate symbol of knowing important grown-up stuff." Molly said.

"It's a piece of clothing." Loki said. "And I already know 'important grown-up stuff'."

"Just try it on, please." Molly said.

Loki rolled his eyes before accepting the blazer which he then put on around his arms. After finally putting it on, he looked down at himself admiring it. "Hmm. It's not bad."

"So, Moll, do you just carry that blazer everywhere?" Scratch asked.

"So what's your first act as mayor, 'Lukas'?" Molly asked as she, Loki, and Scratch walked down the hallway.

"Well, I suppose this town needs something bold." Loki said. "In order to win the people over, I may have to appeal to their desires. So what would make Brighton happy?"

"Pancake breakfast." Scratch suggested.

"Good idea, Scratch, except that I hate maple syrup in both texture and taste." Molly said.

"But polling numbers say we need it." Scratch said.

"We haven't polled anyone yet." Loki said. "But anyway, I suppose pancakes wouldn't hurt if it'll increase my likeability. What else?"

"I think Darryl said something about a giant slip-'n-slide." Molly said.

"Sounds like we've got a field day planned." Loki smiled. "That's it. A field day. We'll have rides and games and all sorts of food for the peons of Brighton."

"Probably shouldn't call them peons, but I like where you're head's at." Molly said.

"Did you get all that, Sylvie?" Loki asked the secretary that followed them.

"Field day. Pancakes. Everything accounted for."

"Thank you." Loki said. "Now, let's get to work."

Over the course of the day, Loki sat back in his office while all his requests were being fulfilled. He took a long sip of soda to quench his thirst before sighing in satisfaction.

"Now, this is the life. The town's happy. I'm finally in a position of power. Okay, I may not yet now how exactly I got into this situation, but I'd say this is working out just fine."

SLAM!

Molly and Scratch stormed right in startling Loki and making him fall from his chair. He got back up seeing the terrified expressions on their faces.

"EVERYTHING'S GONE WRONG!" they both shouted.

"What?" Loki asked. "What happened?"

"Well…" Molly started to say. She headed to the window and opened the blinds. Loki looked outside and saw swarms of bugs flying around and terrifying the citizens they were assaulting.

"What's going on?" Loki asked. "Where did all these horseflies come from?"

"The maple syrup." Scratch said shamefully.

"What?" Loki asked. "How? A dozen bottles wouldn't have attracted a swarm this big!"

"We… may not have had a dozen bottles." Molly said scratching the back of her head. "I don't know how, but we somehow ordered a truckload of maple syrup. When we opened up the truck, all that kinda spilled all over the field day at the park."

"What? How is that possible?"

"I don't know! We were on our way to tell you, but that's when the swarm attacked!"

"And I think they all blame you." Scratch said.

"I BLAME THAT MAYOR KID!" shouted a Brighton citizen being chased by horseflies.

"No, no, no! This can't happen!" Loki panicked. "We have to fix this somehow!"

"How?" Molly asked.

"Why don't you cast a spell on them or something?" Scratch asked. "You know, zap the dragonflies and blast them out of Brighton?"

"If I did that, I'd be outing my real identity." Loki explained with a groan. "This is hopeless! I don't know what to do in this kind of situation!"

"Okay. At this point, I think our best option here is to get the real mayor back." Molly said.

"What? And give up my seat?" Loki asked.

"Loki, at this rate, the people will run you out of town! What's more important, your power or your life?" Molly asked. After a moment of silence, she was getting frustrated. "Well?"

"I'm thinking!" Loki snapped. The more he thought, the more frustrated he was getting. All he could hear was all the screams coming from outside and the blame pointed at him. He clenched his teeth before finally breaking the silence with a yell. "FINE! We'll get Brunson back!"

"Great!" Molly said. "I'm proud of you, Loki."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's just do it before I change my mind." Loki said angrily.

"I don't see the mayor anywhere!" Molly said looking around the park through a pair of binoculars. "Mostly because these horseflies won't stop biting my eyes!"

"Look. We've searched all over the city." Scratch said. "Maybe it's time to give up. Let's just take a little snack break."

"A snack break? During a crisis?" Loki asked. "Who'd be brave enough to sell snacks during a major infestation like this?"

"Well, I do see an active cotton candy vendor over there." Scratch pointed.

"Scratch, this is no time for cotton candy. Brighton is in trouble." Molly said. "Then again, sugar does help me problem-solve."

"That explains why all the sugar packets keep disappearing in the middle of our misadventures." Loki said. He looked over at the cotton candy cart before noticing something about the vendor who was trying to hide behind it. He squinted his eyes suspiciously. "Wait a minute…"

"What is it?" Molly asked.

Loki headed to the cart and pushed it out of the way revealing the man still trying to hide. He held up two cotton candy sticks to conceal himself, but the kids already knew who it was.

"Mayor Brunson! It's you!" Molly gasped.

"What? No, it's not!" Brunson denied. "Uh, I'm just Stu, the local cotton candy maker who no longer lives under the overwhelming weight of a whole town's expectations."

"THIS is what you'd rather be doing? This is your 'true calling in life'?" Loki asked.

"I admit, it's not as glamorous as a mayor's office," Brunson said returning to his cart, "But it's a lot less pressure. It's not my problem anymore, kid. It's yours."

"Mayor Brunson, Brighton needs a real leader!" Molly said. "Right, Lukas?"

Loki looked down before sighing. "I mean… If he doesn't want it…"

"LUKAS!" Molly shouted.

"Okay, fine!" Loki admitted. "It turns out, it takes more than passion and ambition to run a town. You're the only one with the experience to save Brighton."

"You're too hard on yourself, Lukas." Brunson said pouring a can full of cotton candy sugar into the mixing machine. "I have lots of passion and no experience in cotton candy, but watch this." When he was done, he pressed a button to activate the machine. However, it sputtered and whirred until it blew up firing loads of cotton candy in every direction.

Loki growled finding himself covered in cotton candy which he started to pick off his body. "You see? You're clearly not meant for something this menial."

"Maybe you're right." Brunson said glumly. "Maybe the town does need an experienced mayor, but it shouldn't be me. And no one in this world can convince me otherwise."

Loki still had some cotton candy in his hair, but he stopped picking to narrow his eyes at Brunson. "Do you know why I was surprised to learn that you decided to retire so abruptly? It's because I can't imagine anyone seeing themselves unfit to be a leader. Everyone wants to lead something. And after hearing about your family being mayors before you, I actually thought that despite your childishness, you might actually have potential. But if you're actually willing to throw your responsibility away and let the town be destroyed just because it's easier, then maybe you're the wrong kind of mayor indeed." He walked away leaving Brunson to hang his head in shame.

Molly ran up to Loki to catch up with him. "So what do we do? We need Mayor Brunson back."

"What can we do?" Loki asked. "You heard him. No one in this world can convince him to go back to City Hall."

"No one in this world, huh?" Molly asked with a mischievous smile on her face. "Scratch, finish that spun sugar and fire up a portal."

"You can't just call those up whenever you want, Molly." Scratch said feeding himself handfuls of cotton candy. Loki and Molly both gave him a serious look. "Yeah, okay."

Brunson hung his head down low dragging his cotton candy cart across the crazed town when suddenly, a ghost portal opened up in front of him. Four ghosts then floated out. Brunson was startled for a moment, but stopped when he noticed how familiar they all were.

"Mom? What are you doing here? What are the Mayors Brunson doing here?"

"Stewie, we heard you lost your passion for being mayor." Mary Brunson said. She and the other ghosts then sang to him while Molly, Loki, and Scratch joined in.

Mary Brunson:

Every Brunson knows the burden

It's the cross that we all bear

Great-Grandma Brunson:

It can leave your heart a-hurtin'

Sitting in the mayor's chair

Cornelius Brunson:

But that's exactly where the city needs

Your bulbous derriere

Everyone:

Don't give up. Go back to City Hall

Grandpa Brunson:

We know the pressure is no fun (no fun)

And your passion has been shaken

Mary Brunson:

We're so proud of all you've done (so proud)

And the difference you're makin'

Cornelius Brunson:

Plus, this child mayor isn't fit. No offense

Loki:

Some taken

Everyone:

Don't give up. Go back to City Hall

Think of all the potholes that you filled

The graffiti you've erased

Free baggies at the dog park

For collecting fecal waste

Every day, you make this turnip town

A slightly better place

Mary Brunson:

Oh, Stew…

Everyone:

Oh, Stew…

Say I do

Go back to City Hall

"Love you, Stew." Mary Brunson said before she and the other ghosts returned into the ghost portal. Happy at seeing his family reunited with him, Brunson fell on his back falling unconscious.

Molly and Loki returned to Brunson and shook him awake. He got up rubbing his head.

"I had the craziest cotton candy dream." He said. "My mom was there and granddad. And there were dancing ghosts."

"What?" Molly laughed nervously. "That's a super weird dream. Too much cotton candy for you, mister."

"Did this dream mean anything?" Loki asked.

"You know what? Yes." Brunson answered. "Suddenly, I'm filled with the drive to put things right." He picked up his goldfish bowl and looked at the fish inside. "Come on, Goldie. It's time to get back to doing what we do best. Mayoring."

Armed with nothing but his cotton candy and his cart, Mayor Brunson started his spree of stopping the plague of horseflies. Everywhere he went, he would swing his cotton candy around trapping the horseflies in its sticky sugar. He saved as many citizens as he could before pulling up his cart. He poured the sugar into the machine and turned it on creating a giant tornado of cotton candy quickly trapping all the remaining horseflies and saving everyone in Brighton. He was given the loudest applause by everyone.

Among the crowd, Loki widened his eyes with the most dumbfounded reaction he could possibly give. "Did he seriously save the day in mere seconds with cotton candy? Every day, something happens and I think I've seen everything."

Mayor Brunson returned to his office and put everything back the way that it was meant to. He sat in his chair satisfied to have returned. "Ah, there's that groove specifically formed to my butt. I'm home."

"Mayor Brunson," Molly said, "Lukas has something to say."

"No, I don't." Loki said.

"Yes, you do. Now, say it." Molly insisted.

Loki groaned before sighing. "Fine. I… guess I did mess up the town. I don't know how everything got so out of control. I didn't think this would happen if I was in charge."

"No one knows what'll happen when they're in charge." Brunson said. "Do you have any idea how many times something bad happened on my watch?"

"Well, I thought my reign would be perfect." Loki said. "All my life, I've always wanted to be in charge. Today, I finally got the chance to do that, and everything went completely off the rails." He lowered his head. "I thought having ambition was enough, but it looks like I was wrong. I guess I'm not cut out to be mayor, even for a day." He turned around and prepared to leave with Molly when Mayor Brunson stopped him.

"Lukas, wait. I'm the last Brunson. And the town's going to need a new mayor someday."

"Me?" Loki asked. "Didn't you see what happened? I messed up the town."

"Being a good leader isn't about making no mistakes. It's about taking responsibility for everything despite those mistakes." Brunson said. "What you said to me at the park earlier, about me taking the easier path to avoid responsibility, it really struck me. You were right. I needed to be more responsible. And maybe that's what you need too."

"Really?" Loki asked.

"You've only got ambition now. Keep that, learn some conviction, add some time and experience, and someday, you might make a great leader. I mean, you already have the wardrobe."

"I knew the blazer was important!" Molly cheered.

Loki chuckled looking at his blazer. "Am I still wearing this?"

"Yeah." Molly said. "Plus, you still got a bit of cotton candy in your hair."

"What?" Loki asked suddenly brushing his hair. "Why didn't anyone tell me?"

Molly laughed as she and Loki left the office. As they did, Mayor Brunson stood in the open doorway chuckling silently.

"Good kids." He said.

"Is it gone?" Loki asked brushing his fingers over his hair.

"Yep. That's the last of the cotton candy." Molly said.

"Thank goodness." Loki said before finally sitting on Molly's bed. "Though, to tell you the truth, I'm still a little troubled."

"About what?" Scratch asked.

"All of this started with that campaign video." Loki reminded. "I know I didn't make it, so who did?"

"I may have a clue to that." Darryl climbed up into Molly's room to join everyone.

"Darryl, you're back." Molly said. "Did you learn anything about that video?"

"Yeah, but I keep running into more questions than answers." Darryl said. "I told my contacts to tell me everything they learned about the video, and according to them, it wasn't doctored in any way."

"Not doctored?" Loki asked. "That's impossible. I know I didn't do that."
"Well, somehow, it was made." Darryl said. "And believe it or not, the timestamp on the video shows it was recorded last Saturday afternoon."

"Last Saturday?" Molly asked. "Hold on. That's the day we went to Mewline trying to find Bobby Daniels. We weren't even in Brighton at the time."

"Here's the weirdest part." Darryl said. "I decided to track down the video's point of origin. As it turns out, it was sent to Mayor Brunson's email account from inside City Hall."

"None of this makes any sense." Loki said. "You're saying someone somehow recording me applying to be Mayor For a Day last Saturday while I was out of Brighton and sent it to Mayor Brunson from inside City Hall? Who?"

A hooded figure walked into an old, rusty warehouse. Once they were inside, they were overwhelmed by a sudden cold that made them shake at first before proceeded deeper into the dark floor, which was covered by frost and snow. They walked past a bunch of machines before finding who they were supposed to meet. They removed their hood revealing themselves to be Sylvie, the secretary from City Hall.

"Your little plan failed." She told one of the three figures she was meeting. "The Core Loki wasn't run out of the town. The situation was somehow resolved and everyone just marked it off as an error in judgement."

"How unfortunate." Said one of the figures revealing himself to be an adult Loki with a black suit and a button pin that read "LOKI FOR PRESIDENT". "I can't imagine any version of us surrendering a position of power, least of all the Core Loki."

"I told you his time among the mortals has softened him." Said another figure. Like the man before, he looked similar to an adult Loki, only much older and with longer horns. He wore a boldly-colored green-and-yellow outfit and a long, yellow cape. "He's losing his resolve. He lost all understanding of who he truly is. My illusion of the child is more Loki than him now, and he wasn't even real." With a wave of his hand, a copy of young Loki appeared out of thin air before he waved his hand and it disappeared.

"I still don't see why we can't just take him now!" shouted another Loki, who instead of looking human, he had the appearance of a Frost Giant. "We could go to that house where he is and…"

"And what? Bounce back from the shield spell he cast over the house?" the Loki with the president pin asked. "Listen to yourself, Frost Loki. This is the snowstorm all over again."

"Well, why can't Old Man Loki just cast magic to de-spell it?" Frost Loki asked. "Isn't magic his specialty?"

"De-spelling that shield will take time, and the Asgardians will be onto us before I even finish." Old Man Loki said.

"So what's the plan now, President Loki?" Sylvie asked.

President Loki was silent for only a second. "We keep doing what we've been doing. We may not have the Core Loki now, but that's not stopping us from finding the other Loki's. We've still got four more to go before we have to have him. So Sylvie, you continue your position at City Hall and await further instructions. And if you see anything that could be useful, let us know."

"Got it." Sylvie said. "And by the way, while I was there, I was going through the local businesses when I noticed something you might find interesting." She walked over to President Loki and whispered in his ear. He grew a malicious smile over that.

"What is it?" Old Man Loki asked.

"Silvie just found our fifth." President Loki answered.