Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Every breath you take

And every move you make

Every bond you break, every step you take

I’ll be watching you

Loki woke up to birdsong. He was confused at first as to where he was, they had moved so frequently in just over a week, and it felt like longer. Engel was in the middle of the bed with her back to him, her hair tumbled all over the place. He headed into the bathroom to shower and wash his hair. Towel wrapped around his waist he cleaned his teeth and ran a comb through his hair. Back in the bedroom he hunted out clothes, chinos, linen shirt, Converse. He dressed before he woke Engel up, he could start breakfast while she was showering. She groaned as he called her name “Come on, sleepy head. Shower time. I’ll sort you some clothes out, it’s Sunday so we won’t be doing much, just looking around, so I thought a dress?”

“OK, Dada.” She shuffled to the edge of the bed and then stepped onto the floor. Loki gathered his pyjamas and the clothes they had both worn the day before and took them through to the kitchen and loaded them into the washing machine, once he heard the shower running he went into the bathroom and grabbed Engel’s pyjamas as well. Under the kitchen sink he found detergent pods, he buried one under the dirty clothes. He studied the machine, it was pretty straightforward, he set the programme and started it off. 

The cooker was not as sophisticated as the one at the compound, but much simpler to operate. He opted to scramble some eggs, grill bacon and fry mushrooms and tomatoes. He would let Engel make the toast when she was ready. Loki stuck the bacon under the grill when he heard the shower go off. He cracked the eggs into a jug he found and beat them up, all those times watching Steve in the kitchen were paying off. He sliced the bread and put it to one side. Engel wandered through. “Angel, you can make the toast for me and set the table. The toaster is already plugged in for you, just pop the bread in and you push that lever down. When it’s finished it will pop up.”

“OK, Dada. Where is the cutlery?” Loki showed her the drawer and she pulled out knives and forks and set the small table. Loki put the eggs on to cook. “Shall I butter it?”

“Yes, angel. I’ve left the butter and a plate there for you.” Loki concentrated on what he was doing, it was good for Engel to learn to help with things. He watched her out of the corner of his eye as she plated the toast and carried it carefully to the table. The eggs were done, he served everything up and took the plates over to the table. They ate their first home made meal since they had left the compound. There was room for improvement, but breakfast was a new skill for him to learn and recipe books weren’t a great deal of help with it. He washed the dishes and got Engel to dry them for him, and showed her where everything belonged. He headed into the bedroom, made the bed and put out their clean pyjamas ready for the evening. 

He then opened the cupboard door in the bedroom opposite the bed. It was the only thing he hadn’t explored the day before. Inside he found clean bed linen and towels on a shelf, an iron, ironing board, vacuum cleaner and a clothes horse. He pulled the clothes horse out and took it through into the sitting room for later. He had another area to explore outside that he had discovered in the black folder the previous night. He unlocked the front door and stood facing the lawned area that belonged to the big house on the main street. The stairs they had climbed up yesterday ended in the landing that he was standing on, but then continued downwards towards the lawn. He followed them down to find a small hardstanding area with a bench that faced the lawn with a small pergola over it with a rambling rose on it. There was also a clothes line. These belonged to the apartment. He headed back upstairs, found some spray cleaner and kitchen roll and cleaned the line. There were clothes pegs under the kitchen sink, he could hang some of their things out in the sun. 

“What are we going to do, Dada?” Engel handed him her hairbrush and hair tie. He patiently brushed her hair, braided it and fastened it with a tie.

“Once the washing is finished, and hung up I thought we could go and explore the park and beyond the pier. Then we will go and have lunch at the pub, does that sound OK to you? A quiet day?”

“Yes, Dada. Can I help you with the washing?”

“You certainly can, angel. You can pass me the pegs.” He watched the frown on her face, then he handed her the box which had the name written on it and a colourful drawing of what they were used for! Engel opened the box and looked at the strange plastic clips inside and began to play with one to see how it worked. Loki smiled at her fascination. Trapped with Tony and the Avengers all the time she had not experienced ordinary life, he was not the only one that was going to be experiencing a steep learning curve! It would be good that they learned together. As soon as the machine had finished he emptied the clothes into the plastic dish that had been in the sink and they both headed outside. He acted on logic, hanging up the thicker materials first, Engel handing him the pegs. So pyjamas were hung up first, then his trousers and Engels shorts and one of his shirts. They ran out of line. Everything that was left went on to the clothes horse in the kitchen. 

Engel put on her backpack and her sunhat and they headed out. Loki locking the door behind him. Just that simple act felt good to him. Once they were down the narrow path and through the gate he took hold of her hand and they walked through the roadway between the two big houses. They crossed the road in front of them and walked along the pathway into the swathe of green parkland in front of them with its grove of trees that headed up the steep hill. They explored the grove of trees where the undergrowth was very overgrown. They followed the grass upwards until they ended up at another street. They turned around and headed back downwards following the far right hand side to avoid the car park. 

At the bottom was a circular amphitheatre with tall columns, it was a curious structure and Loki wondered what it was used for, because although it followed the lines of ancient structures, it was obviously not that old. They walked across it, and around it. It would be a wonderful place to practice his forms on, something he hadn’t been able to do since they left the Compound. At the bottom edge there were flower beds and then the road that led over to the pier. There was a private road that headed off to an estate towards the right. That was for another day, although it didn’t look as if it really went anywhere.

It was still too early to go to lunch so they headed up the main street and looked more thoroughly at the shops than Engel and Lore had on Friday. Some of them were closed as it was Sunday, but they checked out the window displays in those ones. One of the early gift shops was also an upmarket toy shop. It was closed. There was a lovely bakery, also closed. Then a cafe called Beavers which was open, it looked warm and inviting, somewhere for another day. The Newsagent was open; it was large, full of brightly coloured toys which appeared to be mostly for the beach. No doubt they would be buying something from here to use in the next few days. There was something called an Estate Agent. Loki looked in the window curiously. It was full of photographs of houses, cottages, apartments, obviously up for sale. They had prices on them. Then there was a small number of similar properties that had much smaller prices by them ‘pcm’. Loki didn’t know what that meant. Something he needed to look up. 

They carried on walking, there was an interesting clothes shop that sold t-shirts, dresses, swimwear. Something else they would need soon for the beach. A health food shop, that looked useful. There was a restaurant called Salt Pig Too, the aromas from it smelled wonderful. They would definitely be going in there. Then they came across a lane that led to the left, they opted to follow it. There were a series of small shops along there all closed bar one - Chococo. An artisan chocolate shop. Something within Loki grew very excited at the prospect of trying out some of their wares. They followed the lane along right through to the High Street, there was a little turn off with a laundrette that they no longer required and at the end was a beautiful cafe called Earthlights. Somewhere else to try out. 

Loki took hold of Engel’s hand to cross the road although there wasn’t much traffic. They headed through the main door into the Red Lion, and entered a very different type of pub to the one they had been to in Bournemouth. A young woman came up to them “Are you here for food or just a drink?”

“Food, please.” Loki said quietly. 

“Follow me.” She took them to a table for two next to a small window with leaded glass. Loki let Engel sit with her back to the wall. They were handed menus “The roasts today are beef or lamb. I’ll be back in five minutes to take your order.” She smiled at them. 

“Dada, what’s lamb?”

“That’s the meat we had in the Real Greek that came on the sticks.”

“Oh! I liked that. Can I have that?” Loki nodded at her. 

The young woman came back “What can I get you?”

“Can we have one roast beef, and one roast lamb.”

“And what would you like to drink?” 

“A pint of whatever is the most popular beer, and a lemonade please.” It didn’t take long for the drinks to appear and Loki had a chance to take in their surroundings. This place was very old. The ceilings were bowed and held up with beams of deep stained oak against whitewashed plaster that was showing hairline cracks in many places. The walls were painted a soft cream and it had a warm, welcoming atmosphere. He sipped his beer, it was called Old Speckled Hen and was nice and smooth. The food arrived and there was a lot of it, a good amount of meat, plenty of vegetables, potatoes and a strange thing that was apparently called a yorkshire pudding, they were given a small jug of gravy separately so they could help themselves. The food was good, his beef medium rare, Engel’s lamb tender. They were both much too full to manage a dessert surprisingly enough. After paying they headed out of the back entrance to discover a big beer garden where they could sit at tables on a lawned area to either just drink or to eat and drink. They would come here again. 

Jack and Engel headed down the side of the pub and he held her hand as they crossed the road and they retraced their steps back down the lane and back onto Station Road again. They headed back up towards the bus station passing more shops, one of which was of great interest - a second hand bookstore, which was closed at the moment. There was another estate agent with more properties with this intriguing ‘pcm’ next to it. Loki wished he understood what it meant. They passed a store selling wine and spirits on the corner then crossed the road to the bus station. 

“Why are we here, Jack?” Engel looked at him in confusion. 

“I want to check the times of the bus to Corfe Castle. I thought we might go and check it out tomorrow. It was my second choice of a place to settle for a while. See if we will be moving on from here at the end of our two weeks or staying.” He smiled at his little girl, he liked it here, but he wanted to make sure they were in the right place. Just then they heard a strange chugging sound and a piercing whistle. They both looked around startled. Then they saw the train. It was like an illustration in a book. A steam train, just the opposite side of the bust station to where they were standing.

“Can we go and look, Jack!” Engel’s green eyes were ablaze with excitement. Loki nodded, he was as excited as she was. They walked down the side of the bus station and looked at the beautiful green engine in front of them billowing out clouds of pale grey steam as it came to a halt just in front of them. The carriages were painted the same shade of green. It was magical! They ventured along the platform to look at it, and Loki picked up a leaflet and started to read it.

“Angel, we can go to Corfe Castle on this tomorrow instead of the bus. Would you like that?”

“Very much, Jack.” 

“OK, we will take this Steam Train then. A new adventure. I will see if I can find a bus timetable anyway, it would be useful to have.” There was a ticket office which had all kinds of leaflets and information in it, and Loki found a bus timetable. He put that and the steam train leaflet in Engel’s butterfly backpack.  Across the car park opposite the bus station was another supermarket, a much bigger one than the small one they had used last night. Somewhere to visit on their return from Corfe tomorrow. 

They headed up Rempstone Road, onto Victoria Avenue and headed towards the beach; then they followed the promenade out of the town towards Ulwell. Out to sea there was an island, Loki made a mental note to check the map to see what it was called. Perhaps another safe place to go if they needed to stay away for an extended period of time.  When they got to Ulwell they stopped at the cafe for cold drinks and they had scones with jam and cream, which Engel managed to get on the end of her nose. Loki laughed at her, she frowned until he wiped it off for her. Suitably refreshed they headed back along the seafront until they reached the town again. They stopped in the small supermarket and picked up some cheese, salad stuff, fresh bread, crisps and strawberries. They were just about to go and pay when Loki thought about hot chocolate and milk. He added those to the basket and then they paid, packing everything into the carrier bag he appeared to take out of his pocket. They headed homewards checking out the shops carefully enroute, marking out the ones they wanted to explore thoroughly. One a day, Loki thought. 

After putting the shopping away they brought the washing indoors, it was now dry and able to be put away. The remainder on the clothes horse was dry as well. Engel helped and then they sat together and fired up Loki’s Kindle to search for Corfe Castle to see what was there. True to its name there was a castle, model village, and the steam railway itself. There were also a variety of walks which could be interesting. He was just about to put it away when he saw he had an email. He decided to open it now rather than wait until later. It was from Nat. ‘We are all happy to hear that you are both safe. Stark has given us JARVIS, he has severed connection with him. Daisy is making sure he is completely bug free. If you want to come home let us know and we will come and get you, but when you are both ready. This is now a safe place for you both.’

Engel looked at Loki “Are we going home, Dada?”

“Do you want to, angel?”

“Not yet, I’m enjoying being by the sea and having you all to myself.”

“Then this is how we will stay.” He hugged her, secretly glad she didn’t want to go back yet because he also was enjoying having her all to himself. Doing what they wanted to each day, being out in the fresh air, learning as they went along. “I’ll send Nat a message in a few days to let her know that we are staying away for a while longer. Now, how about a game of Ludo until it’s time to make our tea?”

“Sounds good to me, Dada. I’ll get it set up.”

<<>>

Tony picked up his Stark Phone, found his contacts and pressed the speed dial. 

“Hi, Tone. What can I do for you?” The warm familiar voice spoke to him.

“Hi yourself, platypus. I have a mission if you are up for it?”

“Things are quiet at the moment in DC. Certainly free for an Avengers mission.” James Rhodes didn’t hesitate.

“It’s not an Avengers mission, it’s a private mission. My daughter has been taken and I need to retrieve her.” Tony took a sip of his coffee.

“Daughter? What daughter? What have you been keeping from me?” James spluttered.

“She’s nearly seven. I only knew of her existence a couple of years ago. I’ve kept her quiet to avoid exactly this scenario. Best laid plans, etcetera.”

“Are you sure she’s yours, Tone? Sorry to ask, but it’s not like you to slip up.”

“Yep. DNA test proves it conclusively. Are you onboard?”

“Of course I am, Tone. This is serious stuff. Is it just us?”

“No, there will be a wizard coming with us. I’m just about to call him.”

“What the fuck do we need a wizard for?”

“Because she has been taken by a shapeshifter, he’s good at that sort of stuff.”

“I’m sorry I asked. I’ll get the next flight to New York.”

“No, Rhodey. We’ll come and pick you up. Just pack enough stuff for a few days and bring your suit. I’ll update you on the flight as to what has been going on, what intel I have so far and introduce you to FRIDAY.”

“FRIDAY?”

“My new AI.”

“Where is JARVIS?”

“On the flight. I can’t believe how much has happened since I last saw you. I’ll drop you a text as soon as we have an ETA. See you soon, platypus.”

Tony ended the call and picking the next name on his contact list he used his speed dial again. 

“Dr Strange, can I help you?”

“Ah, it’s Tony Stark. I have a mission for you regarding the shapeshifter I consulted you on a few weeks ago.”

“Not another magical mouse, I hope?” The tone was dripping with sarcasm.

“No, he has kidnapped my daughter and taken her to England. I need someone with your special abilities to help me get her back. There will be a fee of course.”

“A fee?”

“Five hundred thousand dollars sound OK to you?”

“That sounds agreeable. I need to advise the Sorcerer Supreme, where should I meet you?”

“Be ready in two hours, I will come and collect you. We will be stopping in DC to pick up the third member of our team. Pack some ordinary clothes if you have them, we’re trying to blend in, not stand out.”

“For $500k I’ll wear drag if you want. I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”

 <<>>

After a simple tea of salad, cheese, cold meat and fresh bread and butter Loki investigated the small selection of DVDs on the shelf. A lot of them appeared to be aimed at adults, which wasn’t surprising, he doubted that they got many children here saying as there was only one bed. But there was Madagascar, although they had already seen it, but it didn’t matter. In the black folder he found the instruction booklet that told him how to operate the TV and the DVD player. He set everything up ready for later and set about hulling the strawberries and sharing them out into two bowls. 

“What are we watching Dada?” Engel peered around the corner of the kitchen at him. 

“I found Madagascar, angel. We will have to see if we can find somewhere that sells these things so I can find some that are suitable for you to watch. Here, take your bowl and spoon through and get yourself comfortable.” He followed Engel through with his own bowl and balanced it carefully on the arm of the sofa while his sharp brain remembered which remote control operated which thing. DVD playing he started on his strawberries relishing the juicy, sweet taste as they exploded on his tongue. 

Engel giggled at King Julian and the lemurs. ‘Father’, Loki remembered the time she had called Tony that and his reaction. A shiver ran up his spine. “Are you all right, Dada?”

“Yes, angel. That berry was sharp, that’s all.” He felt guilty for lying to her. He never wanted to lie to her, but in this instance it was the kindest thing to do. He did not want to talk about Tony. He lost himself again in the humour of the story and tried to blot Tony from his mind once more. 

He made them hot chocolate in the way he had seen Steve do it, and once they had drunk it he chased Engel off to get ready for bed. He put their dishes in the sink with some hot soapy water to soak, he would wash them in the morning. He went through to the bedroom and read her another chapter of Elidor and tucked her in with Fenris when he had finished. He kissed the top of her head “Sweet dreams, my angel.” He curled up on the sofa with his Kindle and read until his vision started to blur. He closed it down and headed into the bedroom, quietly undressing and putting on his clean pyjamas. He slipped into his side of the bed and pulled Rhubarb against his chest. His sleep was fitful.

You are stronger than he is, you do not hide behind armour, remember that

A dream of flashing blades at the throats of a masked enemy, killing many while his golden brother battled against the Kursed. Then he picked up a glaive from a fallen enemy, it felt good in his hands, he thrust the weapon through the Kursed’s back to save his brother’s life, a monster killing a monster. Then the Kursed turned and crushed him to its chest, the glaive going straight through him. The pain was excruciating, he felt so cold. His brother cradled him in his arms, all he could think of was getting his little girl to her father…

Loki woke up with a start, his hair was soaked with sweat. There was a pain in his chest like something had been driven through it. He whimpered and rubbed the spot with the heel of his hand. It’s just a nightmare, he told himself and listened to Engel breathing softly at the other side of the bed. He tried to match his breathing to hers to calm himself down, Rhubarb nuzzled up against his neck. It slowly began to work, and he drifted back to sleep again.  

<<>>

Tony carried a weekend bag to the lift in the Tower, his Stark Phone in his jeans pocket with FRIDAY on board. The limousine was waiting patiently at the base of the Tower for him. As he settled in the back he let the driver know that they had another passenger to pick up at 177A Bleecker Street, before they headed out to JFK. Tony rang the sorcerer to let him know they were on the way and would be with him shortly. Stephen let him know he would wait outside for them. He was as good as his word. He climbed into the back with Tony, putting his simple black bag on the floor of the luxury car. 

Tony opened the onboard bar “Drink?” he waved a glass at Stephen. 

“Not for me, thank you. But please go ahead.”

“I have every intention of doing so.” Tony poured a generous measure of whisky into the crystal glass and settled back in his seat. 

“So where in England are we going out of curiosity?”

“London, Heathrow initially. My AI is working forward from there checking out CCTV, passport control, ATMs, hotels, anything like that. We know the names they are travelling under. I’ll do a presentation when we are all on board the jet rather than go over it twice. So just chill for now.”

The limousine pulled up to the private Lear Jet that sat waiting at the airport. Tony and Stephen were welcomed by Happy who took their bags from them and stowed them away in the overhead lockers. They made themselves comfortable in the sumptuous leather seats and fastened their seatbelts. Happy sat at the controls and waited for clearance from air traffic control. He had filed a flight plan for Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport where they would pick up James Rhodes. From there they would fly to London Heathrow. 

When they arrived at Washington James was waiting for them with his usual military precision. Small personal case in one hand, the metal case holding his War Machine suit standing beside him. Happy carried both cases on board for him and Tony performed what he considered as formal introductions.  Cases safely stowed and drinks handed out they were soon in the air heading for Heathrow and Tony brought both of his colleagues up to speed on what was going on and the background regarding Lore and Engel. 

“So, you met Lore in 2007 in Germany, not knowing she was actually a shapeshifter.” Rhodey shook his head “I would like to say I don’t believe such things exist, but I’ve seen some pretty weird shit these last few years, so I take everything with a pinch of salt.”

“You’ve seen the photos, you've seen Engel’s DNA, and Loki’s DNA. Believe me, I wish it was what I had initially believed. That I had met some chick from a weird European cult. Now Loki/Lore is on the run with my daughter in England. FRIDAY is on the case. By the time we land I hope we will have a better idea where we are heading. Stephen is here to deal with Loki as he can do magic stuff. And we are going to need that. Now, I think we need more drinks…”

<<>>

When Loki woke he felt far from rested, he lay still for a few minutes collecting his thoughts together. Was his previous self a warrior? He knew when he did his routine with Nat it felt as if he should have knives or daggers in his hands. And then there were those beautiful daggers in his pocket dimension which seemed to back that thought up.  As he mentally traced those movements in his mind sketching blades in place he could see how lethal they would be. He thought about how his ‘brother’ had fought, brutal, fierce, formidable. That was a warrior. So what was he? Something he needed to think about. He slipped out of bed and padded through to the shower and stood under the water inhaling the fragrance of his shampoo and shower gel to clear his thoughts. He rubbed the steamy mirror clear and checked his chest, there was no mark where he had felt the glaive pierce him last night, even though it had felt very real. Was it a dream, or was it a memory? Logic was telling him it was a memory because of the form routine, it was a memory, and it had stayed with him. He brushed his teeth, tongue flicking over his lip, it was virtually healed, most of the sutures had dissolved. He wondered if it would leave a scar?

Back in the bedroom, he found his long shorts, a t-shirt, and Converse. They really needed proper shoes for walking, maybe tomorrow they could do that. Dressed he woke Engel up “Morning, angel. Shower time. Then shorts for today, as the castle is up on a hill, so we will be climbing upwards.”

“OK, Dada. Will you braid my hair?”

“Always. I’ll do it after we have eaten to give it a chance to dry. I’m going to make bacon and mushroom sandwiches for breakfast.” He went through to the living room and opened the curtains and let the sun stream through, it was still pretty early. If he timed this right he would be able to do a run through of his forms before they needed to walk up to the station for the train. He chopped the mushrooms while the bacon cooked, then threw them in the pan so that they absorbed the flavour from the bacon fat. He sliced and buttered four slices of bread, and poured out two glasses of cold milk. Engel came through with her red shorts on and her polka dot blouse. Loki handed her the milk to take through and put on the table while he put together their sandwiches and cut them in half to make them easier to handle. They ate quickly and then did their chores. Falling into a routine had been easy, it didn’t need to be forced. Everything was left clean and tidy. The steam train and bus timetables stayed in Engel’s backpack. 

They headed out to the park, it was still fairly early in the morning. They made their way down to the concreted amphitheatre and Engel tucked her backpack beside one of the pillars. She watched Jack as he performed his forms at his normal speed. “I thought you could start to learn these, angel. I will go slowly and just do what you can, you are young, it will take you time.” This time he moved more slowly, exaggerating every movement so she would be able to copy him. Even if she could only pick up a couple of moves it would be a good start. He stopped his own forms and stood behind her and gently manoeuvered her limbs into the places they needed to go. “Try again and I’ll assist you.” Again he gently guided her through the first few movements, then he gave her a hug. “We’ll walk along by the sea for a while and then head up to the station. We have plenty of time before the train is due to buy our tickets.”

They strolled along the seafront up past The Parade then walked along the side of Brook Tea Rooms onto Station Road. They stayed on that side of the road and glanced in the shops as they walked. There was pretty much everything they needed in this town, and they passed another couple of Estate Agents again offering properties to rent. Loki decided asking about ‘pcm’ would be a job for Lore as in their fictitious family set up she was the eldest and would have to deal with any legal matters that came their way. He told Engel that they would need to shop on their return to get some more eggs and other bits for breakfast. She nodded. They crossed the road at the corner by yet another estate agent and headed into the ticket office to buy their rail tickets. Loki opted for return tickets, he wasn’t sure if they would get the train back or the bus, but it didn’t matter, better to be prepared. 

Engel wandered up the platform to find them a carriage to sit in and waved at him when she found an empty one. He opened the door for her and helped her climb in, following her they found themselves in a narrow, person wide corridor faced with a compartment that had a glass door to get into it. He slid the door along and let Engel sit on the seat right by the window after helping her take her backpack off and putting it on the floor.

“It’s not like the underground, Dada or the train to Winchester.”

“No, angel. This is much older. We are learning history but not from books. It’s more fun this way isn’t it?”

“It is. Do you think Steve would like it?”

“Oh, I do. I think when he was young trains would be like this if I’m not mistaken.” The train made a jerking motion as it started up just over ten minutes later, then it picked up a satisfying rhythm that was very soothing somehow. They both watched avidly out of the windows as they passed houses and fields, and saw people out walking. It was a far more relaxing ride than their experience in London had been, but not as smooth as Winchester. They both liked it immensely. They got out at Corfe Castle Station and then realised why the station was named that when they saw the ruins rising up on the hillside in the distance.

Not sure where to go, Jack and Angela followed everyone else along the side of a garden, discovering at the end that it belonged to the Bankes Hotel. They were now in the centre of the village. They crossed the road at the crossing, Jack holding Angela’s hand firmly as the road was busy and there were a lot of people crossing. They now stood on one side of The Square at the centre of the village. All the buildings around them were built of grey stone with small windows, but the roofs were strange, instead of slates they were tiled with slabs of the same grey stone. Straight opposite them was The Greyhound Inn which looked really nice, next to it was a bakery then the entrance to the castle. They decided to visit the castle first as it was what they had come to see primarily, as well as checking out what the village had to offer in the way of safety for them.

Most of the people they had travelled with on the train were heading to the castle so they crossed the square carefully and went to pay for their entrance fee. Jack paid by card as always and popped the tickets in his shorts pocket. It was quite a steep walk up to the start of the ruined castle and at various points there were information boards to tell them what they were looking at, and the history of the terrible siege that had brought the castle to its knees in 1646 when it was then destroyed by Cromwell’s Roundheads with gunpowder in the Civil War. Loki was awestruck as they moved higher and higher through the ruins, both by the stupendous views afforded by its strategic position, but also how it had been defended by women, children and servants during the siege. Mortals were quite frail creatures compared to Aesir, yet he somehow could not imagine Aesir’s female courtiers defending the castle. Frigga and Lady Sif excepted of course, if the Mythology book and his recovering memories were to be believed. They explored every single nook and cranny that they could find, revelled in the amazing views, but eventually they ran out of things to see and made their way back onto The Square. 

It was too early to head for lunch, so Jack headed along the street that led away from The Square deeper into the village just to kill some time. They walked past the National Trust Gift Shop, and the Model Village, both to be explored after they had eaten, and carried on walking. They found a strange little shop that seemed to be selling some really old things none of which seemed to be related to each other called ‘Antiques’ then it was mainly houses, but they kept walking, then they saw a butcher's shop across the road. They crossed over and looked in the window. There were some raw meat products but also some large pies which caught Loki’s eye, both meat and fruit. “Shall I get us one of those for dinner tonight, we can have what is left over for breakfast or lunch tomorrow?”

“They look nice, Dada. What is in them?”

“I don’t know. I will go and ask.” Jack headed into the shop and asked the man in the dark blue and white striped apron what was in the baked goods in the window. He came out with a steak pie and an apple pie, both freshly baked that day. The butcher had packed them in a plastic bag, separating them with a piece of thick white paper. He didn’t take cards, so Jack paid him with some of the cashback he had got in Bournemouth. He needed to replenish it when he went to the supermarket tonight. 

They walked back up the street and crossed back over The Square to have a look in the bakery. It was almost lunchtime. The smell was enticing, Jack looked at the small selection of specialist breads and picked out a Rye Sourdough Loaf. Fortunately they took cards, so he managed to hang onto the small amount of cash they had left. They entered the pub, it was all small rooms on different levels, it had a welcoming feel about it. When Jack approached the bar to ask about where to sit, he was told they could sit anywhere inside, or there was a big garden outside. They opted to sit inside and found a nice cosy table for two and studied the menu, opting for sausage and mash for both of them as it had lots of vegetables with it and it came in an adult and children's portion. Jack placed his order and bought a pint of Badger’s ale for himself and a coke for Angela. When he was absolutely sure no one was looking he slipped the carrier bag of pies and bread into his pocket dimension safely out of the way. 

Their food arrived, it was beautifully presented, the sausages resting on a mound of buttery mashed potatoes, with roasted carrots, savoy cabbage, peas, crispy leeks and red wine gravy. It tasted every bit as good as it looked. “Are we having dessert?” Engel asked him.

“No, angel. We have apple pie for tonight. I will get some cream when we are at the supermarket to go with it.” He watched the start of a pout, he knew she would rather have ice cream, but he just didn’t like it! Tony had let her have it virtually every single day, he was not going to go down that route. “When we are out tomorrow you can have an ice cream.” Compromise, that was the name of the game! 

Lunch finished they headed back to the model village. It was a 1/20th scale model of the village as it would have been in 1686, so it showed the castle as it would have been while it was still whole. Loki studied it intently. Strategically it should have survived everything if it had been manned properly. He made a mental note to find books to read on the Civil War to find out what it was all about. The little village itself was not much different to how it was today, or at least the bits they had seen so far. They then had a walk around the beautiful gardens, and marvelled at the fossils in the Fossil Corner. There was a cafe as well, but they had just eaten, so that was given a miss. They then headed next door to The National Trust Shop where Jack allowed Angela time to browse on her own. She was entranced by all the soft toys and he kept a careful eye on her to see what she was attracted to, he perused the books and ignored most of the other things in the shop. Angela had finished with the soft toys and was heading towards the games and puzzles when a notice caught her eye “Father’s Day”. It puzzled her. What did it mean? She would have to ask Lore the next time she was about. Jack came up behind her “Do you want a puzzle, angel? You have your Lego to build.”

“Oh! I forgot about that, Jack. No, I don’t need anything.”

“We’ll get you some bits for your birthday, not many weeks to go now. I think we will get the train back, is that OK with you, or is there something else you want to see?”

“Will we come back again, Jack?”

“Of course we will. I liked the train ride and I think there will be some nice walks here and the food was good in the Greyhound.” He took her hand and they headed back to the railway station. By the time they got back to Swanage it would be late in the afternoon, which was what he had planned anyway. They crossed over the line to the platform on the other side of the tracks and waited for the train to come in from Norden. They had to share a carriage travelling back as the train was busy, but Jack ensured that Angela was seated next to the window so she could see the passing countryside. 

Back in Swanage they crossed the Car Park and entered the big supermarket, Loki carried the basket and Engel put in it what he told her to get. He puzzled over all of the different types of cream on offer, sometimes shopping was not simple! Engel was getting impatient and tapping her toes. “Do you know the difference?” he asked her in exasperation.

“No.”

“Well just exercise a little patience while I try and work it out then.”

“If you ate ice cream we wouldn’t have this problem.” She grumbled. He frowned at her, he knew what they needed had to be thick. He weighed up double cream and clotted cream. It didn’t really help, but the clotted cream was more expensive, so he used that as the gauge for choosing. He had contemplated getting Engel a small tub of ice cream to go in the freezer, but because she had been awkward he shelved that idea. She could wait. He added eggs, sausages and black pudding to the basket. They headed to the checkout. They had far more stuff than he had thought, but that was OK. It would all get eaten. Everything got packed into a carrier bag. 

As they walked back to their apartment they passed the second hand bookshop, Loki stopped and they went in. It also sold DVDs, he had a quick look through and found The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, it would give them something to watch. He added it to Engel’s backpack. Back in the apartment he unpacked everything and put the food away for the morning. He put the oven on to heat up and found a tray to put the pie on, he had bought a tray of vegetables to roast to go with it. He handed Engel the small Lego box from his pocket dimension. “Make sure you keep all the loose pieces in the lid of the box, my angel. We don’t have any spare pieces if anything gets lost.”

“I’ll be careful, Dada.” Loki heard the faint click as the oven reached its temperature. He put the vegetables in the top of the oven as it was the hottest, the steak pie underneath. “How long have I got?”

“Thirty minutes, then you will need to pack everything up and set the table for dinner.” Engel nodded in understanding, then continued to read the instructions. She had never made up a kit before. She found the first few blocks she needed and made a start. Loki sat on the sofa and watched her as she clicked the bricks together. The sound was soothing and his fingers longed to do the same. When they had a home he would buy them a big box like Tony had.

<<>>

Rhodey was having a snooze after a couple of drinks and some food that Tony had produced from the fridge in the kitchen and they had microwaved. It was all good stuff, not supermarket crap. 

Stephen nursed a fine brandy “What do you want me to do when we find this shapeshifter?”

Tony peered at him intently “You told me you had containment facilities for magical beings. I want him contained until he shifts into Lore. He needs to stay as his female form. Can you make him do that?”

“I’m sure that between myself and Wong we can find a way of doing that.”

“Good.” Tony sighed “I just want Lore. Not him, just her. He’s dangerous, violent, unpredictable. He needs to be gone permanently. If you can do that, you will get a nice big bonus.”

Happy came over the tannoy “An hour until we land at Heathrow, Tony. Do we have a destination in mind when we get there?”

“FRIDAY, have you any idea where we are heading yet.?”

“Boss, I am going through cab company footage at present. I will let you know as soon as I have a hit. There are thousands to get through.”

“Speed is of the essence, FRIDAY. I know you can do this. I have every faith in you.”

“Will this work in the UK, Stark?” Stephen asked.

“Of course it will. She can access data systems everywhere in the whole world. We will track them down. Never fear. It just might take a while to do it, hence the size of your fee.”

<<>>

Tony and crew were still in the air when Engel cleared away her Lego and put it carefully on an empty space on the bookshelf. She then set the table. Loki warmed the plates up, then took the vegetables and pie out of the oven. He gave them each a quarter of the pie, and took the lion's share of the vegetables for himself. He left the remainder of the pie to cool, and put the apple pie on the tray and popped it in the oven to heat through. They sat down and tucked into their dinner. The meat in the pie was tender and succulent, the pastry was perfect. They would have at least one more of those! He cleared away the plates and got out a couple of bowls. He took the cream out of the fridge and opened the carton. It looked very strange, it seemed to have a sort of crust on the top. He shrugged, it would be OK. He took the apple pie out of the oven and quartered it and added a heaped spoonful of the cream on top. It was really thick and started to melt as it hit the hot pie. 

He set the bowls down on the table, the apples were in slices and oozing juice. Engel poked the cream suspiciously. “Just try it. We need to try new things, both of us, not just you.” Loki dipped his spoon into the very thick cream and tasted it, it was incredibly rich and decadent. Not something you would eat every day. He smacked his lips. Engel approached it cautiously. And licked a very small amount off her spoon. She went back for more. Obviously she liked it then. Loki started on a combination of the apple pie and the cream together. It was lovely, the slightly tart apple with the rich cream. They both cleared their bowls. Loki washed the dishes and Engel dried them and put them away. They sat down to watch the new DVD while they drank a mug of tea. Engel curled up next to Loki once she had finished her drink and he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close.

“I don’t like that cold woman, Dada, she’s evil.”

“The White Witch, I think she is meant to be evil, angel.” he said as he halted the DVD “Do you want me to stop?”

“No, Dada. I’ll just hide my head if I get scared.” Loki kissed the top of her head and pressed the play button again. She cried when Aslan offered himself up as a sacrifice and he held her close, she was still young, but she understood the nature of giving your life for someone else. A chill ran through Loki, maybe this had not been a good choice to watch after all. But then the ending was much better with the White Witch getting her just desserts. 

“OK, sweet girl, I think you should go and get ready for bed and I’ll make us some hot chocolate. Then I’ll come and read to you until you go to sleep.” She nodded and disappeared and Loki headed into the kitchen to heat the milk and stir in the chocolate powder. Two mugs sat ready on the bench. He was just filling the mugs when she came back through. “Perfect timing, angel.”

“Is Aslan a god, Dada?”

Loki gave her one of the mugs as he sat down. “I think he is intended to represent the Christian God. Midgard does not worship the same gods as the Aesir, angel. From what I understand they consider ‘angels’ to be the messengers of the gods. Which is quite funny really.”

“In what way, Dada?”

“Loki is the God of Mischief and you are his daughter, your name means angel. Therefore you are a messenger of a god literally.” He kissed the top of her head again.

“Do you think that’s why I was called Engel?”

“I don’t know. If I ever get my memories back I may be able to tell you why.”

“Would Lore know?”

“Lore and I are the same being, we share our memories. It’s unlikely she would know something I don’t, but you can ask her. Now, bedtime and I will read to you.” He chased her off to bed as he put everything in the sink to soak overnight then went through to read to her. The difficult questions didn’t cease just because she was in bed.

“Are unicorns real? Like Findhorn?”

“Not on Midgard. There may have been a very long time ago because they show up in some paintings, but they don’t exist on Midgard now. But they may exist elsewhere, I don’t know. Stories come from somewhere I guess. Are you going to be able to sleep?”

“Yes, Dada. I have Fenris to cuddle.”

“That’s my good girl. Shout if you need me. I will be through soon. Sweet dreams, my girl.” He tucked the quilt around her and switched off the light. 

He sat with his Kindle, he had been going to read, but first he rattled a message off to Nat ‘In the rental market what does pcm mean?’ . He then settled down and read a little of his book, he was nearly finished this one. He would need to download the next in the series tomorrow. It was already sitting in the library ready for him to press the button. He yawned. Time to get ready for bed. He headed through and changed into his pyjamas. All he could see of Engel was a raised lump under the covers. He smiled to himself as he pulled the quilt back and slipped into his side of the bed. Rhubarb nuzzled against his neck, Loki sighed contentedly.

They are looking for your trail…

He was very young, sitting in a garden on his mother’s knee. They were facing a magnificent white horse with wings, he didn’t know where he was, he was a lot younger than Engel here. “Starbringer, Loki, isn’t she pretty?” He was stretching his hand out towards the horse, which approached them cautiously, snuffling at his fingers. 

His little hand stroked up the long white nose when suddenly the animal startled and galloped away. Tears sprang to his eyes “Starbwinga gone, Amma.”

“She has, sweet boy. Thor, can you please walk, not run! You startled the pegasus just as your brother got close to her.”

“Sorry, Mamma.” Loki felt Thor ruffle his hair to comfort him. “When can I play properly with Loki?”

“When he’s older, darling, he’s still too little. He’s not steady on his feet yet.”

“But Mamma, he’s been little forever.”

“So were you once, darling. He’ll get there eventually, just be gentle with him until then.”

Loki reached up to his golden brother “Thor.” He gave him his best smile.

<<>>

Fifteen minutes before they were due to land. Rhodey was awake now. All three of them had their seat belts fastened.

“Boss, I have found the cab they took from Heathrow.”

“What have you got for me FRIDAY?”

“The young woman, your daughter and Mr Hunter took a cab to the Premier Inn at Holborn, Boss. I have sent the address to your phone. I have searched through their records and they did stay at the hotel. Mr Hunter was there for one night, the Edwardsons were booked in for seven nights.”

“Great, so we are not far behind them. Book us four of their best available rooms FRIDAY, make it for a couple of nights and keep checking to see what you can find on CCTV.” Tony punched the air.

“Yes, Boss.”

“We have a hit then?” Rhodey asked.

“We have a starting point.” Tony grinned “I doubt they will still be in London, but it’s a big city, with a bit of luck they may have just moved to another part of it.”

Stephen Strange was quiet. If this kid was a shapeshifter he or she could look like anything. “Does your daughter possess the ability to change her appearance like Loki?”

“She’s never shown any ability to do so. Why?”

“She will be easier to find using facial recognition. A shapeshifter will not be quite so simple.”

<<>>

Loki was confused when he woke up. Why had he been dreaming about winged horses? And Thor? Why were his memories not coming back in any sort of linear progression? 

Today they would get some sensible walking shoes, and maybe some jackets in case the weather changed. They had been lucky so far. Then they could go for a walk somewhere, maybe pick up some leaflets from the Tourist Information Centre. The shower had helped him focus more, he pulled the comb through his damp hair. He dressed quickly, just a t-shirt and grey chinos. He put his sandals on for the moment, easier for trying shoes on he thought. 

He woke Engel up, and then headed into the kitchen to start breakfast. Sausages, black pudding, tomatoes, and toast. Engel could make the toast when she came through. He got everything ready for her, cutting slices of rye sourdough for toasting. He poured out glasses of cold milk and put them on the table and headed back to the cooker to check on the sausages. He was cooking by instinct, relying on the insight he had gained from watching the others at the Compound and the few recipes he had tackled before they had run. 

Engel came into the kitchen and immediately added the bread to the toaster, then set the table without being told to. They were working like a team, seamless, effortless. “What are those round things, Dada?”

“Black pudding, my angel.”

“And what is that?”

“Some sort of meat, I think. I don’t really know. But I liked the taste of it. If you don’t like it, just leave it and I’ll eat it.” Engel buttered the toast and took it to the table. Loki plated up the meat and the tomatoes. Engel poked at the black pudding “Just try it, you may even like it.”

“Am I going to get ice cream today?”

“Quite possibly.”

“Why do I have to try new food? Father doesn’t.”

“Variety is good for you. Your body gets nutrients from a lot of diverse sources. Your father is a very intelligent man, inventive, but he likes certain things in certain ways and is reluctant to accept something different. I don’t want you to be like that. I want you to accept challenges.. Food is just another challenge.” She put a smidgen on her fork and tentatively tasted it. “Well?”

“It has a soft texture, very meaty. I quite like it.”

“Good girl. We will explore new tastes together as well as places. We will practice our forms again this morning then we will go and do a little shopping before we head out. Now eat up.” The two of them ate their breakfast and then washed up. Loki braided Engel’s hair and fastened it with one of her butterfly ties. Then he made the bed and glamoured his appearance to Jack before he put Rhubarb back on his pillow. He tucked Fenris in Engel’s backpack before he helped her on with it. 

They headed down to the amphitheatre and Jack started his forms, it was early in the morning still, just a few dog walkers about. Angela just did the first two movements that she could comfortably do, then watched Jack as he worked through his. Some of the dog walkers watched the young bespectacled man as he performed with amazing grace and precision a series of martial arts movements. He stopped after three run-throughs of his forms. The people that had been watching smiled at him and then moved away. The young man looked like a text book nerd, not the kind they expected to be doing martial arts at all, let alone in a public place. Angela ran over to him and together they headed towards the road. They walked past apartment blocks and cafes until they reached a couple of shops that sold outdoor wear. The first one wasn’t open yet. So they carried on to the second one, Tilly Whims, which was open. They sold a whole range of jackets, shoes, other clothes, gifts and postcards. It was a lovely shop, everything was of good quality Jack found as he handled the materials, the price tags reflected that, but he wasn’t worried about that. An assistant came to see if she could help. Jack explained what they needed and she asked for their shoe sizes first of all and found a selection of shoes for them both to try. They sat down and tried on several different pairs each until they settled on ones that worked comfortably for them. She recommended specific socks for each of them and they added several pairs to the shoes. She pointed them in the direction of suitable jackets and left them to try them on while she dealt with someone who just wanted to pay for something. Jack had to get something that would work for him and Lore, so it needed to be a bit bigger than he actually needed. He found a nice dark teal one that would work with both of their colouring and keep away from green and black. He went to help Angela. There were a lot of lovely rain jackets for children, bright colours and patterns. She had found a white jacket with lots of brightly coloured flowers on it trimmed with red. Jack smiled at her, it was perfect for his little girl, and her new walking shoes were a dull red. 

As they stood and waited to pay Jack browsed the postcards. One of them piqued his curiosity, it was a huge stone globe. He looked at the back of it - Durlston Country Park, he wondered where that was? It was their turn. He laid the jackets on the counter and the woman rang everything up for him and he presented his card. As she packed everything up he spoke to her “Can I just ask? Where is Durlston Country Park?”

“That’s about half a mile away from here, love. Go up through the park on the left hand side, then keep walking along the street on the left hand side and you will come to some trees, the entrance is there, it is signposted. It’s a huge area to walk in and there is a cafe if you want drinks and food.”

“Thank you very much. That sounds perfect. You have a lovely shop, we’ll be in again.” Jack smiled at her. The two of them headed back to the apartment to change into their new shoes and socks. They hung their new jackets up by the front door for when the weather changed.  “OK, angel, let’s go and explore this country park.”

They headed out to the park once more this time heading upwards on the left hand side, they got to the top to find streets on both sides of them, they took the left hand path.

<<>>

The jet had landed, Tony and his team had disembarked and taken a cab to the hotel in Holborn. Happy checked them all in, only two rooms were ready at present as it was only lunch time. Stephen and Rhodey left their bags in Tony’s room until later. They all perched on Tony’s bed. “Any news FRIDAY?”

“I have a sighting of Engel and Mr Hunter in Waterstones but no sign of Lore. They appear to be with a young man.”

“You mean Loki.”

“No, Boss. It is a stranger. This is the CCTV footage.”

Tony looked at the tall, skinny nerd that was at the cash desk. Floppy, light brown hair, indistinct coloured eyes behind round gold glasses, stripy shirt and a waistcoat. “Who the fuck is that?”

Chapter Text

Every single day

And every word you say

Every game you play, every night you stay

I’ll be watching you

There were the trees they had been told about and a simple trail path with a wooden sign next to it ‘Durlston Country Park’. Angela ran a bit ahead of Jack, the trail led through a wood and it continued going left. Jack picked up his pace until he caught up with her, she had stopped to take in the view. They were standing at the top of a fenced off cliff and in front of them was the shimmering blue of the sea. “Do you think there will be squiggles, Jack?”

“Quite probably, angel. We’ve still got some almonds left in your pack so if we see any we can try and tempt them. If you run ahead do not leave the path, and wait for me if there is a fork in the path. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Jack. I promise.” She ran off again, braid swinging from side to side. Jack stifled a laugh, she was like some wild thing set free, and he loved her so much. This love of the outdoors, did it come from him and Lore? It didn’t seem much like Tony. His mind flitted back to his dream of the night before and stroking the nose of the winged horse, there was his answer. How stupid could he be, was that why he had been shown that memory?

He reached a fork and she was waiting patiently for him, she smiled as he reached her “Which way are we going?”

He studied the path, the right led deeper into the wood, the left wound around the cliff top. “We keep going left, princess.” She walked with him this time as the path kept gradually changing levels, going slowly downwards, and winding with the cliff. Always the main wood was on their right hand side. Every now and again there was a view point through the hedgerow on their left and they wandered out to check the panoramic view of the cliffs and the sea. 

They came across a sandstone decorative wall which had poetry engraved on it. There were steps on both sides, and the poetry was engraved on both sides. It was a work of art, beautiful to look at and it led your eyes towards the castle-like building that housed the cafe, built of the same stone, but much older than the art work. 

It was too early to eat so they decided to continue walking. They headed down the side of the castle, near the bottom was a long glass building which housed artworks. Further down the hill they had an open vista of the sea, and the huge stone globe that Jack had seen on the postcard in the shop. It showed the various continents of Midgard, both Jack and Angela were familiar with this sight from their lessons with Clint. They walked around the globe, it was amazing. Jack wished he had his Stark Pad so that he could take photos of all these things that he was seeing. He knew he could use his phone, but then Nat had drummed into him that photos carried a risk and could be traced. Angela slipped her hand in his and squeezed. “I wish my geography teacher could see this.” She said.

He glanced down at her and smiled. “Exactly what I was thinking.” 

They walked around once more before they carried on heading away from the castle. They came across the entrance to the Tilly Whim caves which were all locked up because they were dangerous. They peered over the fence to the edge of the cliff, on a ledge below they could see the caves, clearly worked on by the hand of man and used for smuggling. In the distance they could see a strange white building. Jack decided that they would go as far as that, then turn around and come back. 

Suddenly they found themselves facing a big cut through the land, it headed quite steeply downwards and then upwards on the other side. It reminded Jack of the chines in Bournemouth, but it wasn’t filled with lush plantlife, just grassy slopes. He helped Angela on both pathways as it was steep for her and the paths were covered in loose pebbles. If she slipped and fell it would make a mess of her exposed skin. They approached the building which was behind a wall. It was like nothing either of them had seen before. It appeared to be a house with a turret and a light on top. Jack frowned. There was a gate with a name on it ‘Anvil Point Lighthouse. Private Keep Out’  “I guess they don’t want visitors. I don’t know what a lighthouse is. I’ll look that up later. The views are worth the walk though aren’t they, angel?” She nodded at him. “OK, we’ll head back to the castle and have something to eat.” He helped her on the return trip across the cut, then once they were on the flat again he let go of her hand. 

There was a fork in the path, one leading back to the stone globe, the other headed upwards, Jack reasoned that that one would lead straight to the castle, so they took it. And he was right.  They found a table and checked out the menu. There was something there that neither of them had eaten before which was crab, so that was an easy decision. Jack ordered their food, a crab sandwich, ham and cheese sandwich, a portion of chips and a side salad.  He got them a couple of bottles of sparkling water. When the food arrived he cut the crab bun in half and shared it with Angela, she wasn’t sure whether she liked it or not but ate it anyway. Then they shared the ham and cheese sandwich between them with the salad and chips. That was much more to her liking, familiar flavours. They finished their food and drink then headed into the gift shop that formed another part of the castle. 

Angela wandered around fascinated by all the various things on sale, but Jack had brought her here for one thing, and one thing only. He tapped her arm gently to attract her attention. “I made you a promise, now what flavour would you like, sweet girl?” She gazed at the ice cream display, so many to choose from! And some she had no idea what they were. She pointed at one.

“Can we have one Honeycomb ice cream, please?” Jack handed over his card in payment, then passed the cone to Angela.

“Thank you.” She smiled at the young man who was serving and at Jack. They headed outside and walked back towards Swanage along the woodland path. Sometimes they heard rustling as they walked, but didn’t see any squirrels. There was always another day. It was a pleasant walk through the woodland, it provided dappled shade and was slightly cooler than it had been on the cliff path. All too soon they were back on the street and heading towards their familiar park. They were on their own now.

“Did you like that, angel?” Loki asked his daughter.

“Yes, Dada. I would like to do that again. I’m not sure about the crab though.” Engel looked at him with big green eyes.

“At least you tried it, and that’s all I ask. That you try things. We have left over pie for dinner tonight and I thought we could play Ludo again. If we are going to stay here for a while we need to find an apartment or a cottage. So I thought we would stay local tomorrow and find you a new book, head to the beach. How does that sound?”

“It gives my legs a rest, Dada.” He grinned at her honesty and bent down so she could climb onto his back and he carried her down through the park towards the exit near the car park and along the lane that led to their apartment. Loki put the kettle on and made them a cup of tea, Engel took off her shoes and got her Lego out. Loki sat with his Kindle and started to read the third book in his series, Ruin and Rising. It was cool in the apartment with all the windows open causing a through draught, comfortable and peaceful. Just the two of them.

<<>>

FRIDAY had found more footage from the local supermarket and the London Underground. All showing Lance Hunter, Engel and the unknown young man. She had enhanced the image as much as she could. Strange and Tony were trying to identify him while Happy and Rhodey were out gathering food from the very supermarket the footage was from.

“Are you sure you don’t recognise him?” Stephen asked.

“Positive. Could this be a glamour thing, like the girl with the rabbit?” Tony chewed his lip in frustration.

“Potentially. It’s difficult to tell from these images. That image was crisp and sharp. These are a bit blurry. Facially there are a lot of similarities, but I can probably go out on the street right now and find several young men or women with cheekbones and chins like that. They might not all be as fair skinned, but again, in the UK that’s not as unusual as it would be in the States. About 2% of the world’s population have green eyes. Jet black hair isn’t that rare, and a lot of young people choose to dye their hair black. So what you think are unique characteristics suddenly become less so. In Europe being thin is more common, being tall is becoming more common in the young all over the world.”

“So it’s easier looking for Engel?”

“Much easier. I have no doubt once we find her we will then work out who he is.” Stephen had just finished when food and drinks arrived, along with a nice bottle of Glenmorangie for Tony. 

“Boss, I traced them to Regents Park Zoo.”

“Give us whatever footage you have, FRIDAY, while we eat.” Tony took a drink of the malt whisky to wash down his sandwich and crisps. There were doughnuts for later.

FRIDAY flashed up the images, there was his little girl, Lance Hunter, and the same young man. He was too young to be a SHIELD agent, and Engel was easy and affectionate with him, frequently holding his hand and cuddling into him. “FRIDAY, delve into Lance Hunter’s background, does he have any young siblings, cousins, whatever, that could be our boy?”

“Yes, Boss.”

“Is there any reason you think he might be related to Hunter?” Rhodey asked as he sipped his coffee.

“Hunter is a Brit. He’s brought Engel and Lore over to London. Apart from a couple of shots we haven’t seen Lore. Was she holed up in the hotel because both her and Loki are so noticeable? Did Hunter bring this guy in to take Engel out and about to keep her amused and safe? Who would he trust with her if it wasn’t a fellow agent?”

“I get it, Tone. No need to hammer it home.” Rhodey picked up a chocolate glazed doughnut and stuffed it into his mouth. “So you think this guy is a relative of Hunter’s, a brother or something?”

“Too young to be a brother, unless he was an accident. Cousin perhaps? Nephew? I would put him in his late teens. Too young to be looking after my princess that’s for sure!” Tony scowled.

“Yet she seems very comfortable with him. Like it’s someone she has known for a while. Are you sure you haven’t seen him before?”

There was a flash of anger on Tony’s face “I’ve told you all, I have no idea who he is. I have never seen him before. She doesn’t go out anywhere so she couldn’t just bump into someone and SHIELD would take that into consideration.”

“Whoa, Tone! We are on your side!” Rhodey threw his hands up in the air in self defence. 

Happy’s phone rang, it was reception to let them know the other two rooms were ready. Strange and Happy headed down to check-in and collect their keycards. 

<<>>

Loki put the vegetables in to roast to have with the cold pie, he was nervous about reheating it again. The fruit one would be fine, but he wasn’t sure about the meat. He opened up the email on his Kindle and found a response from Nat. ‘In the rental market PCM means per calendar month. Tell them you are employed on a consultancy basis by an American company and give them my details as a reference, use Steve as your other reference. I’ll add his email address below for you as you already have his phone number. You can tell them the business is called SHIELD and that you work from home. They will be none the wiser. If they need a bank statement you may need to use an ATM, but we will vouch for your financial status. It will be better if Lauren does the paperwork as she is acting as the elder persona. Good luck from us all xxx’ That put his mind at rest. Tomorrow they would spend time at the beach and he would look at the estate agents, or Lore would. 

“Engel, can you put your Lego away and set the table for me, sweet girl?” 

“Yes, Dada.” She quickly and efficiently put everything away and as she set the places at the table he told her that the next day they would start looking for somewhere to live for a longer period of time and spend some time on the beach. He dished their dinner up after putting the fruit pie in the oven to warm up while they ate. They both drank milk, Loki because he knew he was going to force a switch the next day, for Engel he wanted to make sure she was having everything she needed to protect her bones and teeth. “Are we going to the beach tomorrow, Dada?”

“You and Lore are going to the beach, I might have to switch a lot over the next few days, so you will be with Lore more than me, only until we sort out somewhere to live as this is just short term. That’s OK isn’t it?” She nodded, but her face was hesitant. “We are the same person, angel. She knows what I know and vice versa. You understand that, don’t you?”

“I think so, Dada, I just spend most of my time with you. I do love Lore as well.”

Loki smiled at her. “You are my world whichever form I’m in.” He took their plates through to the kitchen, switched off the oven and put the apple pie into two bowls and added the remains of the clotted cream and brought it to the table. “I have no doubt ice cream will be allowed tomorrow as well.”

She grinned at him, and he clotted cream on her nose with his spoon and made her giggle. He laughed as she tried to lick it off by stretching her tongue as far as she could. He wiped off the last little bit for her. “OK, we’ll wash up, then we can play Ludo and have some hot chocolate before bedtime.”

<<>>

FRIDAY threw up footage from CCTV cameras at Regents Park Zoo, London Underground Stations, and the supermarket across from the hotel. “Where is Lore getting the money from?” Tony asked no one in particular. “Is SHIELD payrolling them? And if so, why?” 

Rhodey sipped yet another coffee. “Does she not have any money of her own?”

“Loki has silver coins, but he would need to exchange them somewhere for money. We’ve seen no sign of Lore doing anything like that if she has access to the same cache of coins.”

Rhodey frowned “How do you know about the coins, Tone?” 

“He was giving me a couple of them a week to cover the cost of his food and clothes. It’s really pure stuff. I did it through Aldo legitimately before you say a word, platypus. I can’t see how this kid is paying for stuff. Is he using cash or a card? FRIDAY, can you try and find out for me please?”

“Yes, Boss. I cannot find any records of Lance Hunter having a male relative in the age range of 15 - 25 years old, Boss. Do you want me to check for SHIELD agents of that age range matching the description of this young man?”

“Yes, but the age range of 18 - 25, FRIDAY. They won’t be younger than that. Happy, can you find us somewhere to eat tonight, please?”

“On it, Tony.” Happy switched on his Stark Phone and started to search for restaurants in the area they were staying in. “There is a Pizza restaurant in Covent Garden a couple of blocks away, would that work?”

“Yep! That’ll do nicely, Happy. Pizza and beer will go down nicely. That’s another thing, how are they finding their way around? I’ve not seen Hunter or Lore using a phone at any point.”

They moved their luggage into the correct rooms and then headed out onto the street and followed Happy to Covent Garden using Google Maps. Not one of them noticed the tourist maps that were on the streets at regular intervals. Nor were they taking in much of their surroundings, too busy talking amongst themselves. Soon they were amongst the theatres and then in the heart of Covent Garden itself. The pizza place that Happy had found was within the old market. He soon obtained a table for them and beers while they studied the menu. The waiter came and took their order.

It was late when they got back to the hotel and headed to their individual rooms. They were due to meet up for breakfast at nine o’clock the following morning, followed by a meeting to see what else FRIDAY had managed to discover.

<<>>

Engel was sound asleep when Loki undressed for bed, Fenris sat on her pillow. He pulled on his pyjamas and slipped under the cover and drew Rhubarb to his chest. He rubbed her ears with his fingers “I hope we find somewhere suitable to live tomorrow, Rhubarb. Neither of us are ready to go back yet.” he whispered softly to her, letting out a little sigh. How difficult would it be to find somewhere, he wondered? They could move from holiday let to holiday let, but he would rather settle them somewhere for a period of months.

Home is in the arms of those that love you and that you love in turn

He was still only a little boy, and the rooms he had been given were to be his for the rest of his life, or so he had been told by his mother. The bed seemed enormous and it had taken him a long time to fall asleep, his baby toys had been left in the nursery as he was deemed too old for them now by his father. He woke in the throes of a nightmare with no nursery maid or toy wolf to comfort him. He struggled to get out of the big bed, and made his way on bare feet across the cold floor in the dark. He pushed open his bedroom door to find himself in his sitting room, he was all alone and scared. His face was wet with tears, he considered screaming for help, but the palace was deathly quiet. Instead he opened the huge door to his room and slipped out in his nightshirt and wandered down the empty hallway to find his brother. He was two doors away. Loki pushed the door open. Thor was not in his sitting room, he pushed open the bedroom door and could hear his golden brother snoring softly. “Thor, I’m scared. Can I sleep in your bed?” he pleaded. He was met with a snore. He clambered up on the bed and wriggled under the covers to get close to his brother. Thor grunted in his sleep, turned over and flung an arm over Loki. He woke when he realised he was not alone in bed “Loki, what are you doing here. You should be in your own bed little brother.”

“The blue monsters were coming to eat me and my wolfie wasn’t there to save me.” The little boy began to cry again and Thor cuddled him in. 

“Stay with me tonight, baby brother and we will find wolfie tomorrow to keep you safe from the monsters.”

“Thank you, Thor.” Little Loki snuggled into his bigger brother, basking in his warmth and strength. It wasn’t long before he felt safe enough to sleep again. 

<<>>

Loki stood in the bathroom and stripped out of his pyjamas and forced the shift into Lore. She stepped elegantly into the bath and switched on the shower. She washed her long hair first then ran the conditioner through it with her fingers while she washed herself. They were going to have to replenish their supplies soon unless there was some tucked away in their pocket dimension. Something else to check out. She rinsed out her hair thoroughly then tucked it in a towel. She then wrapped a towel around herself while she cleaned her teeth. She checked out her lip, the last bit of suture was gone, with her tongue she could feel where the damage had been, but it wasn’t visible in the mirror. She would chance some lipstick later. She combed out her hair and then finished drying herself off then wandered into the bedroom, she found underwear, her teal shorts and a grey t-shirt that would do for the beach this morning. Once she was dressed she headed into the kitchen after waking Engel up for her shower. 

Breakfast was going to be simple, cheese and tomato omelette and toast. Lore sliced the bread for Engel to toast and grated the cheese. Then she deseeded the tomatoes before chopping them up. 

“Dada, are you going to braid my hair?”

“Yes, angel. I’ll be braiding both of our hair after we have eaten and washed up. We have a lot to do today. You can start with the toast and setting the table.” Engel nodded at her and put the toaster on. Then she got the cutlery and set the table. Lore broke the eggs into a bowl, beat them with a fork then poured them into the hot buttered pan to cook. Once the base was set she added the cheese and tomatoes. Engel buttered the toast and took it to the table. 

“Are we having milk to drink, Dada?”

“Yes, angel. There should be plenty for this morning.” Engel poured two glasses out of the four pint bottle, there was still a bit left. She put it back in the fridge and put the glasses on the table. “We’ll stock up later and get more cash as well.” Lore folded the omelette, divided it between them and brought the plates to the table. “As we are going to stay here we should have some swimwear and beachtowels, stuff like that. That nice clothing shop on Station Road should have something I think, and a bag to put it in, I can’t use my pocket dimension that would look peculiar.”

They cleared up after breakfast. Lore left Engel drying the dishes while she made the bed. They would have to think about cleaning soon, there were cleaning materials in the apartment. They could get Engel to dust the surfaces carefully. Then they could do the rest, the hardest part would be the bathroom and that wasn’t very big. Lore stored the thought away, what she knew, Loki knew, it was as simple as that. She retrieved their hair ties, and her brush then went back to the living room and started on Engel’s hair making two braids today, fastening each off with matching butterflies. She brushed her own hair over her left shoulder and deftly braided it into one thick side braid fastened off with a light pink peony. They locked up and headed out to the amphitheatre and did their morning forms. Engel now had the two she had learned so far off pat, so Lore helped her with the third movement and after a few goes she added it to the other ones she already knew. “I’m so proud of you, my angel. These are good for your muscles and will help you defend yourself if you ever need to.” Lore kissed the top of the little girl’s head. The audience of dog walkers dissipated. 

They walked along past the seafront until they reached the lifeboat station then they crossed onto Station Road there. On the corner was a shop called Rainbows End Too which was full of an eclectic mix of brightly coloured clothing, cheap silver jewellery and smoking paraphernalia. They had soft, roomy cotton bags in there made up from a patchwork of bright coloured squares of cloth with shoulder straps that would work for what Lore needed for the beach. Lore went inside and bought the largest size they had and got the man to remove the tags so she could use it straight away. 

They crossed to the other side of Station Road to the shop that sold towels, bedding, shoes, clothes and boxes of sweets and biscuits. They found bright, striped beach towels, had the tags removed and stowed them in the new bag. Back across the road once more and they found themselves in the clothing shop that sold Brakeburn and Seasalt amongst others. Lore found swim shorts for Jack, a swimsuit in black for herself and a beautiful red swimsuit for Engel. Just a couple of more things and they could head to the beach. The newsagent was their next port of call, where Lore bought a bucket and spade, a beach ball and a couple of bottles of water. While she was waiting to pay, Engel wandered around the shop which was full of fascinating things for a little girl.

They crossed the road for the final time and headed past the Brook Tea Rooms onto the promenade and walked until they came to a nice stretch of beach. This part of the road was pedestrianised so there was no traffic. They went into the toilet block and changed into their new costumes and Lore carefully rolled up their clothes and popped them in the bag and they headed over to the steps that would take them onto the sand. They played for the next few hours, splashing about in the sea, building sandcastles and decorating them with shells and feathers, then playing with the ball. A little boy and his mother sat not far away and he hesitantly came towards them, Lore smiled at him and included him in their game. He was probably a little younger than Engel and as cute as a button. They played for quite a while before his mother called him over, his name was Davy. Engel and Lore waved at him as he ran back to his mother. They stayed a little longer then headed back to the toilets, they were mainly dry by now, Lore gave Engel the towel to make sure she was completely dry and then handed her her clothes to change into. Once Engel was sorted out, Lore took the other towel and her own clothes and dried herself thoroughly and redressed. Out of the cubicle she wrapped their costumes in the towels and put them back in the bag with all the other sandy bits. She would deal with them later.

Next on the agenda was lunch. Lore headed down the lane they had discovered on Sunday and headed towards Earthlights. They found a table for two by the main window where they could watch the comings and goings on the street. Lore ordered them sandwiches and a greek salad to share, there was a lovely selection of soft drinks to choose from and they settled for raspberry lemonade. “We’ll go back to the apartment and get rid of these and I’ll quickly get changed. Then we are going to look for somewhere to live. We’ll shop on the way back. Would you like to go and choose a piece of cake, angel? Or would you prefer ice cream?”

“Ice cream, Lauren, please.” 

When the waitress came over Lore ordered coffee and walnut cake for herself and ice cream for Engel. There was then a discussion about flavours and Engel asked for the honeycomb again as she liked the little crunchy pieces in it. “Lo…Lauren, what is Father’s Day?”

Lore screwed up her face in puzzlement “I don’t know, angel. Why?”

“When you were in the shop buying the water and toys this morning they had Father’s Day cards for sale, it’s on Sunday.”

“Aah! I see. But it won’t be a surprise if we do that because he knows what I know and he’s not really your father.”

“If I buy it and hide it in my backpack it would be a surprise, wouldn’t it? And he’s like a father to me.”

“Sort of. I’ll give you some money and you can go in and choose it yourself and put it straight in your bag, angel. Then we’ll see if we can find a little present, that won’t be a surprise but that’s OK. Maybe we should go out somewhere nice to eat as well.” Lore went to the counter and settled their bill. They went back to the apartment and she put the bag with their sandy things in the kitchen sink to deal with later. She headed into the bedroom to get changed, putting on her long black skirt, ignoring the memories that came with it, and the Mantaray ripple teal top. Creamy white peony tie at the end of her braid she looked smart. She carefully applied a little blusher to her pale cheeks, mascara to her long lashes and the deep pink lipstick to her lips. She looked a little older than she had. 

She walked into the living room, Engel smiled at her “You look beautiful.”

Lore pulled her wallet out of her crossbody bag and gave Engel a ten pound note “There you are, sweet girl. We’ll pop into Serendipity on our way into town and buy you a little purse to put your money in. We can get the card on our way back and a present if we have time.” Engel pulled on her backpack and put the cash in her pocket. They headed out to the intriguing shop next to Corfe Bears that they hadn’t explored yet. It was full of cheaper priced things, mainly for tourists and they soon found a pretty little purse for a couple of pounds with a sequin butterfly on it. Engel tucked her money inside it and put it inside her backpack. 

Then began the trawl of the estate agents, they wound their way back and forward across the road. Lore was beginning to despair. There was very little available in Swanage itself and nothing with two bedrooms. Nearly everything was in remote villages that required the use of a car, which was a problem. They were up at the final place, Miles & Co. They had two properties in the window, Lore went in hoping fervently that one of them would soon be available. 

She talked to the man behind the desk who was called Mark and explained what they were after. “We have the two properties in the window still available, I can arrange for you to go and view them. There are a lot of Londoners buying in Swanage at the moment, it’s reduced the amount of property available to rent. Is it just yourself and your daughter?”

“Sister.” Lore corrected him. “I have a brother as well. He is in Bournemouth at the moment as we could only get a one bedroom place at such short notice. I can cover the whole rental period in advance if that makes things easier? I work from home on a consultancy basis for an American company. I have a generous income.”

“And your brother?”

“He is working with one of their scientists studying Quantum theory, a bit beyond my understanding I’m afraid. Jack is very bright.” Lore gave Mark a stunning smile. 

“Both of these are two bedroomed, but the second bedroom in each has twin beds if you don't mind sharing with your little sister.”

“That is no problem at all. When would I be able to view them?”

“How about tomorrow morning? Say ten o’clock? We can do the one at this end of town first and then walk down to the other one which is near the White Swan pub. If you come in here just before ten, I will walk you both over. Do you have a budget in mind?”

“The time is fine with us. We will be here. I am flexible with the budget, I can go up to £1,500 a month, I don’t really want to go higher than that for an apartment. A house would be different.”

“I may know of another possibility. I will make a phone call later on, but I’m not promising anything. We used to manage holiday lets, but that part of the business has gone to another company now, but I still have contact details for some of our old clients. I know one of them has been refurbishing a property. As I say, no promises on that front, but I’ll give them a try for you.”

“Thank you, Mark. You have been extremely helpful.”

“My pleasure, Lauren. I will see you tomorrow and we will see if we can get you fixed up with something.”  Mark shook her hand and then Lore and Engel left the building clutching the details of the two properties they were to visit the next day.

<<>>

The crew in London had met up at nine for breakfast, they made good use of the coffee machine and the hot breakfast being quite particular about what they chose at the hot buffet. Then they hit the pastries with even more coffee. They then headed back up to Tony’s room to see what FRIDAY had found that they could perhaps take forward that day.

They settled down and FRIDAY updated them. There were sightings of the young man with Engel on the Underground, then on Oxford Street talking to a woman who was pointing things out to them. There was no sign of Lance Hunter which tied in with the hotel register, that he had only stayed for one night. The next visual was inside a store where Engel was looking at clothes and handing them to the young man. Then there was footage of him choosing clothes and then paying for everything. Again the camera didn’t show how he was paying, it concentrated on his face. The next sighting was in the same store where the two of them were having something to eat. 

“At least he’s feeding her properly.” Tony commented.

“Pretty well, actually.” Rhodey interjected. “Whoever he is, he seems to be making fairly decent choices.”

There was more  Underground footage, the young man holding Engel’s hand as they navigated their way across the system. Then there was nothing, until FRIDAY picked them up walking around Covent Garden making like tourists. “He never seems to let go of her, like he’s keeping her under control.” Tony remarked.

“There’s a lot of people about and she’s pretty young. I would say he doesn’t want her to get lost.” Rhodey countered.

“Are you arguing with me, platypus?” Suddenly Tony was right in his face.

“No. I’m just saying there are two ways of looking at it, that’s all. She looks happy, not like she’s being held prisoner, Tony. I would be a lot more worried if she looked anxious, or neglected. Whoever he is, he’s looking after her.”

They watched as the two made their way to Zizzi, just up from the theatres, and stopped there to eat. “OK, that’s where we will eat tonight. Happy, book us a table, please.”

“Sure thing, Tony.”

<<>>

Lore took Engel to the second hand bookstore first and chatted to the man at the counter for advice. He asked what sort of things Engel had already read and then rummaged around the bookshelves and came back with a couple of paperback books, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner which he thought Engel would like because it dealt with folklore the same as Elidor did. The second book was The Island of Adventure by Enid Blyton, he told Engel that if she liked it he had the rest of the series and he would put them to one side for her. Lore asked if he had any artists materials, and he told her that the Newsagents sold things suitable for children. “I’m looking for an adult, it’s a gift for Father's Day.”

“In that case the bookshop at the other end of Station Road by the gent’s outfitter has art supplies at the back of his shop. I am sure he will be able to help you.”

“Thank you for your help.” Lore smiled sweetly at him as she paid for the books.

“I’ll go and put the Adventure series away for you. I’m certain you will like them, young lady.” The man smiled kindly at Engel who smiled shyly back at him. Lore tucked the books in her backpack for her. 

Their next stop was the supermarket, Lore stocked them up on essentials, packing everything into a carrier bag. They stayed on that side of the road and headed to the other book shop, and in the back as promised were art supplies. Lore bought two sketch pads, a variety of pencils, charcoal and some coloured pencils. Some for Engel, but the bulk for Loki as his gift. Lore held Engel’s hand as they crossed the road yet again and she let her go into the Newsagent on her own “Go and get your card and put it in your pack. I will just be looking at the restaurant menu, to see if that is better than the Red Lion for Father’s Day.”

“OK, Lauren.” Engel walked into the shop on her own. It made her feel grown up. She hunted through the cards until she found one she liked, then took to the counter and paid with the ten pound note from her purse. She put the card and her purse safely away in her backpack and then swung it back over her shoulders then went to find her Dada.

Lore was checking out the menu at Salt Pig Too when Engel came out of the shop. “This looks good for Sunday, angel. They do things like boar and venison as well as normal roasts on a Sunday. Shall I book us a table? Would you like that?”

“Yes, Lauren. That sounds like the right thing for Jack.” They headed inside and while Lore arranged for a table, Engel eyed up the baked goods in the chiller cabinet. There were some lovely things in there, quiches, sausage rolls, pies, cakes, cheesecakes, salads. 

“Right, Angela. That’s all done for Sunday. Home now, and we have housework to do, some today and some tomorrow. So we are having an easy dinner tonight. And I thought we would come to Beavers tomorrow and have a cooked breakfast there, that way I don’t have to cook and we will be in plenty of time to look at these properties.” 

They headed back to the apartment, Lore put all the food away first while Engel wrote the card and hid it under her underwear in her drawer. It was sealed, so even if her Dada found it he couldn’t see it. She put her new books by the side of the bed and then went to see what her tasks were going to be. Lore had put the art stuff on the bookshelf for the time being. “What do you want me to do, Dada?”

“I want you to dust every room but the bathroom for me. Be careful that you don’t break anything. Here’s a cloth, angel.”

“OK, I’ll start in the bedroom.” Engel headed back into the bedroom and started work on her task. Lore headed into the bathroom and with the cleaning materials in the cupboard under the washbasin started to clean in there. There was something satisfying in doing simple chores like cooking, washing and cleaning. She headed into the kitchen and switched the oven on to heat up and removed the wrappers from the containers their dinner was in. Pork Dijon, roast potatoes and roast mediterranean vegetables. All just to go in the oven so she could concentrate on the cleaning. 

Next she went outside and rescued their swimwear, towel and bag, etc. The sandy toys went into the kitchen sink in hot soapy water to be washed. Everything else went into the washing machine on a cool wash to rinse out the sand and salt water. She washed the toys and took them back outside and put them on the bench to dry in the early evening sun. Engel was now dusting the living room, Lore put the food in the cooker and headed into the bedroom and took the vacuum cleaner out of the cupboard. She vacuumed the bedroom and hallway and took the machine through into the living room to do it as soon as Engel was finished. “Why are we doing this today, Dada?”

“In case the Estate Agent wants to inspect how we live, sweet girl. We need to show we know how to look after somewhere. Put the duster back under the kitchen sink, it belongs on the shelf next to the pegs. I will vacuum this floor. Then I just need to hang the swimwear outside and we can eat our dinner.” The two finished the chores, which just left the kitchen to do quickly in the morning. Engel set the table and Lore dished up the food. They sat and ate.

<<>>

Tony and the others made their way to Zizzi using Google Maps. They sat down at their table and ordered beers and a selection of pizzas. He let his eyes rove around the restaurant trying to work out where the camera had been that had caught Engel, then he recognised the screen at the side of where the two of them had been sitting. After the beers they had several whiskies and took an Uber back to the hotel. They had several more in the bar and headed back to Tony’s room for a nightcap.

“FRIDAY, pull up the image from Zizzi for me, and enlarge the guys face as much as you can without it pixilating. Concentrate on his mouth for me.”

“What are you thinking, Tony?” Rhodey asked. 

“Lore had stitches in her lip, so Loki would have too. If this is Loki with a glamour, Strange, would the stitches show?”

“They should, if it is a glamour, if it is a full shapeshift then no.” Stephen sipped the whisky

“Fuck! I thought this would solve the problem.”

Stephen studied the image in front of him, concentrating on the mouth. He had been a surgeon before he had become a sorcerer, if these lips had been stitched he should be able to see it. And there they were, two very neat and precise stitches. He examined the glamour itself, this was far better than the girl who had fooled Tony originally. On this one he had changed the colour of the eyes completely, not just lightened them. It was very hard to see it as a glamour. He was getting more proficient. “That young man, Stark, that is Lore, or Loki, whichever you prefer. There are two stitches in his lip. That’s why your daughter is comfortable with him. She knows him well.”

“I would like to say it could be worse, but I’m not sure how! FRIDAY, have we got anything further to start us off for tomorrow?”

“Yes, Boss. The young man and Engel took a taxi from the hotel to Buckingham Palace Road.”

“And?”

“I’ve lost them there, Boss.”

“I guess we are starting there tomorrow then. Breakfast at nine again, guys. Let's see what's on this road that they needed to take a cab to.”

<<>>

After their hot chocolate Engel got ready for bed and Lore came through and read another chapter of Elidor to her. At least there was another book to pick up when this one was finished. It was still light outside, but Engel was sleepy. Lore found it strange how light it was all day in this part of the world. She went back into the living room and curled up on the sofa with her own book, allowing herself to shift back, being in Lore’s clothes felt strange to Loki. He loosened the fastening on the skirt as the waistband was too tight for him but he couldn’t be bothered to get changed and he didn’t want to disturb Engel while she was in the lighter stages of sleep. 

Just before he went to bed he checked his emails, there was nothing new - no news was good news he guessed. He pulled his phone out of his pocket dimension and put it on to charge in case they wanted to check his financial status tomorrow. He had two SIM cards left. He needed to get another couple. Easy enough to accomplish.

He wandered through to the bedroom and put his pyjamas on, carefully putting Lore’s skirt over the back of the chair by the dressing table. He slipped into bed and pulled Rhubarb towards him, her whiskers tickled his neck as he brought her down to his chest.

Remember…

She had to run to keep up with her golden brother, they were heading to the training fields. General Tyr took one look at her “Prince Loki, you cannot spar like that. Change back or go to your room.”

Thor looked at General Tyr, then back at her “Why not? She’s just as capable in this form as her male form, try her against the boys in her age group and you will soon see.”

“They will not spar with a girl, Prince Thor, no matter who she is and you know that. And so does your brother. He either shifts back to his male form or he goes back to the palace and does whatever the girls do.” Tyr stood his ground.

Thor looked down at her “I’m sorry little sister, no sparring for you today. Go back and see Mother, she will find something for you to do.”

As she looked up at her glorious, golden brother who could do no wrong she felt the tears start to fill her eyes. She bit her lip hard until it bled and turned away and ran blindly back towards the palace. Why did they not understand she couldn’t control these changes? That she was just as adept as her male form? She could easily spar with those boys of her own age in either form and beat the vast majority of them even with her slighter build.

She found her mother in the garden “Lore, my magpie, whatever is the matter? Why are you not with your brother?” The words came spilling out in hiccoughs. Frigga wiped away both tears and blood from her youngest's face. “If that stupid General won’t let you spar, then we will have to just do it here won’t we? You will be a better fighter than they will be, my magpie. Trust me.” Frigga conjured a couple of sets of training daggers and handed a set to her. “Let us begin, you will fight like a Vanir Shield Maiden, and all will fear your blades.” She formed her opening stance, following her mother in the moves that were like a river flowing.

<<>>

Loki shifted in the shower again, she was going to have to wear her skirt again today, and one of the New York t-shirts just to look smarter. The grey one, she thought, with a deep pink peony hair tie on her braid. She dressed and woke Engel up for her shower “No exercise this morning, angel. We are cleaning the kitchen, then eating out.” While Engel showered, Lore unlocked the door and went down to the garden and collected their clean swimming gear and beach toys and put everything away in the bedroom. While Engel dressed, she washed up the mugs and pan from their hot chocolate last night. 

Engel came through wearing one of her dresses “Very pretty, angel.” Lore smiled at her daughter. “Can you dry the dishes and put them away for me while I go and dispose of the rubbish in the garage across the road?” Engel gave her an enthusiastic nod. Lore picked up the key for the garage and took the bag of rubbish from the bin. She headed across to the garage and opened the door, switched on the light and found all the recycling bins inside. She carefully put everything where it should be. Now she knew the system, it would be easier to segregate in future.

Back in the apartment she put the key back in place and washed her hands. Then she set to cleaning the kitchen which took no time at all as it was so compact. “Engel, fetch the brush and I’ll do your hair and then we can go and have breakfast.” Engel came back with the brush and her hair ties. “Do you want one braid or two today, sweet girl?”

“Just one, please. I was thinking.”

“Thinking about what, angel.”

“I always call you Dada, but you are really my Mama aren’t you? Should I call you Mama instead?”

“No, angel. Dada is fine. I spend most of my life as male, I am happy for you to call me Dada all the time.” Lore finished braiding Engel’s hair and fastened it off with a couple of her butterfly ties. She then sent the little girl to get her dark peony hair tie while she braided her own hair, this time letting it fall behind today. Engel handed her the tie and she fastened it to the end of her raven black braid. “OK, time for breakfast. Beavers here we come.” Lore slipped on her crossbody bag which contained the leaflets with the details of the properties they were going to see. Engel put on her backpack. Lore slipped the key into her bag and they headed out along Marshall Row towards the crossing to take them to Institute Road.

Lore ordered them both full English Breakfasts, a small one for Engel, large for herself, and Strawberry milkshakes for both of them. She desperately needed all the extra intake she could get, staying in this form took a lot of seidr which needed to be replenished. The food was simple, tasty and well cooked. Lore paid the bill. They had plenty of time to walk up to Station Road and get to the Estate Agents on time.

<<>>

After they had all finished breakfast, Happy arranged for their luggage to be stored at the hotel until they knew where they were heading next. A taxi came to pick them up to take them up to take them to Buckingham Palace Road, Victoria. As they had no idea where Loki had been going they got dropped off at the start of the road. 

“FRIDAY, have you any news for me?” Tony looked around in despair. It was a busy street, and there were several bus stops.

“Boss, they are on a bus, but I cannot tell where they are going, the onboard camera does not give me that information.”

“OK, FRIDAY. Keep checking CCTV when they get off. Meanwhile we will check out these bus stops to see if we can get a clue. Guys! Each take a bus stop and see where these buses are heading to, he’ll be taking Engel somewhere suitable for a child.” 

They headed along the street and started checking the destination boards. It was Stephen that found the bus that went to Windsor, places of interest being Windsor Castle and Legoland. Tony asked Happy to find them a hotel at Windsor and organise getting the luggage there. He would get the bus along with Stephen and Rhodey. Happy would meet them later in the day. Tony felt sure that Loki and Engel would have taken the time to explore both places. They couldn’t be far behind the two of them, and if they were sightseeing and oblivious to the fact they were being followed Tony was sure he would soon have Engel back safely and Loki in Strange’s hands.

<<>>

The first place that Mark took Lauren and Angela to was only a five minute walk away from the estate Agent’s. Herbert’s Place was a neat, cottage style home with living space downstairs, and two bedrooms upstairs, the main bedroom was ensuite, and there was a separate family bathroom. It was nicely furnished and had the bonus of an outside courtyard garden which was completely private. Mark showed them around first, then left them to explore on their own. Lore scribbled notes on a piece of paper as she went listing the pros and cons. She smiled brightly at Mark, it was far better than she had hoped for.

Their next stop was at the other end of the town, just around the corner from where they were currently staying. Cutter Cottage was an old cottage with large windows which flooded the interior with light, the downstairs space was open plan with a lovely large kitchen, comfortable living space and dining area, upstairs were two double bedrooms and a large well equipped family bathroom.  Again it was nicely furnished, and it had a roof terrace with a small table and chairs and a few plants. They roamed freely from room to room, Lore once more writing on her paper. Her only worry with this one was their proximity to the local pubs, but she knew she could use her seidr to block out the noise. Both Engel and her preferred this one because of the space it offered even though they would be sharing a bathroom.

“There is one more I have to show you.” Mark said as they came back into the living room. Lore raised her eyebrow in query. “It’s not strictly on the market as such. We used to handle Holiday Lets, but gave that up a year ago, one of my old clients is a friend and has completely remodelled their old holiday let. They haven’t put it up with a new agency yet, and it just needs a few finishing touches. As a favour to me she is letting you have a viewing. It’s just a short walk from here.”

Mark took them across the road and onto The Parade, Lore and Engel glanced at each other, they loved walking along here right next to the sea. Mark stopped just a couple of doors up from Brook Tea Rooms and inserted a key into the front door. He took them up a flight of stairs and unlocked another door and opened it into an open plan living room, with a dining table, two sofas, and french windows that opened onto a wrought iron balcony with stunning views of the sea. Lore had to force herself to breathe, she turned and looked back into the room and noticed the off-white kitchen that led off the living area, all brand new and completely untouched. The floorboards had all been stripped and varnished throughout the whole area. It was calm, peaceful and uncluttered. A door from the kitchen took them to the rear of the apartment and the next room was a single bedroom set up for a child with a single bed, and a seablue chest of drawers and a wardrobe of the same colour. There was a stripy rug on the wooden floor. The windows in this room were high up and frosted glass.

Next came a family bathroom, again all brand new, white sanitary ware, grey and white marble tiles with a bath and an overhead waterfall shower.

Then finally there was a large bedroom with a double bed with a wooden headboard and matching drawers. There was a large built-in wardrobe with mirror fronted doors, and cream carpet on the floor. The window was large and let in lots of light. There was also a brown tiled 1930’s fireplace against the wall opposite the bed. “This is perfect.” Lauren said to Mark.

“You haven’t seen the main bedroom yet.” Mark grinned.

“Where is it hidden?” Lauren gasped.

“You were too busy looking at the view to notice it.” he said and took them back into the living room. There, near the dining table was another door. He pushed it open. All the other rooms were painted in a shade of white with a hint of azure to it, but this room was wallpapered in a pale blue art deco geometric print. A large window looked out to sea and the balcony, the bed was polished steel and king sized.  Opposite the bed was a wooden chest of drawers. On the wall opposite the window were several doors. Two opened to reveal a built-in wardrobe with an internal mirror, the other opened onto an en-suite shower room in white tile and polished steel. The same cream carpet graced the floor as in the other double bedroom.

Lauren sat on the edge of the bed “It’s beautiful. We would love it. What’s the catch?”

“The price, and she would want six months rent up front. If you want it for longer it could be renegotiated near the end of your tenancy.”

“The price? What is it?”

“She is looking for £2,000 per calendar month. She could get more on the holiday let market, but not necessarily have it let for every week.”

“So £12,000 up front? That is not an issue. We only have a week left where we are. Will it be ready by then?”

“I should think so. She just has the soft furnishings to put in and curtains to hang. Why don't you go and have lunch and I will give her a ring. Pop along after your lunch and I can confirm then and go through paperwork with you. Do you have ID?”

“Yes, I should have everything you need and if you need my brother to sign I can get him to come over from Bournemouth for you.”

“Great, Lauren. I will see you later. Enjoy your lunch.”

<<>>

By the time the bus reached Windsor, Happy had secured them four rooms at the Macdonald Windsor for two nights and had put their luggage in each room. He had also arranged a table for dinner for that evening. Tony’s money and the Stark name could get things done in the right places! He had hired a sensible car, something unobtrusive. Tony would prefer something ostentatious, Happy knew, but this was an undercover mission. They needed to be unremarkable if possible. Not that Tony was ever unremarkable! Already in his room was a bottle of the finest Malt Whisky that Happy had been able to get at short notice, a Macallan 25. 

Happy met them at the bus stop and escorted them to their new base, it met with Tony’s approval. Room service brought them coffees and a selection of sandwiches and pastries. FRIDAY had found various sightings of the young man, Jack, and Engel in Legoland. It was quite extensive, probably because there was high risk of something potentially happening to children there. Including Jack buying a small Lego set for Engel and it going into the Simba backpack. Their clothing was evolving, changing to adapt to their new environment, so they would fit in without standing out. Loki was clever, too damned clever as far as Tony was concerned. “Are we actually going to learn anything if we actually go into Legoland?” Rhodey asked.

“I’m not sure to be honest.” Tony replied “But it may be fun, after all we are here, we might as well fill our time in. And it’s not like you're having to pay, is it?”

They nodded in agreement, finished their early lunch and along with Happy headed over to the Theme Park. It was an afternoon out, the sun was shining and it gave FRIDAY time to check out Windsor Castle.

<<>>

Lore and Engel sat in the sun outside Brook Tea Rooms while they ate their lunch. “Lauren, can we afford to pay that much for that nice place?”

“We can, my angel. It will barely make a dent in our funds. I think it is perfect for our needs. You can have the big bedroom at the back, and I’ll have the bedroom at the front. We will each have our own bathroom.  The kitchen is perfect, I’ll be able to cook properly, and I have my cookery book on my Kindle. I hope that the owner will agree. If not I think Cutter Cottage will be the next best fit for us. It’s in a good position. I can deal with any noise, the only drawback is sharing the bathroom, but we are doing fine with that now.”

“Yes, I liked the little garden in the first one, but the rooms were quite small. The sofas are nicer in the second one as well.” Lore chuckled at her daughter’s summing up, she wasn’t wrong, those things were important, space and comfort. 

They finished their meal and walked calmly up to the end of Station Road and in to see Mark. He ushered them into a small office at the rear of the building to give them some privacy. “I have good news for you, Lauren. As long as everything is in order my friend is happy to offer you a six month tenancy, rent to be paid in advance. She has everything she needs apart from books to complete the furnishings for you over the next week, her husband will help her in the evenings to get the curtains and blinds up. I need to check your passport, take a copy of your bank statement and the rent. Then there are employer references. Will any of that be a problem?”

“No. Here is my passport. I just need to sign into my bank account for you then if you give me your email address I can email you my latest statement.” Mark gave Lauren his email address and she quickly typed it into her phone and emailed him her statement. He handed her a card with the company bank details on it and she transferred over the £12,000 with minimum fuss. “You will have to contact my references in the USA, I have both their phone numbers and their email addresses.” Lore handed over Steve and Natasha’s details. 

“Can I take a phone number for you, Lauren?”

“Because of the nature of my work I change my SIM card every day, but I check my email several times daily.”

“OK, that’s fine. This is your contract for Seaspray. I have made it out for both yourself and Jack. If you can read through it and then just sign on that line just above your name.”

Lore read through the contract carefully. She was surprised to discover the rent included their heating, lighting and WiFi, but they would need to sort out Council Tax and a TV Licence. She would sort those things out when she worked out what they were! She set the contract down on the desk and signed her name with a flourish. She handed it back to Mark “Thank you, Lauren. When Jack comes in to sign I will give him a copy for you to keep and if you call in here after 3pm next Friday I will have keys for you so that you can move in on Saturday when you leave your present accommodation. This is my business card, if you have any problems at all, give me a call or just drop in and I’ll help you.”

“Thank you, Mark, and please thank the owner of Seaspray. I promise we will take very good care of the property. I will give Jack a call and get him to drop in, are you open all day tomorrow?”

“Yes, we are here until five o’clock.”

“Great. I will see if he can come in tomorrow, he should be free. Thanks once more. Come, Angela.” Lore took hold of Engel’s hand and they walked out onto Station Road. Lore headed towards the Railway Station and sat at the little cafe on the platform and had a cup of tea and fresh cream and jam scones to celebrate. They had a permanent home for the next six months, somewhere just for the two of them, somewhere safe. Lore took the SIM out of her phone and stuck it in her pocket to dispose of later.

Chapter Text

Oh, can’t you see?

You belong to me

How my poor heart aches 

With every step you take

Mark Miles put the phone down after his Transatlantic calls to Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanov, both of them were happy to email him references for Lauren Edwardson. Steve was going to arrange for a Dr Bruce Banner to provide him with a reference for Jack Edwardson as he worked more closely with the young man on science projects. 

Mark had already transferred the funds to his clients account, less the agreed commission and she had promised to go into the apartment this weekend with her husband and start putting the finishing touches in place for the Edwardsons. He set up a file and put in all the paperwork he had accumulated so far, he glanced at the bank statement Lauren had provided and did a double take. How did someone of that age have such a vast bank balance? He realised it was a joint family account, but still, it ran into hundreds of thousands of dollars. Large sums were deposited on a regular basis in either Lauren or Jack's name, presumably their salaries. Maybe a good portion of it was inheritance, it was none of his business really. He added the file to the cabinet ready for Lauren’s brother coming in to sign the contract and hard copies of the reference emails when they came through.

<<>>

Lore and Engel bought food at the supermarket and a couple of SIM cards. Lore got some cashback as always, just a small amount, and handed £10 over to Engel to put in her purse. “Keep it safe. I will give you a little bit each week and you can buy what you want for your new room to brighten it up. Anything big you want I will buy you, OK?”

“Thank you! Can I get some Lego?”

“Once we are moved in I will order us a big box of Lego, like Tony had. Then we can both build things. I don’t know if I will be able to get ball bearings though, perhaps in the big hardware shop. We can ask nearer the time.” Engel was bouncing with excitement again. “We have one more stop to make before we head back, angel.”

“Where are we going?”

“I thought you and Jack could go to Salt Pig Too for lunch on Father’s Day. We’ll drop in and make a booking. If we can’t get in we’ll try the Red Lion.” They walked down the road and crossed over just before the restaurant. They walked into the restaurant and Lore spoke to the girl at the cash desk who checked the system. Engel meanwhile was checking out the desserts and salads in the cold cabinet. “Come, angel. They have a table for you and Jack at 12.30 on Sunday.”

They reached the apartment and Lore put the shopping away. Engel settled down with her Lego model and Lore picked up her Kindle to read. She checked her messages first. There was an email from Nat to let her know that references had been sent to Mark Miles from herself, Steve and Bruce. Lore sent a quick email in return to thank them before she curled up on the sofa and buried herself in her book for an hour. After an hour she put her Kindle down and put the oven on to heat up. She tossed baby potatoes in olive oil and sea salt and put them in a dish in the oven along with the chicken kievs she had bought in their foil tray. She put together a salad from baby leaves, cherry tomatoes, radishes, cucumber and a bought dressing. 

Engel cleared her Lego away, it was almost complete. She set the table ready for their dinner. Lore carefully cleaned the fresh raspberries she had bought and split them between two bowls, there was fresh single cream in the fridge to pour over them when they were ready to be served. 

<<>>

In London after an afternoon at Legoland, the four hunters showered and changed and had an altogether more upmarket meal in the hotel restaurant. Three courses, lots of wine and brandy to follow. They headed up to Tony’s room for an update from FRIDAY, all of them anticipating a trip to Windsor Castle the following day. 

Happy poured out generous measures of malt whisky for everyone but himself, in case he was required to drive. “OK, FRIDAY, what have you got for me?” Tony asked his AI.

“They took a bus, Boss. They ended up at Victoria Coach Station.”

“Are you fucking kidding me!” Tony frowned “Do you know where they were headed, FRIDAY?”

“Yes, Boss. They bought one way tickets to Bournemouth.”

There was a lot of head shaking going on. They had all expected Loki and Engel to head back to Holborn, they had paid for a full week at the hotel there. What was Loki thinking of?

“FRIDAY, search all the hotels in Bournemouth as well as the CCTV, track them down for me. We’ll spend the extra night here while you do it. Happy, we may need to fly to another airport, can you check that out, and also find us a good hotel. Hire a car as well.”

Tony got a chorus of “Yes, Boss” from both of them. How could a born again alien prince find his way around the place without using a phone and Google Maps? Tony couldn’t figure it out.

<<>>

Lore dropped her clothes in the linen basket, they really needed to do some washing in the morning. She pulled on her pyjamas and slipped under the covers, stifling a yawn. She stroked Rhubarb’s ears before wrapping her close to her chest; she could hear Engel slowly breathing at the far side of the bed. It would be so much better for her daughter to have a bed to herself. Especially when she was in her male form form, which was the majority of the time. Lore drifted off with that thought in her head.

The sea will help your memories, will help you become who you are meant to be

He walked down to the nursery to collect his daughter, she was still just a babe in arms really. He took her to his rooms and put her on the fur in front of his sofa to kick her legs while he ate a quick lunch. Thor barged in “Are you coming to spar, brother?”

“No, Thor. I am spending time with my little girl. I have a responsibility you don’t have now, another life to consider.”

“You are getting boring, brother. But she is a most agreeable distraction. Are you dining with the family this evening?”

“Amma has asked me to. I have a robe for Engel to wear that she has given me. And Kynfold is doing food Engel can manage for me.” 

“Great, I’ll see you later, I want to hold our princess though.”

“Just keep your voice low, you startle her, she’s not used to loud noises. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t love you though, brother. She’s just very small and you are very large and loud.”

His golden brother laughed, and his daughter looked startled at the big blonde, then started to play with her toes.

<<>>

Mark Miles was sitting at the desk in his office when Carrie knocked at his door “There’s a Jack Edwardson to see you, Mark. Shall I get him to take a seat?”

“No, send him straight in, Carrie. He just has to sign a contract and show me ID, he won’t be here long.” Mark pulled the file from the cabinet behind his desk. He had expected to see a male version of Lauren, and there were some physical similarities. They were a similar height and build. But where Lauren had raven black hair and green eyes, the young man before him had light brown hair and blue grey eyes. He also was wearing glasses. 

“Mark, I presume? I’m Jack.” The voice was a soft baritone and he held his hand out to be shaken. Mark shook it firmly. “I apologise for bringing Angela with me, but Lauren has work to do, so I thought I would come and see you then take Angela out for most of the day.”

“That’s no problem, Jack. We will only be fifteen minutes at the most as Lauren has covered virtually everything already. I just need you to sign the contract for the apartment your sister has agreed to let for the three of you and I need to take a copy of your passport.” 

Jack reached into the pocket of his light grey chinos and pulled out his passport and handed it over. “Here you are, Mark.” 

Mark opened it to the information page, the young man in front of him was just over nineteen years old, his sister was almost twenty two, and he had no idea how old Angela was, but she was very young. “You and your sister have very intriguing jobs for such young people, and you are both very self assured.”

“Our parents home schooled us so that we learned at our own pace, we both took our degrees at a much earlier age in the USA than our peers who went through normal education. While we are in the UK we are both home schooling Angela, she is almost seven, but is at the level of the average ten year old in most subjects, further ahead in the sciences for which she has an aptitude.” Jack smiled fondly at Angela who was sitting quietly to his side.

“That’s fascinating, thank you for telling me about that. Here’s your passport back, Jack. This is the contract I need you to sign. Please feel free to read through it before you sign.”

“Did Lauren read it?”

“Yes, she did.”

“I trust her. If there was anything wrong she would have found it.” Jack signed on the line next to Lauren. 

Mark took the contract from him, photocopied it and handed a copy to Jack. “That’s your copy. I’ll see Lauren on Friday afternoon when she comes to collect the keys.”

Jack folded the contract and put it carefully in his pocket “Hopefully. It may be me, it depends on what work comes through and which one of us has to deal with it. I will be bringing my things over from Bournemouth on Friday, so I just have the bare minimum to bring on Saturday. That way I can be of more use to my sisters. I’m thinking of trying to get a room somewhere in Swanage for Friday night if possible.”

“Try The Red Lion or The White Swan, Jack. They both have decent rooms. If you can’t get in there the Tourist Office may be able to get you in a Bed and Breakfast just for one night. Nice to meet you and I hope to see you again.”

“Thank you, Mark. It’s been a pleasure. Come, Angela. Show me around your favourite places.” 

<<>>

Happy had made arrangements to land Tony’s jet at Bournemouth Airport’s private airfield. They would pick up a hire car from the Hertz desk to get into Bournemouth itself. He had found them accommodation at The Nici, a very upmarket hotel not far from the Winter Gardens. He had booked Tony into a Garden Suite, the rest of them were in Cosy Doubles. Their website looked very impressive and there were two on-site restaurants and a spa. He was sure Tony would be pleased with his choice. He logged his flight plan with Heathrow, all good to go for the following day. 

Tony had finished the bottle of Macallan 25, he rang room service and got them to send up another bottle. He had a map of Bournemouth open on his StarkPad. FRIDAY had found Lauren and Angela Edwardson registered at the Premier Inn by the Winter Gardens. Tony had found it on the map. He gave a low whistle and Rhodey looked up. “I think I know why they may have gone to Bournemouth!”

“Please enlighten the rest of us, Tone. We can’t see what you can.”

“The beach is so long, it goes on for miles. Both of them loved Malibu, the beach and the ocean. I bet they spent a lot of time on that sand and in the water. They stayed in that hotel for a week theoretically. But we know they didn’t stay in London for the full week they were booked into the hotel. So. Are they still there, staying somewhere else? Have they moved on to a different place? If so, where and when? He can’t drive, so we need to check out bus timetables, train station, stuff like that. FRIDAY is already working on CCTV. We will have an advantage, we will have a car. Any of the places they visited may be a place they have decided to move to, so FRIDAY is going to have to check forward from each place as well.”

“Lots of ground to cover then.” Rhodey took a sip of whisky, followed by a mouthful of black coffee to chase it down.

“There are four of us against one.” Tony poured himself another drink.

“Two, surely.” Stephen remarked.

“My daughter is not yet seven years old, he is the one in control, never doubt that. She is just an innocent child.” Tony scowled “And he uses magic and lies. His very appearance is a lie.”

“And what do you want me to do with him when you catch him?” Stephen raised an eyebrow.

“I want him trapped in his female form so he cannot change back. Lore is Engel’s mother, it’s time she assumed that role and all it means permanently. You can do that, can’t you? I’m paying you enough.”

“Oh, I can do it. I’m just not sure how wise a decision it is. But only time will tell.” Stephen lowered his eyebrow and kept his deepest thoughts to himself. Forcing a predominately male shapeshifter to remain in his female form may cause headaches, not for him, but for the shapeshifter. But he would do what he was paid for, this was just a young magic user after all, and he was a master of the mystic arts, no contest!

<<>>

Thor stood in the Observatory after Heimdall brought him and his Royal Guard back from Vanaheim where they had been sent on a mission to clear up a bout of unrest among the citizens.  If his brother had still been alive he would recognise the Royal Guard as Thor’s longstanding friends, the Warriors Three and Lady Sif.  Now as the sole Heir Apparent, they had been promoted to his Royal Guard. “Friends, carry on to the Palace, I will catch up to you soon.”

Sif glanced at him “Checking up on your mortal, Thor?”

Thor blushed a little. He hadn’t let go of his relationship with Jane yet, although it really wasn’t what it used to be. “You caught me out, Sif. I can’t hide anything from you.” The four warriors walked off along the Rainbow Bridge towards the golden palace in the distance while Thor waited patiently for them to get out of earshot.

“Your mortal is well, Prince Thor. She still works hard to try and create her own Bifrost.” Heimdall spoke.

“You know that is not what I really want to know, although I do miss her, Heimdall.”

“The girl is happy, she is by the sea, walking on the beach. She is a little taller than when you saw her last. Her father is taking good care of her and she is well loved.” Heimdall glanced at Thor, he hadn’t lied to the Prince, he just hadn’t told him which father. For Heimdall saw Loki with his daughter, and although he knew better, he had been fed the same lie that all of Asgard had, that Loki was Engel’s father. Only Thor and Heimdall amongst the living on Asgard knew that Tony was Engel’s true father.

“Thank you, Heimdall. I need to find time to visit my lady love and my heir as soon as I can. Soon, I hope, soon. She is very like my brother, and I miss him so much. Every day I wish he was here by my side.”

Heimdall nodded at his Crown Prince as he walked down the Rainbow Bridge after his Royal Guard. He would keep the knowledge that there was a young version of Loki alive to himself. Let him have his time with his daughter away from Asgard and Odin. Because if Odin found him his freedom would be short.

<<>>

Loki and Engel headed towards the Tourist Information Office and picked up some leaflets on walks, they were only a few pence each. As they were going to be living here for some time it would be nice to have a few different places to explore. Loki also bought an Ordnance Survey map of the area that covered right up to Wareham and across to Poole. He tucked them in Engel’s backpack next to Fenris. “We’ll walk up to Ulwell, but on the beach.” he said. They took the next set of stairs onto the sand and both of them took off their sandals allowing the soft sand to run between their toes. They headed down towards the sea where the sand was firmer and when no one was around Loki vanished their footwear into his pocket dimension and then neatly rolled up the bottoms of his chinos. They then walked through the softly breaking waves and climbed over each of the wooden groynes as they got to them. Some of them had quite a drop on the other side and Loki lifted Engel down rather than letting her jump in case she hurt herself. He made it playful for her and she giggled. When they got to wide stretches of sea between the groynes they ran through the sea laughing as the water splashed up around them. 

Once they got to Ulwell they both calmed themselves down and as the beach was still relatively quiet Loki pulled their sandals out of his pocket dimension when no one could see. They headed back up the beach to the soft sand, Loki lifted Engel up onto the wall and rubbed the sand off her feet and then gave her her sandals to put on while he saw to his own feet. He swung his legs over the sea wall and gracefully got to his feet then helped Engel up. They headed into the cafe and ordered sandwiches, a portion of fries and two bottles of sparkling water. 

“I was thinking that we should have fish and chips for dinner tonight, would you like that?” 

“Oh, yes Jack! That would be great. But why aren’t you cooking?”

“There is washing that needs to be done. If I do the clothes this afternoon they will be dry in the morning. I’ll do the towels after we have our showers in the morning, and change the bed linen. I can wash the bedding on Monday. I just hope this good weather keeps up as everything will dry quickly. Once everything is washed and hung up to dry we can go out.” He put a leaflet down on the table. “I like the look of this place.”

Engel looked at the cover of the leaflet that showed a seemingly unreal lake called The Blue Pool. “Is that real do you think?”

“I don’t know. It looks like it has been digitally enhanced, doesn’t it? That water is turquoise. There is only one way to find out, we will go and see it.” Loki smiled softly at his daughter. “I suppose you would like an ice cream?” Engel laughed as she nodded. “You can have one when we get back to the other end of the promenade.”

<<>>

FRIDAY had given Tony a list of places that Loki and Engel had visited. There was a full list, they had been busy. He could ignore the shops, they weren’t important, likewise the places they had eaten. But the rest all needed to be explored. Any one of them could be where they are now, including a different part of Bournemouth itself. Tomorrow after breakfast they would drive to Heathrow and fly down to the south coast resort. Happy would drive them down to the hotel he had chosen, it looked very stylish. 

Tony looked at his list, if they got close to the two of them they would need to be cautious. Loki and Engel would recognise both himself and Happy, obviously. But Stephen and Rhodey were unknown to both of them. Once they narrowed down roughly where they were, those two would be the ones on the street, tracking them down, observing their routines. Possibly interacting with them.  When they moved in, all four of them would be in for the extraction. Stephen would need to control Loki, that was of primary importance. Engel was just a child, she would do exactly what she was told to do once he was out of the picture. He poured himself another drink of whisky and savoured it. He could do this. Get Engel back under his control. Then get Loki permanently switched to Lore, she was his once, he was sure she could be his once more if it meant access to her daughter. If he needed to throw more money at Strange to achieve what he wanted he would do it. If it meant creating a special cell in the Tower to hold Lore, then it would be done. He was Tony Fucking Stark, money could achieve anything!

<<>>

They were away from everyone else as they headed back from Ulwell. “Dada, can we look in the candle shop before we do the washing?” Engel looked at him endearingly.

“I don’t see why not, but I’m not sure what need we have for candles.” Loki smiled at her indulgently, witch lights were easy for him to create and much safer than candles. “We are nearly at the ice cream vendor, do you know what you want today?”

“Lemon Meringue, please Jack.” There were people close to them.

Loki bought Engel what she wanted in a waffle cone and handed it to her wrapped in a paper serviette to catch any drips. She licked it with enthusiasm as they continued their walk, choosing to go along by Brook Tea Rooms and The Parade. He glanced up at their future home to see a man at the living room window hanging curtains. “Look, Angela.” he nudged her gently and she glanced up. She grinned at him when she saw what he meant. They sat on the benches close to the Lifeboat Station while she finished her ice cream, then rounded the corner past New Look and stood in front of Candle World. Loki pushed the door open and they entered.

It was a shop full of delights, although it sold candles of all shapes, colours and scents it also sold strings of fairy lights, snow globes, christmas ornaments, so many things to delight a little girl and a surprised adult. “I love these butterfly fairy lights, Jack. Can I have them in my new room when we move? Will I have enough money to pay for them?”

“We will buy them for you, angel. They will look lovely draped over your headboard. You can put your money towards buying other things.” 

“There are lots of things I like in here, I’m glad we came in.”

“Me too, angel. I am seeing things we can decorate our new home with to make it ours. We’ll come back after next Saturday and start buying some bits and pieces, I promise you.” There was that indulgent smile again. Engel was quite content when they headed back to their now temporary apartment and Loki loaded the washing machine with their dirty clothes.

While the washer did its work he studied the leaflets and map that he had bought. Engel put the final pieces in place on her Lego. “Did you enjoy that?” he asked her.

“Yes, but not as much as creating the things I see in my head. Does that make sense, Dada?”

“Yes, my angel. That is someone else's design, you like to make original things as do I and your father. I will remedy that as soon as I can so we can spend time creating together. I am sure every day won’t be sunny like this. We have been lucky so far.” 

“I don’t mind that I will have a blue bedroom when we move.” Engel looked at him steadily.

“Oh, sweet girl, you won’t be in that little room. You will be in the big bedroom at the back. That little room won’t be used by anyone. Lore and I will be in the room at the front. So we can string the butterfly lights all across that wooden headboard for you. I just need to find some way of attaching them. The hardware shop will help us, I’m sure.”

“I have that big mirrored wardrobe all to myself?”

“Yes, you do. We will buy some shelves when you need them to store your Lego creations on them, mine too as there is more free space in your room. Now I need to hang out the washing, can you deal with our underwear for me? Put it on the clothes horse. I will hang as much as I can outside, then the rest can hang up in here.” Loki put all the clothes in the bowl to go outside along with the clothes pegs. He left the pile of clean underwear on the bench for Engel to deal with. He headed down the stairs outside and hung up as much as he possibly could. While he pegged up Lore’s black skirt he felt the strangest sense of deja vu, not a memory of the last few days, but a memory he had no recollection of experiencing, of Christmas lights, crowds of people, a sweater that was incredibly soft against his skin. He shook his head and it went away. There were just a few t-shirts left. He took them back inside and added them to the clothes horse which he had set up in their bedroom close to the window where the sun was streaming in. They would soon dry.

He carried Engel’s Lego model and put it very carefully on top of the bookshelf. “We need to find something to pack that into to move, otherwise bits will fall off in my pocket dimension or in your case. Will you be alright on your own if I go and get the fish and chips? I will lock you in so no one can get inside.”

“Of course, Dada. I will set the table for us.” 

“OK, I’ll be as quick as I can.” It was the first time he had left her alone. He locked the door behind him, he would be fifteen minutes at the most, yet he felt like he was being the world’s worst parent! He walked briskly to the fish and chip shop, there was only a small queue, he bought a large cod, a small cod, a large portion of chips and a portion of mushy peas. When he got back the table was set and Engel had dinner plates out ready for him. He separated the food out between them, the large fish for himself, the small for Engel, he got the lion’s share of the chips, and shared the peas out equally between them. Everything was still piping hot as it had just come out of the fryer and the batter on the fish was golden and crispy. 

“Yummy, Dada!” Engel grinned at him.

“Where do you pick up these words?” 

“Books, Dada. I’m learning how to speak English rather than American.”

“I’m not sure your father would approve, but I certainly do. Far better than the way he was teaching you by watching movies all the time. We will need to visit your new friend, the book seller, before long. There is an empty bookcase in our new home beside the fireplace. Room for the books we are collecting.”

“When should we pack?”

“Probably Friday morning, maybe Thursday afternoon. A lot of our stuff can go in my pocket dimension. We will just put lighter stuff in our cases for appearances sake. Any left over food can go with us too. I will need to do a proper shop on Saturday for cleaning materials, household things, as there won’t be anything like that for us.”

“Can we not pick some of those up now and carry them in your pocket dimension?”

“Clever girl! Why didn’t I think of that! Yes, we can pick up something every time we shop and I can store it. We’ll just get basics until I see what has been provided as I don’t know if we will need things like pans, crockery and cutlery. OK, let's wash up, do you want to play Ludo or watch a DVD?”

“Can we play, Dada? I prefer it.”

“Of course we can, sweet girl.”

<<>>

In Windsor the four searchers were sitting down to a sumptuous three course meal with appropriate wines, apart from Happy who was drinking soft drinks as he would be driving and piloting the following day. No chippy fish and chips for Tony’s crew! Instead there were scallops and smoked salmon. Fillet and rib-eye steaks, beef wellington, fancy vegetables and triple cooked chips. 

Dinner was followed by large brandies in beautiful crystal glasses. Tony asked for the remainder of the bottle to be sent to his room and their server put the bottle onto a tray with three fresh glasses for them, a bottle of mineral water for Happy and a crystal water glass and a bucket of ice. He followed behind Tony with the tray and placed it carefully on the table in his room and removed all the used glasses that were already there. Happy tipped him generously. 

They arranged themselves comfortably around the room and Happy poured them drinks, then settled down himself with his tall glass of iced water. 

“We’ll leave straight after breakfast tomorrow as we have to drive to Heathrow. I want us checked out by 10am at the latest, so breakfast at eight thirty. I spent most of the afternoon reviewing the places they have been seen in, Rhodey, you and Strange are going to have to do most of the groundwork as they will both recognise Happy and myself. Let's have a couple more drinks and hit the sack guys.”

<<>>

Loki snuggled up with Rhubarb, this time next week they would be in a different bed and Engel would have her own room once more. It would be much better for them both. Although these last few weeks had worked out alright he was conscious that both of them had nowhere to go for real privacy. Rhubarb’s whiskers tickled against the sensitive spot on his neck and he moved her further down towards his chest. His head was full of the apartment they would be moving into and the things he had seen today he would like to fill it with as his eyes started to feel heavy and sleep gradually claimed him.

Remember the lights and the smells 

The smell of spices and wine filled the air. It was dusk, she walked through the bustling market stalls full of brightly coloured delights, candles, lebkuchen, liqueurs of every shade, sweetly scented soaps. She sipped raspberry flavoured hot brandy punch from the decorated white ceramic mug in her hand as she slowly walked. Above her, threaded through the branches of the trees, were bright star shaped lights. Beside her walked a man, shorter than she was, talking about the things they passed and how it was time they found a bar so he could get a drink. She kept pace with the man, two angels in long flowing white robes with feathery wings walked past them. They stopped at a bar and he bought two large whiskies for himself and got her mug of Himbeer Brandy refilled. He turned towards her, eyes of chocolate brown full of warmth, a quirky smile on his lips. 

Loki moaned softly in his sleep and Rhubarb nuzzled him. He needed to know that once upon a time Tony Stark had mattered to him, that Lore had felt love for the man, enough to allow him to bed her. Gentle steps, Rhubarb thought to herself, unlocking Loki’s memories would take time, he needed to know who had loved him, and what had caused him fear so he didn’t repeat past mistakes.

<<>>

Father’s Day dawned bright and sunny. Loki had showered and dressed in his blue grey chinos and his blue and white seersucker short sleeved shirt. He put sandals on his feet, it was going to be too hot for shoes today. He took his wet towels through and put them in the washing machine. As he cracked eggs into the waiting bowl he heard Engel switch on the shower. Breakfast this morning would be fairly simple as they were eating their main meal at lunchtime. He was making scrambled eggs and fried tomatoes on toast. He sliced the bread ready for Engel to make the toast, and halved a few handfuls of cherry tomatoes and put them into the small pan along with a little olive oil and ground black pepper. 

Engel came through wearing one of her simple dresses and her sandals. “Happy Father’s Day, Dada.” She handed him the sealed envelope.

“Thank you, angel.” Loki stopped what he was doing and opened the card, it was simple and generic, but inside she had written ‘I know you are really my mama, but you are more father to me than my real father. I love you always, your Engel xxx’. Loki wiped away a stray tear and bent down and kissed his little girl “I love you too, angel.” He stood the card up on the living room windowsill and started work on the eggs while Engel made the toast and set the table. They ate their simple breakfast and when they finished Loki made them tea and Engel presented him with his present of sketch pad, pencils and coloured pencils. Loki was delighted, even though he knew what he was getting, because Lore knew. 

Dishes washed, he set the washing machine off to wash the towels. He headed outside to bring in the clothes from the line and he took them through into the bedroom while Engel dried the dishes and put them away. He stripped the bed and changed the bed linen, he would wash this lot tomorrow morning before they headed out. “Engel, come and put your clean clothes away, sweet girl.” 

“Coming, Dada.” She ran through and he handed her the bundle he had taken from the line and clothes horse. Between them they made short work of putting away their clean things. 

Loki checked the towels, they still had over an hour left to do. “We have time to go out for a short stroll, angel, if you want.”

“Yes please, Dada.” They headed out to the park first of all and walked up to the very top, then back down to the amphitheatre and then across the road towards the pier. They followed the promenade along past the Lifeboat Station and onto The Parade. As they got level to their new home they both glanced up. The curtains were up at the bedroom and living room windows, but there was also a small round table on the balcony and a couple of chairs around it. There was a further couple of chairs at the other end of the balcony.  Engel squeezed Loki’s hand, he smiled down at her. Soon, he thought, soon. They turned the corner by Brook Tea Rooms and headed back to The Studio along the main street. Once back inside, Loki made them more tea while he waited until the towels finished so he could hang them out.

<<>>

The Lear Jet touched down at Bournemouth Airport and taxied to a stop at the Jet Centre. Happy opened the door and lowered the steps and allowed everyone to disembark. The car he had hired was waiting landside for them. Happy ensured the jet was secured then followed his boss and companions landside where he collected the keys for the car and they loaded their luggage into the boot, settled into their seats and he attached his Stark Phone to the Sat Nav and started the engine.

The journey into the city was straightforward and they soon pulled up at the hotel and into the car park. Outside the hotel looked classic, but inside it had a very modern vibe. An expensive vibe. Tony style.  A porter loaded their luggage onto a trolley while the receptionist checked them in and gave them the cards to their rooms, and in Tony’s case, his suite. Tony was the first to investigate his new space. It was aptly named the Garden Suite, the living area opened out onto a patio with direct access to the hotel’s stunning gardens and the swimming pool beyond. The living space held a huge white sofa which took up the whole length of one wall, there were low opaque glass tables along its length. There was a cold bar stocked with full bottles of spirits and a fridge containing mixers, and soft drinks. The porter left Tony’s bag when he indicated which was his and he set out to explore further. 

The bedroom was huge with a superking bed all to himself, with views over the gardens and windows that opened onto the same patio as the living space. The bathroom was stunning and huge too, sumptuous soft towels, bathrobes and slippers as well as luxurious high end toiletries. This will do, thought Tony. He unpacked his belongings, filled a laundry bag with his dirty clothes  and rang reception to get someone to collect it for him. He opened the doors to the patio and put his StarkPad and phone on the patio table to charge in the afternoon sun. He could smell the salt tang in the air. He went to the bar and poured himself a whisky. There was a discreet knock at the door and when he opened it a different porter was there to collect his laundry bag. 

His phone rang and Tony answered it “Hi Boss, I’ve arranged for some food and coffee to be delivered to your room, it should be there in about fifteen minutes. We are all heading down to you.”

“OK, Happy. I’ll stay inside so I can hear you.” Tony put his phone back in the sun and wandered back indoors with his drink. His three companions arrived just a couple of minutes before the food and coffee arrived. Two kitchen porters delivered the food on trolleys and laid it out on the glass tables along with plates, cutlery, and coffee cups. The four men sat down and ate the array of tasty sandwiches, pastries and cakes, fortifying themselves with coffee. Happy had booked them in at the onsite restaurant that night for dinner at 7.30pm. Time for them to have a short wander into the surrounding area to explore their environment a little and get their bearings. They had all loaded Bournemouth onto Google Maps. “When we get back, guys, take advantage of the hotel laundry facilities. Just fill your bag up and let reception know, they will send someone up to collect it.”

They headed out, letting reception know that they had finished with room service in the Garden Suite. Tony followed the directions on his map and soon they were at the top of the Winter Gardens, near the actual theatre itself. They made their way through the gardens not really taking much notice of the beautiful floral displays or the grey squirrels looking for food opportunities. Their focus was purely on getting down to the beach. 

<<>>

After hanging out the towels to dry in the sun, Loki and Engel walked through the main street looking in the shop windows to kill time. It was just after twelve o’clock. Loki stopped when they got to the hardware store and they crossed over the road. “We’re going to be a bit early, but better than being late I think.” He squeezed Engel’s hand gently. 

She smiled up at him, there was no one around them. “It gives us time to look at the menu, Dada.”

They soon reached the door to Salt Pig Too, and were shown to a table for two. There were several people already eating and the savoury smell from the kitchen was delightful. “This is today’s menu, we also have available the items on the chalk board, they are a limited amount and once they are gone we will wipe them off the board, so I would recommend you have a second choice if you opt for one of those. Can I get you anything to drink?” Loki opted for a pint of cider, and a glass of apple juice for Engel. They studied both menus.

Loki was torn, the roast beef looked really good, still with some pink in the middle, but they had haunch of venison on the blackboard, and for some reason that was making the saliva flow in his mouth. “What do you fancy, angel?” 

“I’m having roast beef, Jack. It looks good.”

The server came over to them, Jack looked at her “Do you still have the venison?”

“Yes, we do.”

“Then venison for me, and roast beef for my sister.”

“Would you like a small roast beef, sir?” Jack glanced at Engel and nodded. They could always have dessert. 

“What are we doing after we have eaten?” Engel asked.

“I thought we could look in the chocolate shop around the corner first of all, then check out the hardware shop to see what they have that we can use in our new apartment. Then if we have time I thought we could have a look in Corfe Bears as it’s your birthday in a few weeks.” Engel’s face lit up, two places she was longing to go, and the hardware shop wasn’t one of them! She hoped they had time to go and see the bears. 

The food arrived, Loki’s venison was in thick slices with a red wine jus with juniper berries, there were lots of different vegetables and sauteed potatoes. Engel’s roast came with all the usual trimmings, and lots of vegetables as well. “What’s venison, Jack?”

“It’s deer, angel. You had it as a burger when we were in Salisbury.” He cut a small piece off for her and put it on her plate. “You will recognise the taste.”

Engel finished the piece of yorkshire pudding she was eating then tried the venison. “I remember this taste!” A smile lit up her face “I liked it.”

They both cleared their plates, the server came and cleared them away and gave them the dessert menu to look at. It was as inevitable as the day is long what they would choose really! Fresh raspberry cheesecake for Jack, Lavender Honey ice cream for Angela. When she brought their desserts Jack asked the server if they often had venison on the menu “We have venison burgers on every day apart from Sunday, then we have whatever game meats we can get the rest of the time, so venison, boar, wild duck, pheasant, grouse, rabbit, hare. Some of it is obviously seasonal, all local.”

“That’s good to know, we both like game, so we will be back to visit you. We have just moved to the town this week.” Jack smiled at her.

“We look forward to seeing you again then. We do breakfasts, lunches and evening meals. It’s better to book on Sunday lunchtimes and during the evenings but the rest of the time you can just drop in. We use all local produce in our kitchens, so the menus are set up accordingly.”

“Thank you, that’s good to know.” The cheesecake was different to the others Jack had eaten, the biscuit base had a different texture, the cheesecake itself was very rich and the raspberries were just slightly crushed rather than in a sauce of any kind. Engels ice cream was drizzled with golden honey and garnished with a couple of sprigs of lavender. There were a couple of generous scoops and a couple of homemade tuile biscuits with it. Jack paid the bill once they had finished and left a generous tip “We will be back, I promise.” he told their server before they left.

“That was lovely, Dada. Can we really go back again?”

“We can and we will, angel. I would eat there every day, but it would look suspicious. I don’t want people to think we are very wealthy, but I do want people to be aware of us. That will help keep us safer I think. OK, let’s go and explore this chocolate shop. We’ll head around by Rainbows End Too and come up the lane from that end, then we are not doubling back on ourselves when we head to the hardware store.” Engel held onto Loki’s hand, not because she was crossing a road, or in danger, but because she wanted to. Being with him and Lore was the best thing ever.

Chococo’s window was full of lovely enticing things, but the inside was even better if possible! There were chocolate drops for them to taste the different varieties and Loki bought Engel a small bag of Milk Chocolate Dinosaur shaped chocolates, and a bag of broken shards of mixed chocolate for himself so he could try a few of the different slabs they had on offer. They also sold proper hot chocolate, once they moved he would come back and buy some of that, it seemed to him that he had had it before, another buried memory perhaps? 

They carried on up the lane and then came out beside one of the estate agents and crossed the road to Newton’s the hardware shop. It was big and full of almost everything they could possibly need as far as Loki could tell. They wandered up and down the aisles investigating everything as they went. Then Loki spotted something that looked like it would work to hold the lights Enngel wanted on her headboard. Small, clear plastic hooks that stuck onto a surface, but could be removed easily, called Command Hooks. Loki picked up a couple of packets “These should work for your bedroom, angel.” Engel looked at what he was holding, they looked far too fragile to her, but her Dada had read the instructions on the back and seemed confident about them. “I need to find this stuff it mentions on the back.” He hunted around the shelves but to no avail. He stopped an assistant and asked, they told him that was the American name for the product and handed him a bottle with a different name on it. He went to the cash desk and paid and they put everything into a carrier bag for him. He tucked it safely in Engel’s backpack. “I think we have enough time to go and look at Corfe Bears, sweet girl.” She grinned up at him. A chocolate shop and bears in one day! Terrific!

It didn’t take them long to reach the bear shop, outside stood an enormous toy bear it was just slightly shorter than Loki, but much more rotund, a very well fed bear! Engel gave it a hug as best as she was able and Loki laughed. They entered the shop which was just like a treasure trove, so many fascinating shops in this town! This was no ordinary toy shop, Loki soon realised as he perused the shelves. Many of the bears and other stuffed animals in here were limited editions and they would fill a little girl with delight. She knew how to look after things properly, after all Fenris had survived with very little damage despite him being carted everywhere with her. “Do you see anything you like for your birthday, angel?”

“Lots, Jack.”

“You can have one thing, they are expensive and very special.” He watched her as she wandered around in awe. What would she choose? “You don’t have to decide today, it’s still a few weeks away and we are moving on Saturday.”

“I can come back again?”

“Of course you can, angel.” 

“Then I’ll come back when we are in our new apartment, there are too many to choose from. Do I have a price limit?”

“No limit. Whatever you want, as long as we can get it in and out of the apartment. So not that big boy outside.” Loki heard the shop assistant start to laugh and he winked at her. He knew Engel would not pick the display bear outside, but he was sure other children would given the no limit option. His little girl would be sensible. Outside once more, Engel patted the bear’s paw in farewell before they headed back to their apartment. When he checked the towels they were almost dry. “We can either go to the park again if you like or just stay in. We are just having sandwiches tonight for tea with crisps and tomatoes, then we have our chocolate for later on.”

“Can we stay in, Dada? I thought you might like to draw and I could do some colouring? I’ve still got lots to finish in the book you bought me at the airport.”

“Of course, I had forgotten about your colouring book to be honest. I’ll make us some tea and hope I can remember what Steve taught me about drawing.” Loki put the kettle on while Engel went into the bedroom to retrieve her book and crayons from her drawer where she had stashed them. She sat at the table, opened her book and started on a fresh page. Loki already had a pencil in his hand and was working on his first sketch, she glanced over, she wasn’t sure what he was drawing but she knew he hadn’t lost his touch.

<<>>

The four searchers crossed the road and stood on the promenade eyeing up the beach, it stretched literally for miles. The sun glinted off the deep blue of the ocean. Tony corrected himself, the English Channel. The map had given him an idea why Loki and Engel had come here, but the reality confirmed it. Loki’s strange, almost haunted look when faced with the ocean at Malibu. The sea obviously meant something to him, but what? Tony had no idea, and he couldn’t exactly ask Thor without letting him know his brother was alive once more. This was a bigger area than he had expected it to be, somehow he had expected just to drop into England, pick them up and take them back to New York, job done! But things were more spread out here than he had anticipated.

“Hey! We’re at the beach, why don’t we have ice cream? I’m sure there must be somewhere here that sells ice cream!”

“There are lots of places, Boss. There is a cafe over there. Why don’t we take a seat at that table and I’ll order for us.” Happy guided Tony towards the cafe and the others followed, sitting down at a table in the sun. They checked out the menu, ordering various sundaes and Happy went inside to place their orders. They chatted idly between themselves about what they could see around them, the pier, the Sea Life Centre, the kids skateboarding along the promenade. The difference in what people were wearing. Their sundaes arrived, different to what Tony had expected. There were syrups of course, but the ice cream was firm, not soft serve, and the cream was the real deal, not out of a can. They were good. Tony had heard bad things about English food, but he hadn’t been disappointed so far. The people were quite reserved, but friendly enough. 

“So, tomorrow. I thought we could tackle Salisbury. Happy can drive us there, Stephen, I thought Stonehenge might be more your sort of thing, you and Happy can head out there. Rhodey and I can take the cathedral then we can have a late lunch at that place they ate at. Happy, you can book that, the name is in my notes. I can’t remember it off hand as I have logged so many places on my StarkPad over the last couple of days. These two have been quite the busy little bees. And as a reminder, we are looking for anywhere that they might settle, so it has to have decent transport links, shopping, stuff like that. They may also be still in one of the places we are looking, so may we see them. So be careful. Some of the things they’ve done, I don’t think we need to bother with, like Hengistbury Head, it’s just a nature reserve. OK, let’s head back to the hotel and have a relaxing drink before dinner.”

<<>>

Loki lost track of time, he was so absorbed in what he was doing, when he finally put his pencil down it was well after six o’clock. “Are you hungry, angel?” 

“Getting that way, Dada.”

“OK. I’ll get the towels in and make us sandwiches. Put your stuff away, I won’t be long.”

“Let me see what you have drawn first, Dada.” Engel came around to his side of the table. Loki opened the cover of his sketch pad and there was his rendition of Stonehenge as best as he could remember it.  It wasn’t quite finished yet, but it was good, Steve would be happy. “Oh, are you going to draw all our visits?”

“What I can remember. They won’t be as good as photographs and I wish we had bought books, but I don’t know how we would have carried them all. I don’t know how much I can store in my pocket dimension. I know it holds a lot, but how much is a lot?” Loki headed outside and collected the towels which were now completely dry. He brought them inside, folded them and put them away in the cupboard. Their muslin facecloths went into their drawers. Engel had already put his sketch pad and pencils away for him, so he headed into the kitchen to make their sandwiches. 

He cut the fresh bread, made simple cheese sandwiches with some leftover salad leaves for good measure, he filled a bowl with Kettle Crisps and another with cherry tomatoes. He put everything on the table then made them fresh tea, then finally sat down to eat. After their delicious dinner it was simple food, but enjoyable just the same. 

After washing up they sat down to a game of Ludo and enjoyed some of their chocolate before their evening ritual of hot chocolate and a chapter of Engel’s book before she went to sleep. Loki promised himself that this ritual would not change when they moved into the new apartment, nor when they finally moved back to the Avengers Compound. It was a special parent and child moment that was important to both of them. Eventually Engel would grow too old for this, but he would cherish this for as long as it lasted. 

Sitting on the sofa on his own before his own bedtime he reread the card she had bought him. The words filled him with emotion and he allowed himself to shed a few tears. It was the most precious thing, and it would be given pride of place in his new bedroom when they moved in.

Chapter Text

Every move you make

And every vow you break

Every smile you fake, every claim you stake

I’ll be watching you

While the bedding washed Loki and Engel executed their forms on the amphitheatre. It was another sunny day and the temperature was going to get high. Both of them were wearing shorts, Engel had on a white broderie anglaise blouse, Loki his turquoise pigment dyed linen shirt. Engel was now up to four moves that she could do perfectly, everything else she muddled through. As always they had a bit of an audience. They both ignored the onlookers, concentrating on what they were doing. After a few run-throughs Loki decided to call it quits for the day and they headed back to the apartment via the flower garden. They hadn’t long to wait before the washing finished. The pillowcases went on the clothes horse, the sheet and the duvet cover on the outside line. He had to fold them to fit them on there, but they would still dry quickly. 

“If we walk quickly we will make the next bus to Poole, angel.”

“Is that where we are going today, Dada?”

“No, but it is the bus that we need.” They hurried along to the bus station, there was a queue when they got there, so there was time to catch their breath. “Can I have one and a half to Furzebrook, please?” Loki asked the driver. When he was given the tickets the driver told him he would shout when they got there as it was difficult to spot. They sat downstairs rather than heading upstairs and watched the countryside go by. They came to a roundabout and just shortly afterwards the driver shouted ‘Furzebrook’ and pulled up at a remote stop. Engel and Loki alighted and the bus pulled away.  Across the road they could see the stop for the return journey. They were on the edge of moorland. They walked up the road a short distance and found a side road heading off to their left, Loki consulted the map on the back of the leaflet he had “This is us.”

They headed along the road, under a bridge for just under a mile until they reached their destination - The Blue Pool. Loki paid their entrance fee to the nature reserve and they headed in to explore the wooded trails in the cool of the shady trees. Everywhere there was birdsong, butterflies, the odd squirrel. The trails meandered around the woodland and an old china clay pit that was full of water and the most stunning colour, in some areas it rivalled Loki’s shirt. There were benches to sit at, all with exquisite views. Both of them were enchanted by what they were seeing. After a good walk around they stopped at the Tea Rooms and had lunch of sandwiches, cake and bottles of water. They had a final walk around the perimeter of the lake, a little look around the shop then headed back along the road under the bridge to the main road, where they crossed carefully and waited for the bus to take them back to Swanage. 

<<>>

Stephen and Happy walked up to the magnificent sight of Stonehenge. Stephen took out his phone and took photos to send to Wong, there was no way on earth he was going to waste this opportunity. The place was ancient, you could feel it in the ground beneath your very feet. Stephen wished there was no barrier between him and the henge, he would like to be there amongst the stones laying his hands on them to feel the vibrations of the past, to unlock what was hidden within them if he could. Happy on the other hand was getting a bit bored. The novelty was starting to wear off and he wasn’t sure what Tony had expected them to discover by sending them here. They had passed through some attractive villages, but none of them would be an ideal place to live for anyone who didn’t drive. No local shops, library, probably no regular bus service, nothing that would tempt Loki that Happy could see.

Tony was sitting on a bench outside Salisbury Cathedral, he had absolutely no intention of going inside, he’d left that up to Rhodey. Tony was instead studying the environs of the cathedral. Would Loki live here? Possibly. They had passed some quality shops, and some ordinary shops. It was a beautiful place, even Tony could see that, although it was not New York. It seemed to have decent transport links. They had passed Realtors, sorry, Estate Agents, there were rental properties available if he had the funds to pay for them. And this was a stumbling point for Tony, where was he getting the money from? They had stayed in fairly budget hotels, but they still cost money. He assumed that someone was selling his silver coins for him, but unless he had an endless supply that would not last long. Were SHIELD funding him for some reason? Something else to get FRIDAY to dig into. She was going to be a busy girl! 

Tony’s phone rang “Happy, where are you?” He kept his eyes firmly on who and what was going on around him. “OK, we’ll see you at the pub. Rhodey should be out shortly and we’ll make our way over there now. See you both soon.” He ended the call. Rhodey must have read his mind as he came strolling up. “Platypus! Hope you enjoyed that useless diversion. Happy is about twenty minutes out, so we’ll head to the Haunch of Venison and meet them there. We’ve got a table booked, but I’m not eating venison for anybody!”

<<>>

When Loki and Engel got off in Swanage they headed into the large supermarket to stock up on basics for breakfast and stuff for their evening meal. As it was quite hot he decided to keep it simple and picked up some things he could just throw into the oven and then plate up. He bought fresh salad stuff to improve the quality of what they were going to eat and some strawberries to have as a sort of dessert afterwards with some single cream. He also found a plastic container that was intended to store food that Engel’s Lego model would fit into, that went into the basket along with another SIM card. As always he paid with his card and got cashback. 

They walked back to the apartment via the sea to catch as much of the breeze as they could. “Can we spend time on the beach tomorrow, Jack?”

“If you like, angel. We could go swimming if you want, have a lazy day. Maybe mooch around Serendipity, have a walk on the pier.”

“That sounds good, Jack.” Engel grasped his hand tightly and smiled up at him. 

After putting the shopping away and downing a glass of cold water Loki checked the bedding, it was all nice and dry. He brought it in, it needed ironing, something else he hadn’t done before. They were flat things, how difficult could it be? He could expend seidr and do it that way, or he could do it the way everyone else did. He opened the cupboard in the bedroom and found the ironing board and iron. He set up in the kitchen, adding some water to the reservoir in the iron to create the steam he needed. Engel watched him with interest. He started with the pillowcases to get the hang of it. It wasn’t too bad he decided, and progressed to the sheet. That was more challenging but not rocket science. The duvet cover was simple, he now had the hang of it. Everything had been carefully laid over the clothes horse in the bedroom to air. He would fold them and put them away in the cupboard later. In the hour he had left before he needed to start cooking he sat and sketched, while Engel carried on with her colouring book. Loki picked up some of the coloured pencils from the tin that had been bought for Father’s Day. Engel glanced up and frowned a little, he never usually used colour. He put them back, shut the tin and his sketch pad, putting them safely back on the bookshelf and went into the kitchen to warm the oven up. 

“Can I see what you’ve drawn, Dada?” Engel stood next to him as he started to hull the strawberries and split them between two bowls.

“When it’s finished, angel. Not before.” She started to pout and he laughed at her and gave her a strawberry. “Patience, it will be better when you see the finished drawing, I promise you.” He took the foil trays out of the fridge and peeled off the clear film on the top of them. He had put both trays in the oven and finished hulling the strawberries. Next he put together a salad for them. “Can you set the table for me, sweet girl. I’m going to put the bed linen away.” Loki headed into the bedroom and neatly folded the clean bedding and put it away on the shelf in the cupboard. The iron was still too warm, so he left it to cool on the windowsill, it could go away in the morning. 

The table was set, and Engel had put the bowl of salad in the centre of the table. Loki gave her a hug “Thank you, my angel. Dinner won’t be long. Do you want to watch a film tonight or play Ludo again?”

“Can we watch a film tonight?”

“Of course, have a look through the DVDs  and see what you can find. There aren’t many. We can watch while we eat our strawberries.”

“And chocolate.”

“And chocolate, if we have any room for chocolate!”

Loki opened the oven door and the smell of garlic wafted into the room. He dished up from the foil dishes, lazy cooking! He put the plates on the table and Engel looked at what was in front of her then up at him “Chicken Kiev and sweet potato wedges. You’ve had sweet potatoes at your father’s before and the chicken is stuffed with garlic and parsley butter.” Loki dished her up some salad, then gave himself a generous portion. The meal was tasty enough, and the chicken portions were a generous size. Engel couldn’t finish all hers, so Loki ate the rest of her chicken. The remaining wedges would just get thrown away. “What film have you found?”

“Something called Sleeping Beauty. It’s a Disney film.”

“Animation. I don’t think we have seen that one, have we?”

“I don’t think so, Dada.” They cleared the table and did the washing up between them as usual. Then Loki chased Engel off to change into her pyjamas while he set the DVD up. He poured them out a couple of glasses of sparkling water from the fridge and put them on the small table in front of the sofa. Engel came through and sat down. He brought the strawberries and cream through and they had their dessert as they watched the film. Dessert finished Engel curled up on the sofa and Loki put his arm around her and cuddled her in. “I think my father would like to do that to Lore.” Loki glanced at his daughter as the princess fell into a slumber after the evil fairy, Maleficent, had tempted her with the spinning wheel and she had pricked her finger. 

“What do you mean, angel?” Loki paused the film.

“Have her helpless. He can’t do that to you can he, Dada?”

“Not that I am aware of, he would need a mage or a sorcerer and there are no such things on Midgard. I would heal from anything else he used, unless it was something fatal, and you and Natasha hold the key to bringing me back from that. You have Fenris and Natasha has my Runic Spell Book.” He kissed the top of her head firmly “There is nothing for you to worry about. This is just a story, my sweet.” He stood up and made them some hot chocolate while he had everything on pause and brought their mugs to the table and pressed play while they drank the comforting drink. 

Of course the film followed the normal formula of a Disney film, musical numbers, fairies intervening to bring the handsome Prince Philip to wake the sleeping Princess Aurora with a true loves kiss and bring the whole kingdom back to the waking world. Perfect fodder for the little sleepy princess who barely made it to the end before her eyes closed. There would be no story reading tonight. Loki picked his little sleepy head up carefully and carried her through to the bedroom and laid her on his side of the bed while he pulled the duvet back on her side. He then lifted her onto her side of the bed and tucked her in. She barely stirred. He put Fenris next to her, so if she woke she would find him then headed back to the living room to tidy up before he sat down to read for the rest of the evening. 

When he finally went to bed himself Engel had Fenris in her arms, and the covers pushed back, she must have been too warm. He checked to make sure that the windows were open before he undressed. Rhubarb was pulled to his chest as he settled down to sleep. 

Remember Loki, remember

He was in Stark Tower in his battle armour, his mind was fuzzy, he glanced at his right hand, there was a strange sceptre in it, he felt as if he should recognise it but he didn’t, but he did know the mortal standing in front of him. A man who was spouting some gibberish in an attempt to distract himself from the fear that was coursing through his veins. Loki took one swift step towards him and grasped his chin with his left hand firmly, and leant forward and stole a kiss, Lore’s memories forefront in his brain for those vital few seconds before the something else took hold of his conscious brain again. Lover became lost and enemy became the only message he was aware of and he launched the struggling man he had just kissed through the window of the tower.

Loki moaned in his sleep, not loud enough to wake Engel, Rhubarb rubbed her head against his chest and throat to comfort. So many bad memories to surface, as well as the good.

<<>>

The four searchers were sitting in the dining room of their plush hotel indulging in a luxurious breakfast. The cold food was all buffet style and you could have as much as you liked, but the hot food was prepared to order and brought to your table for you. Likewise coffee and tea. When you wanted more you just asked and it was brought to you within a few minutes. “We’ll tackle Winchester today, and that’s then the two furthest places that they went to covered.” There’s only three things to look at really, the cathedral, the place with the round table in it and that king’s statue. Happy can drive us and we’ll do all three together this time, keeping our eyes open for likely places they could live. Shouldn’t take us long.” Tony was pretty vague, fortunately the real details were on everyone's StarkPads.

Back in his suite while he waited for everyone to gather he checked in with FRIDAY. She was constantly monitoring CCTV in Salisbury as well as Bournemouth. “Any news on the financial side of the situation yet?”

“I can find no trace of him being financed by SHIELD, Boss. He does not seem to have ever used an ATM, they all are monitored by cameras.”

“Maybe he’s using magic to hide it, FRIDAY.”

“I would say that would be impossible, Boss. But perhaps Dr Strange could advise you on that.”

“What can I advise you on, Tony?” Stephen asked as he walked into the Garden Suite from the patio.

“Could you hide ATM transactions from the camera using magic?” Tony asked

Stephen let out a low chuckle “Theoretically it’s possible. He’s good at glamours, he can shapeshift, I guess it’s possible. Do you know what level of magic he possesses?”

“Not really. He brought himself back from the dead using a toy wolf and a book my daughter could read if that’s any help.” Tony shrugged.

“And you are just telling me this now?” Stephen stared at Tony “He is at least a sorcerer, if not a mage.”

“Well aren’t you a master of magic or something?” 

“I’m a Master of the Mystic Arts, I’m a sorcerer. A high ranking sorcerer. If he is a mage we may have a few issues.”

“But he’s only been alive for a few months, so he’ll be pretty weak.” Tony countered.

“Hopefully. The sooner we find him, the better.” Stephen’s face was grim.

At that moment Rhodey and Happy showed up, Rhodey caught the expression on Stephen’s face and wondered what the problem was. 

Happy let everyone know that the car was ready to go as soon as they were. Tony waved everyone over and they headed out of the suite and he secured the patio doors behind them. They were soon heading out of Bournemouth and on their way to Winchester.

<<>>

Loki was grilling bacon, he had already buttered bread. Breakfast was going to be simple this morning as they were going swimming. He had broken a couple of eggs into a couple of tea cups ready to fry as soon as Engel showed up after her shower. He had found the bag that held the beach towels, he would add their swimming gear once they had washed up.

“Morning, Dada. Can I help?” Her damp hair hung loose about her shoulders.

“There’s nothing to do, angel. I’ve already set the table. I’ll just fry your egg and you can have your sandwich.” Loki slid one egg from the teacup into the frying pan and transferred a couple of slices of bacon from under the grill where it was keeping warm onto a slice of bread.  He took it across to the table for Engel and back in the kitchen he added his own egg to the pan. While it cooked he poured two glasses of milk and quickly put them on the table before he added his bacon to the bread that waited on his plate. As soon as his egg was cooked he added it to his bread and topped his sandwich with the other slice of bread and headed to the table. “Is that OK for you?”

“It’s good, Dada.” Engel chased a dribble of egg yolk down her chin with her tongue. Loki handed her a piece of kitchen roll trying hard not to laugh at how far she was trying to stretch her tongue. A damp muslin cloth would clean up anything she missed before they headed out. It was substantial enough to keep them going, but not too much for them as they were going swimming. 

Once they had cleared up they packed Engel’s swimming costume, her beach toys, ball and Loki’s swim shorts into the bag containing the beach towels. He felt a little self conscious carrying the brightly coloured bag at first, but then the feeling wore off by the time they reached the amphitheatre. They put the beach bag and Engel’s backpack together while they did three run-throughs of their forms and then headed along The Parade towards the beach. Loki stopped at a concession stand and picked up a couple of bottles of water for them. They reached the toilet block “Are you alright getting changed on your own, or do you want me to hold a towel up on the beach for you to get changed behind?”

“I’m almost seven, Dada. I can manage on my own.”  She gave him a look he couldn’t describe and took her costume from him and disappeared into the toilets.

Loki headed into the men’s toilets with the bag and changed in a cubicle into his swim shorts, carefully rolling up his dry clothes and tucking them in the bottom of the bag under the towels. He was back outside before Engel, but didn’t have to wait long for her. She handed him her clothes and he rolled them up and tucked them away too. They crossed the road, down the stairs and onto the sand. They headed up the beach away from the stairs and then dumped both the bag and Engel’s backpack against the wall. Loki pulled out her beach toys and the ball, then he put a simple spell on their things so no one could take anything.

They headed down the beach to the sea, paddling in the shallows at first, then wading further out before finally heading into deeper waters with a front crawl. They stayed close together. There were others out in the water too, this bay was safe for swimmers of all ages. The two of them frolicked in the water for ages alternately swimming and just larking about with lots of giggling going on. They eventually came out of the water and headed up the beach. Loki helped Engel build a sandcastle scouring the beach for shells, feathers and seaglass to decorate it with. The moat actually held water, there may have been a minor bit of seidr used there, but it would fade and the water would soak away naturally. They drank some of their water, then played catch with the ball. They were mostly dry by now and their castle was drawing some attention, so they finished their water and headed back to the toilets to get changed. “Dry yourself carefully, sweet girl, and get as much sand off as possible before you put your dry clothes on. Then wrap your costume up in your towel.”

“I know, Jack. I’m not a baby.” Loki looked at her wistfully, she was growing fast, and the more he taught her the less she relied on him. Precious moments like last night's cuddling session would become rarer as she grew older. He gave her a gentle nod and headed off to get changed himself. 

Once again he was out before her, his wet things tucked firmly at the bottom of the bag, her toys on the top. He threw their empty water bottles in the nearby rubbish bin and then she was there and he took her things from her and put them in the bag, shuffling everything about until the toys ended up on top. “I thought we could go to the bakery for lunch, or if they are busy we could try Earthlights.” They headed across Rempstone Road towards the bus station, then down Station Road towards the bakery. There were a couple of tables free and they snapped one up, Loki left the bag on one chair to show it was taken while they looked at what was on offer. He opted for a tuna salad wholemeal roll and a fresh cream strawberry tart, Engel had a ham salad granary bread sandwich and a fresh cream doughnut. They both opted for sparkling water to drink. As they ate he thought to himself how much good, simple food was available here. 

Food finished they headed over to Serendipity, a treasure trove for youngsters without much money to spend, and adults looking for decorative items in much the same position. They had never really explored in here and Loki knew Engel was itching to get into the depths of the shop which seemed to go on forever! “You can buy some things if you want to, but remember you want things in Candle World too. So maybe just use this as a scouting trip like we did in there and Corfe Bears. These are things you can afford with your own money though, so we won’t stop you.”

“I understand, Dada. And I won’t get lost, I promise!” Before he knew it she was off and into the depths of the shop as he was in the boring, more adult orientated area where they sold light pulls, door knobs and general decorative household bric-a-brac. There wouldn’t be any need for any of this stuff where they were going so Loki headed deeper into the shop, finding him in an area dedicated to the outside, full of windchimes, garden ornaments, outside lights, colourfull plant pots and citronella candles to stick in plant pots. Maybe he could put some herbs out on the balcony? He headed through another door and found himself back in the inside of the shop but in another part dedicated to decorative household objects such as mirrors, picture frames, glittery coasters, scented candles, wooden animal ornaments, the next door took him through to a big display of costume jewellery, seemingly endless necklaces, bracelets, rings, temporary tattoos, then cheap nail varnish, eyes shadows and other cosmetics, and finally he was in amongst a myriad of small toys. Engel was in the process of putting a purple and white paper bag in her backpack, she looked a little guilty as she zipped it up. “I bought a couple of things, Dada, but I didn’t spend very much, I promise.” 

“It’s your money, angel. That’s what we gave it to you for, we just want you to have the things you really want.” Loki took her hand. “We’ll go and spend some time on the pier and then head back to the apartment. I’ll work out what we’re going to do tomorrow.”

<<>>

Tony, Happy, Stephen and Rhodey gazed at the Round Table on the wall of The Great Hall. “So that’s what King Arthur and his knights sat around at Camelot. Maybe I should have one of those in my Tower for when I hold business meetings. What do you think, Platypus? Proper mindfuck or what?”

“You do know King Arthur and Camelot weren’t real, don’t you, Stark?” Stephen Strange asked him sardonically.

“I didn’t come here for a history lesson, although as Thor’s younger brother is over a thousand years old, maybe this whole thing is a history lesson. Who knows?” Tony turned his back on the round table and walked away, he was bored to tears. He had endured a cathedral already today, which although it looked different outside compared to Salisbury was probably the same inside, not that he would know, he hadn’t been inside either of them, why have a dog and bark yourself, that’s what Strange and the others were here for. They still had the statue to go and look at of some king or another, he didn’t really care, it was in his notes. He pulled out a hip flask and took a few sips of whisky to get him through the walk to the confounded thing. Once they had done that they were going to find a pub so he could get a burger and a few beers. This did not look like somewhere that Loki would settle, although it had history and transport links, shops too. It just didn’t feel right. But he’d get FRIDAY to keep an eye on it anyway.

They finally found the statue, hard to miss really if only Tony had been reading Google Maps correctly. He stood before it “Well, I was expecting something older really. I mean it’s not much over a century old is it?”

“Tone, you are impossible. Nothing today has impressed you, yet we are surrounded by some great ancient architecture. I sometimes think you have no soul.” Rhodey threw up his hands in exasperation.

“You sounded just like Pepper there.” Tony glared at his friend “Have you two been comparing notes?”

“Heaven forbid, we barely hold a civil conversation these days, she thinks I should have more control over you!”

“Can we just go and find a pub now, after all I am the one funding this mission!” No one had an answer to that. Happy opened up his Stark Phone and started typing furiously, then pointed up the street in front of them and they all started to follow him.

<<>>

Loki emptied the swimming bag and all its contents into the washing machine and put everything on to wash to get the sand and salt water out. He sat down with his sketch pad and a mug of tea and set out to finish what he had been doing the day before. Long slender fingers dipped into the tin of coloured pencils. Engel sat with her book reading quietly with her tea. She had unfastened her hair tie and loosened the braid with her fingers. Loki finished his tea and put the oven on, he tossed some ready chopped vegetables in olive oil and garlic and put them in a tray, then added a couple of thick pork chops to another tray after adding black pepper to them. Once the oven was hot he put everything in together. He would give everything twenty minutes, then turn the chops and add a sliced apple to them. When he came out of the small kitchen Engel was missing. He frowned, but her book was still on the sofa where she had left it, so she couldn’t be far away. His sketch book was as he had left it, so she hadn’t sneaked a peek. 

Engel came back into the room with one hand behind her back and slowly walked up to him “I have something for you, Dada.”

Loki looked up at her, blinking in confusion “For me?” Engel handed him a small wooden duck, about six inches in length, with a name tag around its neck on a piece of rough string ‘Henry’, it said. Loki handled the duck like it was the most precious thing in the world. “Thank you, my angel. He’s perfect. He can sit on the drawers in my new bedroom when we move.” Engel smiled at him and he kissed her on the cheek, the last thing he had expected her to do was to buy something for him in Serendipity. He thought he was going to cry, but fought the tears back, he didn’t want her to think he was upset, she wouldn’t understand the depth of the emotion that was filling him at the moment. “Do you want to see what I was drawing? I’ve finished it now.”

Engel nodded enthusiastically, and he opened his sketch pad at the second drawing to show her the Blue Pool, with its stunning colours, fringed by the beautiful wood with its trees clothed in many shades of green. “It’s beautiful, Dada. It’s like you could step into it!” Her face was full of awe. Loki smiled at her and ruffled her hair before he got up to see to their dinner. She got the hint and cleared the table, ready to set for whatever feast he had prepared for them. Loki pulled the remains of the strawberries out of the fridge to take the chill off them for after their dinner and put them to one side. He pulled the trays out of the oven and checked that the chops were cooked right through, the juices were clear. He dished them up and the cooked apple which had gone nice and soft, then piled the cooked vegetables onto their plates, the bigger portion went on his plate. He carried them over to the table, Engel poked the creamy white stuff and looked at him. “It’s just cooked apple. You like apples and according to my recipe book it goes with pork. Try it and if you don’t like it just leave it.” She put a little bit on her fork and tasted it. She didn’t pull a face, apparently it passed the taste test. He was happy to see her eating everything on her plate.

He cleared their plates away and poured the last of the cream over the strawberries and brought them to the table. “We’ll play Ludo tonight, and have some of our chocolate I think. I just need to look something up on my Kindle before we start so I can work out where we are going tomorrow.”

“OK, Dada. I like Ludo, I get to beat you sometimes.” She grinned at him, there was mischief sparkling in her eyes. She helped him with the washing up, and while he sat with his Kindle Fire she set the Ludo board up ready for their game. Henry the Duck sat at the back of the table overseeing the whole proceedings.

Loki searched for a stockist for Aveda to see if he could replenish their body wash and shampoo that they had brought from New York. If not, he would ask at the health food shop if they had something similar. “OK, angel. We are going to Poole tomorrow. Somewhere new to explore and I have a shop to find to do a little restock for us. We will need to get the early bus in the morning.” He shut down his Kindle and joined Engel at the table “You go first, sweet girl. We’ll play the first game then I’ll make us some hot chocolate.” 

While they drank their hot chocolate they ate a little of their chocolate and played another game. Engel won. “I think we need to buy some games for our new home, Dada.”

“I think you’re right. I like doing this at night. Maybe a few times a week we watch a film, the rest of the time we play a game. Now it’s time for you to get ready for bed. I’ll come through and read to you in ten minutes.”

<<>>

Tony and crew had eaten at Zizzi in Bournemouth, it was one of the places FRIDAY had identified that Engel and Loki had used from CCTV footage. There had been cocktails and beer for all, apart from Happy who would be driving the following day. Now there was more drinking going on in Tony’s suite. To be fair, most of it was being done by Tony himself.

“We have two choices where to go tomorrow.  We can go to Sandbanks, and cover the ground back to Bournemouth, some on foot, some in the car. Or we go to Swanage, which is another seaside town and another potential hiding place for our two fugitives. Thoughts anyone?”

“Why don’t we get the town out of the way first, then FRIDAY can monitor it?” Rhodey suggested.

“Is it a big place?” Stephen asked.

“Doesn’t really appear to be, main attraction for our two would be the beach. There are shops and eating places, but no historic places of interest as far as I can tell from the map. There’s a bus station and a railway station. Not much to it. “ Tony shrugged.

“Let’s get it out of the way then. I feel that they will be hiding somewhere within this city, or they’ve moved on completely from this area and we just haven’t found their tracks yet.” Rhodey commented.

“OK, Swanage tomorrow then. Breakfast at eight thirty in the morning. See you all then.” Everyone left the living area and headed out into the hallway. Tony poured himself another large whisky. “Anything new for me FRIDAY?” 

“No, Boss. I can find no signs that SHIELD are either funding or monitoring Loki, but I will keep digging. None of the places I am monitoring are showing any signs of new activity. No ATM activity. There has been no phone contact with the SHIELD agents on the numbers that I have access to. I will keep monitoring, Boss.”

“OK, FRIDAY.” Tony took a mouthful of his whisky as he headed into the bedroom. He could really do with JARVIS who was more capable of handling multitasks like this than FRIDAY who was still new to the game. But JARVIS was compromised which was why he had given him to SHIELD, because that was where his loyalties were leaning towards. He would have found Loki and Engel by now, because he liked them both and knew their likes and dislikes. FRIDAY was working on the information Tony could give her, he wasn’t as observant as JARVIS. He knocked back the rest of his whisky, stripped off and headed into the bathroom. Tomorrow was another chance to find them.

<<>>

Loki tossed and turned for awhile, for some reason he was restless tonight, Rhubarb sitting out of the way on his pillow. It was well after midnight when he finally managed to drift off and Rhubarb worked her way down to nuzzle against his neck.

Sleep deeply, you need to build your strength for all that is to come

He stood in a beautiful garden with a woman with dark gold hair, although she was seated he was still much shorter than her, she was teaching him how to find the core of his seidr. Her fingers gently pressed against a place below his rib cage as she got him to breathe in and out in a specific rhythm. “Well done, my magpie. I know you are wanting to do more exciting things, but if you get the basics right, they will stay with you for the whole of your life. If ever you are in a situation that causes you to panic, remember these simple techniques, they will help you gain control.”

“I will, Amma. Thank you.”

<<>>

Lore stood under the shower letting the conditioner rinse out of her hair while she pressed her fingers against the spot below her ribs that Frigga had shown them in their dream last night and found the breathing rhythm that their previous self had known from childhood. She felt something respond within her and slipped in the bath in shock. It had been the strangest sensation, like the flow of something warm spreading through her body, her yet not her, something that wanted to play. She switched the shower off and squeezed the water from her hair and wrapped it in her hand towel. Her breathing had switched to her normal pattern, and whatever was within her had quietened down, this seidr, it was more than they thought it was. Much more. More than pocket dimensions and simple glamours, this was something they needed to hide unless they were in danger. This was different to the runic spells within the book that Natasha had in safe keeping. Lore dried herself and headed into the bedroom to dress. She pulled out a pair of black jeans and on a whim changed their colour to dark blue denim, then she added her teal t-shirt, it was rapidly becoming one of her favourites. She woke Engel up before she went to make breakfast, they had an early bus to catch this morning and two lots of long hair to deal with!

Henry the Duck oversaw a breakfast of scrambled eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes and toast, with glasses of milk for both of them. After washing the dishes, Lore packed away their dry swimming gear that Loki had washed the day before, then she sat and braided Engel’s hair first, then her own. Lore grabbed their hats and Engel put on her butterfly backpack and they headed out. There were no forms today, they walked up past The Parade instead, turned past Brook Tea Rooms onto Station Road and carried on up to the bus station. They were one of the first in the queue for the Poole bus today, but that was deliberate. Lore was hoping they could get the front seat upstairs so they could see more of the countryside as they travelled. They were in luck. Most of the others were only going short distances and sat downstairs.

The bus drove up through the upper part of Swanage to a village called Kingston, which looked very pretty, then down into Corfe Castle, on past Furzebrook, to a town called Wareham which sat on the banks of a river. That looked like a place for future exploration. There was more open countryside, small villages, suburban areas and then they hit the outskirts of Poole and the edge of Poole harbour. The bus eventually came to its final stop at the bus station in Poole and they alighted to explore a whole new town. 

The exit from the bus station led straight into a shopping centre on two levels. Lots of small shops, a department store, M&S, Boots, Primark, Next and Beaverbrooks, coffee shops and then the outside world. There were a few more shops with names Lore was familiar with from Bournemouth, like Waterstones and W H Smith, then the railway station. This was a proper railway station, with real trains like Winchester and Bournemouth that headed into London. There was a bridge to take them across the line or they could just walk across. Lore was taking no chances with Engel, they used the bridge. There were even more shops on the other side of the railway line including a toy shop. Engel looked at Lore “We’ll look there on the way back. I’m sure they will have board games, my angel. I don’t want to carry stuff around with us all day though.”

“OK, Lauren, but will we be coming back this way?”

“It’s the only way to get back to the bus station as far as I know. I only had a quick glance at the map as I needed to track down a hairdressers salon that we need to visit. It’s somewhere off the Quay which is where we are headed now. And we will be having lunch down there as well.” They came to a division in the road, they could go straight ahead, left or right. Lore took them straight ahead and the shops started to change in character to mainly eating places amongst old characterful buildings. The road became cobbled, the pavements uneven. They kept following the road until it bent to the left and opened out onto the Quayside and part of Poole harbour. They could see the boatyard where the Sunseeker Yachts were made, and several of them passed them on their way to the open part of the harbour. In the distance they could see a tree covered island. 

There were bars and restaurants and cafes and gift shops all along the side of the road they were on, old warehouses that had been converted in some cases, original pubs with their Victorian tiled fronts still very much in evidence. It was a lively space, full of people, full of noise and colour. They stopped at The Quay pub to have lunch, eating tuna sandwiches with chips with apple juice to drink. Lunch over they found a leather warehouse to explore and bought a couple of handtooled keyrings, a wolf and an owl. 

They crossed over the road and walked along the quay itself for a while, and admired the modern apartment blocks that must have stunning views of the harbour. Lore spotted the hair salon that she needed to visit, it would be easy to find again. Meanwhile they carried on walking along the quayside. They came across a booth that was selling tickets for boat trips to Brownsea Island. Not something they could do today, but Lore picked up a leaflet and stuffed it in Engel’s backpack. Something they could do in the future. At the end of the quay was a park which seemed to carry on around a part of the harbour, they crossed the road at this point and found themselves outside a hotel which they ignored, then they were walking next to the apartments. 

It was a short walk back to the hair salon and they headed in. There were display stands of all the Aveda products as this was an Aveda salon, the young woman behind the desk asked if she could help. Lauren told her that she was after Rosemary and Mint products, two of each. The girl came across and showed her the appropriate section, they not only had the shower gel, shampoo and conditioner, but bars of soap as well. Lore asked for two of each and the girl picked them up and took them to the desk and rang them up for her. She then explained that the shampoo and conditioner both also came in one litre sizes, so when they needed more it would work out cheaper in the long run to get the bigger size. Lore paid for them and they were packed in an Aveda bag and the girl put some free samples inside for her. Lore thanked her very much and they headed out. Engel went to head back the way they had come along the quay and Lore shook her head. They headed instead along the side of the hair salon towards Poole Pottery to explore what was on offer there.

<<>>

Happy parked the car in the long stay car park off Rempstone Road. He let Tony know that he would pull into the car park by the bus station when it was close to time to leave to make it easier for them to find as it seemed to be fairly central. They all climbed out of the car and headed out to the centre of the town. The first thing that Rhodey noticed was the lack of CCTV as compared to Bournemouth, where it was much more prevalent. He pointed it out to Tony. 

“Thats weird, I wonder why.”

“Maybe it’s a low crime area, lots of elderly folk, families or something.” Rhodey shrugged. 

“FRIDAY, check for locations of CCTV on the streets. I know it will be in banks, and places like that.”

“Checking, Boss.”

They had reached the top of Station Road, and there was the bus station and the railway station, which was not in the least what Tony expected. It was very old fashioned. They had a little look around and Happy indicated roughly where he would park. There was a supermarket just yards away from the car park. The bus station only had a couple of stands as only two buses ran from here, one to Bournemouth, and one to Poole. They headed around to the railway station and Tony realised what was odd about it, it was a heritage line, it ran steam trains not normal trains. 

“Maybe we should split up?” Rhodey suggested. 

“Yeah, probably Platypus. How about you and Strange do the town and me and Happy take the seafront and we’ll meet you at the other end. There’s a pub called The White Swan, we’ll meet there, grab some lunch.”

“OK, we will see you there, Tone. Come on, Stephen. Should we each take one side of the road or do both sides together.”

“We’ll each take one side, we both know who we are looking for, that way we won’t get distracted by talking. I’ll meet you at the end of the road.” Strange waved his hand roughly in the direction they were going to head. “I’ll take the left hand side, you can take the right hand side,.” With that Strange was off, Rhodey looked at him and gave a slight shake of his head, Strange by name, strange by nature. Rhodey crossed the road from the car park to the Post Office and started his check of the shops from there. 

Stephen Strange meanwhile had crossed at the other traffic lights nearest the railway station, and ended up at Miles & Co, if he had peered inside he would have seen Mark Miles showing brochures to a potential client, but instead he had his eyes on the street ahead and the array of shops and pavement in front of him. Eyes peeled for a little girl with dark brown hair and either a tall woman with black hair, or a tall young man with floppy light brown hair and glasses. 

Tony and Happy ambled along the promenade keeping an eye on the beach, they had coffee cups in their hands. Every little girl with long brown hair was scrutinized, it was surprising no one called the police! But none of them were Engel. They stopped at the Brook Tea Rooms and had another coffee before they headed around The Parade. There was nobody answering Engel’s description in the amusement arcade next to the Lifeboat Station either. They walked as far as the pier, past the little casual eateries, then crossed the road. Tony frowned at the strange sight of what looked like an amphitheatre with Grecian columns at the bottom of a green hill. He shook his head. The English were bizarre, tiny houses, ancient buildings, weird food. Not everywhere sold cheeseburgers and fries! They used their cutlery oddly. And their Coca Cola tasted different. They reached The White Swan, it was an old pub, what a surprise, everything was old around here!

Happy headed to the bar while Tony found them a seat near the back of the pub that afforded them some privacy. The beer when it arrived was warmer than it would be in New York, Tony would be glad when he was back home. The sooner these two were back in his hands the better. They didn’t have long to wait until they were joined by Strange and Rhodey who hadn’t seen any sign of their quarry either. Happy fetched drinks for them and menus. 

<<>>

Poole Pottery was not what Lore had expected. It was more of a shop than a pottery, but it was still quite interesting to look around. The soft toys drew Engel’s attention and Lore said she could have something, but she would have less to spend on her birthday at Corfe Bears. Engel shook her head and said she would rather wait. They followed the street around until they ended up back on the main road that they had originally walked down before the road had divided into three. “We’ll go and look in the toy shop and see what we can find.” Lore said as they headed back up towards the main shopping area. They soon found it and headed in. Lore had her hands full trying to keep Engel on track, there was far too much temptation for a little girl in there, including Lego sets. 

There was a huge selection of board games available, Lore was going to pick up Ludo when she saw something called a Compendium. She read the back carefully, there were lots of different games in there with their rules, including Ludo. They could learn some new games using this! Lore took it to the cashier and paid for it. It was packed into a large carrier bag for her. They kept walking up towards the railway station, on their left hand side there was a shop selling bedding and curtains. Lore stopped and had a quick look inside, they had bundles of white face cloths on sale, she bought a couple, they would be better than the muslin cloths they were currently using. She could wash them and get them dry before they were due to move. 

They headed through the shopping centre and into the bus station. There was a queue already building, with fifteen minutes still to wait. The bus pulled in five minutes before it was due to depart, they were the only ones upstairs initially and Lore took advantage of that to vanish the games compendium into her pocket dimension. One thing less to carry. Her timing was perfect as she heard footsteps on the bus’s stairs. Engel rummaged in her backpack and pulled out the leaflet that they had picked up on the quayside. They read it together as the bus travelled through the suburbs of Poole. Brownsea Island was a Nature Reserve owned by the National Trust and was the home of red squirrels. Parent and child looked at each other “There are red squiggles?” Engel said.

“Apparently. I think we must visit this place and take them some nuts.” Lore winked at her daughter. “Perhaps we can do it just after your birthday. We can stay overnight in a hotel as we cannot get here early enough for the boat, so it would be a special treat.”

“I would love that! That would be the best birthday present ever!” Engel kissed Lore on the cheek and read through the leaflet yet again before she put it back in her pack. 

The journey back seemed to take less time than the journey to Poole, probably because they recognised the places they were seeing this time. They soon pulled into Swanage bus station where they put their hats back on and crossed the car park into the supermarket.

<<>>

They had all had several beers apart from Happy, who was drinking coffee alternately with water. After he settled the bill he told Tony he would pull the car into the bus station car park while they finished their drinks and sit and wait for them there. 

Tony, Rhodey and Stephen took a slow walk back up to the bus station, stopping at the Off Licence where Tony stopped and purchased a couple of bottles of Malt Whisky. They crossed the road by the Post Office and spotted Happy sitting in the car just as a bus pulled into the station. Tony got into the front with Happy, Rhodey and Stephen sat in the back. While they fastened their seat belts a tall young woman and a little girl wearing floppy sun hats walked behind the car and into the supermarket. No one noticed.

<<>>

Lore picked up some fresh tortellini, tomato and mascarpone sauce and garlic bread. That would be a nice simple dinner for them with a small side salad. She added ready-made tiramisu to the basket and fresh raspberries. Then she added a few bits for breakfast for tomorrow, they would eat out Friday and Saturday mornings to keep things simple. They had enough bread for tomorrow morning, but she added milk to the basket, they went through lots of it. They went through the checkout and Lore packed everything away in the carrier bag she had in her jeans pocket, or at least that's where it seemed to come from! They walked slowly home, not noticing the car in the car park, nor were they noticed by the occupants. And as luck would have it the CCTV at the bus station that covered the car park was waiting to be repaired! So that was twice they had passed by their hunters and not been seen, lady luck was on their side for the moment at least.

The friendly man was in the secondhand bookstore, so they gave him a wave in passing and carried on down to the bakery and picked up a granary loaf which they sliced for Lore on their machine. They were soon back in The Studio. “Right, angel. We have an easy dinner tonight with not much washing up. Afterwards we will change into our pyjamas straight away before we play Ludo so I can wash our clothes and they can dry overnight. Tomorrow afternoon we pack as much as we can.”

“OK, Dada. Do you need any help?”

“You can take the labels off the face cloths if you like. Be careful you don’t cut yourself.” Lore handed Engel the face cloths they had just bought and the kitchen scissors, much safer than the dagger she would usually use! Engel started on the small pile before her, there were eight in total.

Lore sorted out the rest of the clothes from the bedroom and put them in the washing machine, she would add what they were wearing once they had eaten and changed. Now she read the instructions on the packets she had bought, everything was straight forward. She put the oven on to warm up to heat the garlic bread. While it did its thing she carefully cleaned the raspberries and put them into two bowls and set them to one side. The tiramisu was chilling in the fridge.  She cooked the tortellini according to the instructions and while it cooked she warmed up the sauce and heated the garlic bread in the oven. Engel had finished the face cloths and was now setting the table. Lore drained the pasta and added it to the sauce and turned it down low to keep it hot while she put the garlic bread onto a plate and carried it over to the table. She smiled at Henry the Duck, “We mustn’t forget to take Henry, angel.”

“I won’t forget him, Dada.” Engel smiled sweetly at her, then Lore headed back to the cooker and dished up the pasta and sauce. They both helped themselves to garlic bread and salad, it was a cobbled together meal but tasty. Lore cleared the plates away, made tea for them both and dished up half of the tiramisu between them with the raspberries. It had a small amount of alcohol in it, but she deemed it safe enough for Engel to eat. It was flavourful, they both liked it, and there was some for the following night. 

They washed the dishes and changed into their clean pyjamas. Lore finished loading everything into the washing machine and started it off. She put the clothes horse up in the bedroom and took some hangers out of the wardrobe to put blouses and shirts on. She would hang their pyjamas and anything else she could outside. Nobody would notice her nipping out to the line in her nightwear!

Engel set the Ludo board up and Lore got everything ready to make them hot chocolate once she had everything hung up to dry. It was only a thirty minute programme, everything just needed freshening up, nothing was dirty. As soon as the machine stopped she took the big stuff and put it in the bowl and took it outside and pegged as much as she could on the line. She came back inside and locked the door. The shirts and blouses went on hangers and she hung them on the door handles for the time being while she dealt with everything else. Then she hung the things on hangers from the remaining spaces on the clothes horse. Finally she made their hot chocolate and they sat down for their game of Ludo, nibbling on a little bit of their chocolate later on.

Lore read a chapter of the Weirdstone of Brisingamen to Engel before she tucked her in for the night. She read part of Six of Crows before she called it a night herself. Tomorrow they needed to get some detergent so they could replace the soap pods they had used. They probably didn’t need to, but she felt it was the right thing to do. She stretched and headed off to bed. She snuggled down with Rhubarb cuddled in against her.

Remember to explore everywhere, Loki. There are things hidden you have yet to find…

He sat at the desk in the room that was going to be part of his grown up quarters. It felt lonely being without his brother, but their father had determined that the two princes were now old enough to have their own rooms. Loki thought that Thor might be, but he wasn’t sure he was. These rooms felt big, echoey and strange. He opened his black leather journal at a fresh page and dipped his quill in ink and carefully wrote in runic script what he had discovered that day while exploring the servants tunnels. He described his route precisely and everything he had seen along the way. Which door led to which chamber, and what was going to be useful in the future. He then drew a little map, labelling everything. Once the ink was dry he wrapped the leather cord securely around his journal and tucked it away in his pocket dimension to keep it from prying eyes.

<<>>

Tony and his team arrived back in Bournemouth and camped out in the Garden Suite to discuss what they had found so far. Their best bets were Bournemouth at the top of the list, Salisbury second, and Swanage third, so far. Tony had instructed FRIDAY to keep a check on Swanage and hoped he wasn’t overloading his young AI, she was on a steep learning curve, but he had high hopes for her.

He opened one of the bottles of malt whisky he had bought in Swanage and poured everyone a glass, it was a Talisker 10 Year Old, even Happy indulged as he wouldn’t be driving tonight. “Any news for us FRIDAY?”

“No sightings in Salisbury, Bournemouth or Swanage today, Boss. There was a sighting of the young man and Engel on Sunday at a restaurant in Swanage called Salt Pig Too. I will display what I have.” The footage was nothing exciting, just occasional glimpses of Jack and Engel having lunch and dessert as the camera flicked around the room. They didn’t seem like regulars, they didn’t have coats, but then again it was summer and pretty warm and dry, so that told them nothing either. 

“Thanks, FRIDAY. That’s quite helpful. Now guys, I thought we would eat at The Real Greek tonight. They ate there several times, so it’s possibly somewhere they would return to. Happy, can you book us a table, I don’t mind what time we eat. Just get us in, bribe if you have to!”

Happy wandered out to the patio with his Stark Phone, he was gone for about ten minutes, during which time Tony managed to down another glass of whisky. “We have a table booked for eight o’clock, Boss. It’s about a twenty minute walk from here through the gardens. There are a couple of bars nearby if you want to head out earlier.”

“Yeah, I think that sounds good. Guys, if you want to get anything from your rooms do it now and be back down here in, say…twenty minutes.”

Tony poured himself another whisky and took it into the bathroom where he splashed water on his face and followed it with a touch of cologne. A mouthful of whisky was followed by a quick flick of the comb through his hair. That would do. He swilled another mouthful of whisky around his mouth as if it was mouthwash, but didn’t spit it out, he swallowed it. 

He soon heard a voice through in the living area and realised that Rhodey was back downstairs. As he headed back through the bedroom he realised his clean laundry was laid out on the bottom of his bed. He guessed he should put it away before they went out. He quickly stuffed everything in the drawers and wardrobe before he headed back into the living room. Rhodey was no longer alone, Happy and Strange had joined him. 

“OK, now we are all here I suppose we might as well head out. Happy, lead the way as you seem to know where these bars are.” 

They had several drinks at The Moon in the Square, where the cocktails were incredibly cheap and then headed over to The Real Greek where they proceeded to order virtually everything on the menu along with lots of Mythos beer and sparkling water for Happy. The food was really good, and they were sitting out on the balcony overlooking the gardens, so the view was well worth seeing. There was a hot air balloon tethered out in the gardens, Tony wondered if his daughter had been up in that, he wouldn’t put it past her! She was adventurous like her old man, all her negative traits came from her mother apart from her looks of course!

The waiter cleared their plates and they ordered desserts and brandies, Metaxa of course, apart from poor Happy who had to settle for a decaffeinated coffee. “I thought we would split up tomorrow. Happy will take me around some of the suburbs while you two walk from Sandbanks to Bournemouth along the promenade. We know they did that walk, we have plenty of sightings of them. See if there is anywhere along there that could act as a hideout for them, and we’ll look from the roads.” The waiter arrived with their desserts and drinks. “Hey, do you know if there’s any housing or stuff around Hengistbury Head?”

“Of course, it’s near Southbourne, about a quarter to half a mile walk or so. It’s quite a busy area.”

“Thanks, dude. You’ve just earned yourself a good tip.”

“I guess we are going to have to look at Southbourne then. I’d hoped it was just a nature reserve, but apparently not. No stone left unturned. We may need to extend our stay, I’m glad the hotel does laundry!” Tony raised his glass to his companions, Rhodey hoped this wasn’t going to take much longer otherwise he was going to have to extend his leave of absence.

Chapter Text

Since you’ve been gone, I’ve been lost without a trace

I dream at night, I can only see your face

I look around, but it’s you I can’t replace

I feel so cold, and I long for your embrace

I keep crying, baby, baby, please

As Loki prepared the breakfast his thoughts dwelt on his dream of the night before. Did the journal his young self had written in still exist, and was it in his pocket dimension? He remembered emptying stuff out of it onto the floor what seemed a lifetime ago, but he hadn’t taken everything out because he had limited space to spread everything out, and he had become a little distracted by the coins and gemstones. When they moved he would dig further into the space and see if there were books, especially the journal. He sliced mushrooms and gently softened them in some butter, he heard the shower switch off. Engel wouldn’t be long. He added the chopped tomatoes to the pan and let them heat through, then put two slices of bread in the toaster ready for Engel to make the toast. He beat the eggs in the jug again and poured the mix into the pan on top of the mushrooms and tomatoes. 

Engel came through dressed in her shorts and white blouse, damp hair hanging loose. She set the toast off and laid the table “Where are we going today, Dada?”

“We are getting the Bournemouth bus to Shell Beach, just before the chain ferry and we are going to walk as far as Old Harry Rocks along the coast, then we will come back to the main road at Studland and get the bus back home. We’ll grab a sandwich while we are out then pack up as much stuff as we can this afternoon. I thought we could eat at The Red Lion tonight or that little Italian place we haven’t tried yet, they do pizza I think.

“Oh, pizza would be good, Dada!” Engel buttered the first lot of toast while Loki added some grated cheese to the large omelette he was making. She set off another couple of slices of bread and poured out two glasses of milk. She then buttered the remaining slices of toast and put the plate on the table. Loki smiled at her, she was such a good girl. 

He plated up the omelette, most of it for himself and carried both plates to the table “Be careful, sweet girl, the tomatoes and mushrooms are really hot.” Engel nodded at him and ate a piece of toast first. 

While Engel dried their dishes, Loki went down to the garden and took in the dry clothes. He laid them on the sofa while he quickly made their bed, then he folded the clothes up and put them on the bed for later. He was aware they were neglecting their forms, correction…he was neglecting his forms. He would sort that out next week, less early buses, or they would practice later in the day if they had to. 

“Engel, come and get your hair done and then we need to go for the bus.” She sat down on a chair at the table while Loki patiently plaited her hair and fastened it with a couple of butterfly ties. “Hat on, and lets head out.”

Engel pulled on her backpack and her hat and they headed out for the bus station. This was such a familiar route for them now, but Engel still held tight to Loki’s hand whenever they crossed a road. The Bournemouth bus was pretty busy, but they got a seat downstairs and they weren’t going that far. When they reached the chain ferry they got off, Shell Beach was just across the road, it was National Trust Land. The beach itself was wide and shallow, and it was whiter in colour than the beach in Swanage due to the pulverised shells that gave it its name. They walked on it for a short way, Loki consulting the leaflet that he had picked up from the information centre and watched carefully for the track they needed on the right hand side. It was quite narrow and hidden within the heather covered downs. His sharp eyes spotted it and he gently steered Engel towards it. 

They walked quite a way down this narrow path before other narrow paths joined it and it widened out more and shrubby trees appeared along with a sign that stated ‘Heather Walk’. He inwardly heaved a sigh of relief, they were definitely heading the right way. All around them was the hardy plant with its delicate bell shaped flowers in various shades of pink. The only sounds to be heard were the buzzing of bees and the cries of the seabirds. “It’s very pretty, Dada. But where are we going?” Engel tugged at Loki’s t-shirt.

“Wait and see, angel. You won’t be disappointed, at least not if the photographs in this leaflet are anything to go by.” Loki smiled at her. He knew what lay at the end of this path, they could get there by other ways, but this way was so pretty at this time of year, a sea of pinks and heady fragrance. 

The heathers eventually started to become more sparse and gave way to grass as the ground opened up before them and the path widened out and headed towards the sea. They had been moving uphill without even realising it, as it had been so gradual. They were now walking out on open grassland towards the clifftops and open sea in front of them, and in the distance were stacks of white rocks out to sea as high as the cliffs they were walking on “Old Harry Rocks” Loki told Engel, whose eyes were wide in wonder at the sight in front of her “That’s where we are heading.”

<<>>

Tony and the gang had breakfasted at their leisure and left more laundry for the hotel to deal with. Happy drove them to Southbourne and they stopped and wandered slowly around the suburb. It would be a good place to hide out, Tony thought. There were plenty of houses and apartments, shops, cafes and it was very close to the beach and sea. 

Back in the car they drove out to Hengistbury Head and Tony contacted FRIDAY “Add Southbourne to your list of places to keep tabs on, FRIDAY. Anything to report?”

“Nothing new, Boss.”

“OK, keep looking.”

“Fuck, they seem to have found themselves somewhere to go to ground with the least possible amount of CCTV. We’ll stop at the cafe here and have coffee and then head back to Bournemouth, unless any of you fancy having a wander around this wilderness?”

“Nope, coffee and back to civilisation suits me fine.” Stephen gave a wry smile.

<<>>

Loki held Engel’s hand tightly as they got closer to the edge of the cliff. It was quite windy the closer they got. The rocks themselves were magnificent, once part of the cliffs they were standing on, they had been eroded over the years by the sea and the weather to form the impressive shaped columns they were today, Seabirds flew in and around the columns in a lazy fashion, and as they cautiously peered over the edge they could see the waves crashing against the base of them. Engel clung to Loki’s t-shirt with her free hand, it was quite scary looking over the edge when you were only little. 

“OK, angel. I think it’s time we got away from the edge now and made our way to the main road. Did you like that?”

“Yes, Dada. It was scary, but beautiful.” Engel loosened her hold on his t-shirt and gave him a sweet smile. If Tony had seen that smile he would have recognised it, it belonged to her mother one hundred percent. She kept hold of his hand as they walked across swathes of grassland until they eventually reached the main road, and then they walked along the left hand side of the road until they reached the bus stop and Loki checked the timetable. They had almost half an hour to wait.

“Can you walk a little further?” he asked her “Or do you want me to carry you?”

“I’m good, Dada.” She replied gamely, she was tired, but not so bad that she couldn't go further.

“Just to the next stop, angel. It makes more sense than standing here.” They carried on, and at the next stop there was a small village and a little shop. He bought them some water and they stood at the bus stop quenching their thirst. When Loki saw the bus coming he put his hand out and it stopped. Engel went upstairs and he paid their fares and then followed her. The bus wound its way through the twisty roads to Swanage and they aligned at the bus station. 

It was quite late when they got off the bus so they had no difficulty getting a seat in the bakery to have sandwiches, cake and a very welcome cup of tea for Loki and a coke for Engel. As he ate and drank he could taste the salt on his skin, a face wash was in order for each of them as soon as they got in, then they would pack everything they wouldn’t need for the next couple of days. He made sure they didn’t rush their lunch - there was no need to, they only had clothes and a few books and other odds and ends. He had stuff in his pocket dimension, but that would be explored in their new home. He checked that Engel had had enough to eat and drink before they left the bakers and then they made their way back to The Studio. 

As he unlocked the door to their temporary home a wave of emotion hit him. This little cosy place had been good to them over the last few weeks and he would miss it. It was cosy, sunny and welcoming, but above all they had felt safe here. He spontaneously hugged Engel and she looked at him in surprise. “OK, angel, I want you to put on the bed everything you are not going to use in the next two days. Then go and get your face washed as you are all salty! I’m going to get washed now, then I’ll start on my things.”

“OK, Dada.” Engel headed to her part of the chest of drawers and started taking out what she wasn’t going to use and piled it up on her side of the bed. It wasn’t really that much when you looked at it. Meanwhile Loki washed the salt off his face and patted it dry. That was better! He went back into the bedroom and joined Engel, as she had finished with the drawers and was now in the wardrobe, he started in the drawers. He only had one issue, what if he switched into Lore in the next two days? He left one set of clothes out for Lore just in case. 

He weighed up what was on the bed and took out one of their small cases. He packed the lightest things in first, and then filled the remaining space with as many of Engel’s clothes as he could. What was left went into a large carrier bag and got tucked into his pocket dimension. Their games, books, DVDs and drawing materials went into another carrier bag and got tucked away as well. The Studio was starting to look more like it had when they arrived. He glanced around the living room, Henry was still sitting on the table, and his Father’s Day card was on the windowsill. They would get packed last, he wanted to have them on display for as long as possible. The beach bag with all its contents was hanging on the hooks in the hallway so he went and took it down. Engel followed him “Are we not going to the beach anymore, Dada?” her face full of sorrow.

“Not for the next few days, sweet girl. If it is dry on Monday we will go then. But we will be buying you some pretty things for your new bedroom, including your butterfly lights. And we will be eating out a lot as well. We'll visit the candle shop, Serendipity and Rainbow’s End Too. And we will go and collect your books from the nice book seller.” Loki vanished the bag into his pocket dimension. He hugged Engel “I promise you, we will soon be back on the beach, swimming and making sandcastles.”

“And the bear shop, Dada?” His little girl gazed up at him with eyes that were hard to resist.

“And the bear shop, so that you can choose your birthday present. And I think that next time Lore is about you two should go on a shopping trip to Bournemouth and choose something pretty to wear for your birthday too. I will make sure you share the day with Lore, she bore you, we raised you. I get to spend the most time with you. Decide what you would like to do on the day, angel.”

“I will, Dada. I wish I could spend the day with both of you though.”

“You do, really. It’s just that only one of us is physically present. I suppose I could create a duplicate, but it would be unsubstantial, you couldn’t interact with it, so it wouldn’t really be much fun.” Engel hugged him tightly, resting her head against his firm belly, he returned her hug. “I’m going to empty the rubbish so we have less to do on Saturday. Just sit and read your book until it’s time for us to go out. I won’t be long.”

<<>>

Tony and the team were frustrated. They sat in the Garden Suite drinking beer discussing the way forward. They were left with Sandbanks and the outlying suburbs of Bournemouth, and the city itself, which was a big prospect. Tony thought they may need longer than a week, Rhodey contacted his superior officer to see if he could extend his leave of absence by a further week or more. They allowed him three weeks maximum unless something of great import came up when he would be required to return to duty immediately. Rhodey agreed, letting them know he had the War Machine suit with him, so would be available for duty as and when required.

Stephen had no problems with Wong, who just confirmed that if Strange needed any assistance he would be there as soon as possible and that everything was still in position in the basement of Bleecker Street.

They wandered along to the pizzeria at the top of the Winter Gardens, but unlike Loki and Engel sat inside as Happy had booked a table. The pizzas were good, and the wine flowed freely, except for poor Happy, who yet again was drinking water and soft drinks, for tomorrow he would be driving again. He would be driving everyone to Sandbanks, Rhodey and Strange would be walking back to Bournemouth. Happy and Tony would drive back, checking out the small outlying suburbs, getting FRIDAY to keep an eye on the ones that seemed to be likely suspects.

They opted for desserts and brandy to follow. It wasn’t far to stagger back to The Nici.

<<>>

Loki and Engel walked over to the Italian restaurant close to Candle World. It was bigger on the inside than it looked on the outside.  Red gingham tablecloths adorned the tables, a little cliched, but Loki was not aware of that. They chose to sit next to the window, it was quiet as it was early evening, most people didn’t eat this early. He knew Engel would want a pizza, she had been raised by Tony Stark for the last two years. Loki liked pizza too, but not every week, or more frequently! He settled for fettuccine with lobster in a tomato and cream sauce, it was on the ‘specials’ board, he would add a side salad in the hope that Engel would eat some of it too. She sighed “What’s the matter, angel?”

“They don’t have pepperoni.”

“I don’t think that is an Italian topping, sweet girl, but they have one with Italian spicy sausage, I think you would like that.”

“OK, Jack. I’ll try that.” She sat back in her chair as the waiter came over and Loki placed their order. He added a bottle of Peroni for himself and a coke for Engel. Their drinks came quickly and they nibbled on breadsticks while they waited for their food. When it did arrive it was piping hot and Engel ate a little of the nicely dressed salad while she waited for her pizza to cool a little. For someone who had wanted pepperoni the Italian spicy sausage met with a thumbs up. They opted for dessert, and Engel of course wanted ice cream, the waiter explained about something special they had on the menu called ‘cassata’ that he promised the little girl would fill her with delight. Loki laughed, and ordered Tiramisu for himself.

The cassata arrived, and it was a dessert of pretty coloured layers. Engel’s eyes were wide as she tasted it “Yummy, Jack!”

“Good, angel. So is this. Much nicer than the one we had the other day. I guess this place will go on our favourites list then?”

“Yes! I may try some of the other pizzas.”

“High praise indeed!” Loki grinned at his daughter who still had some of her dessert to finish. The moodiness of earlier in the day was gone and forgotten, thank goodness.

<<>>

Tony had weighed up the bottles of alcohol in the bar area of his room when they had made it back to The Nici. The others had headed off to their rooms, and Tony sat on his own nursing the bottle of Brandy he had finally decided on. Tomorrow after breakfast they would check out the map once more and decide which areas to explore in the car, while Rhodey and Stephen walked back to Bournemouth. They would be scouting out to see if there were any areas near the sea that needed further investigation. He reckoned two days should see this search completed. Then there would be the rest of the city. He sighed and staggered through to the bedroom where he stripped off dropping his clothes on the chair near the patio doors, luckily he had closed the curtains earlier before they had gone out. He fell onto the bed and soon was in the drunken coma that constituted sleep in Tony’s world.

As he drooled on the pillow he dreamt. Lying next to him with her back to him was the slender form of his heart’s desire. Her long black hair lay on the pillow leaving the pale skin of her back and exposed shoulder bare. The sheet was pooled down around her slim waist. In his dream he couldn’t resist kissing her spine. He felt her stir at the touch of his lips, and she turned towards him and he stared in horror as she flickered from female to male rapidly. Tony woke up screaming in a cold sweat and stumbled into the bathroom where he managed to reach the toilet before he parted with the contents of his stomach. He sat shivering on the bathroom floor. What had brought that on? Was it the brandy? He usually predominantly drank whisky, sometimes he mixed the two, or was it just the shock of seeing Lore transferring from one form to another, or how little facial difference there had been between the two of them? He groaned and pushed himself onto his feet and rinsed out his mouth before he flushed the toilet. He made his way into the living room and slipped a pod into the coffee machine and made himself a hot drink. It was still dark outside, not yet dawn. He drank the hot liquid, it removed the cruddy taste from his mouth. 

He had had many dreams of Lore before, none of them like this. All of them were intimate, after all he was a playboy and had a reputation to uphold. But for her he would stop chasing other women, and he was prepared to promise her that, in return for a promise of her own - there would be no more Loki. He glanced at his watch, it was just after 3am. Fuck! Far too early to be up. He drained the last of the coffee and headed back to bed, hopefully to sleep with no more disturbing dreams!

<<>>

As Loki fell asleep with Rhubarb in his arms he could still taste the hot chocolate from earlier in his mouth. He had checked their supplies after Engel had gone to bed, they needed more milk and Saturday breakfast would be a small one or they could eat out. They had to be out of here by 10 am. As they only had one case they could drop the case off at The Parade and have a substantial breakfast at Beavers or Brook Tea Rooms. He had a small collection of cleaning materials to start them off and replenish the stuff they had used here. He had tried reading, but couldn’t really concentrate, so an early night was on the cards. He had listened to Engel’s soft breathing, slow and rhythmic and tried to match his own to hers. It had worked beautifully.

Remember the chocolate…

The fabric of the wrap dress felt good against her skin, the champagne had heightening her senses, she was aware of everything, every slight sensation. The food had been good, and she was enjoying the conversation, very aware that Tony was determined to get her into his bed. Two could play at that game, she had all of Loki’s knowledge of seduction at her fingertips and applied it very subtly. She knew exactly what men liked, and she played to the man in front of her. When the chocolates came out he declined them and offered them to her, she accepted them, and made a show of how she ate them. Tony couldn’t get her upstairs to his suite quick enough. But nothing her male self had come across prepared her for what it had felt like to be taken, because this was their first time in this form. And when Tony had fallen asleep she had hurried back to her room scared in case she fell asleep and changed back into her normal form, that would have been a complete disaster.

<<>>

Rhodey looked at Tony as they ate breakfast “Hangover, Tone?”

“No, just trouble sleeping. The sooner I get this business put behind me the better. Then I’ll sleep like a baby, safe and sound in my Tower.”

Happy joined in the conversation “I thought we could head out at ten this morning, it’s not too far to Sandbanks, and we can drop James and Stephen off there for their walk back. We can have a look around there Boss before we head onto the next suburb. Although I think that technically Sandbanks is part of Poole.”

“Thanks for the Geography lesson, Happy. I really needed that this morning. Just stick with the plan folks, stick with the plan. And if you spot our quarry, don’t try and apprehend just yet. We need to do that off the street, track down where they are living if possible and we can monitor via FRIDAY.”

The four finished their breakfasts and on returning to their rooms found their clean laundry which they had time to put away before they met up in the Garden Suite. Tony sat in the front seat next to Happy, after all he was going to be staying in the car, Rhodey and Strange piled into the back. It was an interesting drive through some pretty expensive looking areas. And they finally reached the part of Sandbanks that Loki and Engel had been spotted in. And wow! Straight in front of them was an apartment block that was gated, this was a high income area. Tony doubted very much whether Asgard’s fallen prince could afford to live around here. The shops and cafes looked pretty upmarket as well. They dropped Strange and Rhodey off and left them to work out their own route, it shouldn’t be difficult, the sea was hard to miss and Bournemouth was off to the East, easy! Tony and Happy had the hard job, lots of suburbs to check, starting with this one.

Happy turned the car by the chain ferry and drove back the way they came, taking the first turning on the left. “I thought we might as well check out Sandbanks while we are here, Boss.”

“You mean there is more than this?” Tony peered over the top of his sunglasses. Indeed there was. Sandbanks turned out to be a narrow spit of land that ran alongside Poole Harbour, with a lot of very expensive apartments and exclusive houses. They drove from one end to the other, and up the hill at the other end where a huge plot of land had been cleared and building work was going on. Tony was typing instructions to FRIDAY, but also checking information on the internet “Huh! Its nickname is Millionaires Row, it’s the most expensive piece of real estate in the UK outside of London. I doubt they will be here, but I’ve got FRIDAY checking just in case.”

Stephen and Rhodey walked along the main road until they found the way through to the beach. Little realising they were doing exactly what Loki and Engel had done. Bournemouth was nowhere in sight, they headed off in the right direction, looking cautiously at the beachfront properties most of which seemed to be occupied by families so not an option. The promenade seemed to be well served by places to get food, drinks and toilet facilities. They walked on confident that this would be an easy task.

<<>>

Loki had made them a big omelette for breakfast, it used up most of the food left in the fridge apart from milk and butter. “We need to get more milk today for our hot chocolate tonight. Don’t let me forget, we can get it after we pick the keys up this afternoon.”

“Yes, Dada. I’m really excited, are you?”

“Of course, this place has been nice, but knowing we have somewhere for six months means we can relax more. When we’ve washed up, I thought we could go and do our forms in the amphitheatre and walk either to Ulwell or up to Durlston.”

“Can we go to Durlston and see if we can see squiggles? We don’t need to go as far as the lighthouse.”

“OK, we will only go as far as the castle, check if you still have nuts in your backpack. We need to go and pick the keys up after three thirty, and I want us to have lunch as well, so we won’t be lingering.” Breakfast finished they washed the dishes and while Engel put them away Loki got rid of the rubbish from their breakfast and the last bit of food they had left in the fridge. As soon as he was back in the apartment Engel let him know she had a handful of nuts left.

Loki felt a bit rusty doing his forms, although it hadn’t really been that long. He performed three full run throughs and Engel did her best, then she hoisted her backpack onto her shoulders and they headed up the hill and the walk to Durlston Country Park. They made better time as they knew the route now, but they still stopped to take in the view every now and again. They walked as far as the castle, then down the side to the stone globe, which was still as fascinating as the first time they laid eyes on it. They wandered around it yet again, viewing Midgard in a very different form, then headed back up the hill and into the woods. 

Loki noticed as he walked that the leaves on the trees were different to the last time they had been here, they had started to change colour from green to various shades of yellow, orange and even red. It was fairly subtle but it was there. The season was starting to change and soon it would be Engel’s birthday. A vague memory came to him of fetching a brace of rabbits from the woods at his mothers retreat at Vanaheim, he was in Lore’s body and his centre of balance was ungainly to say the least due to the very large belly in front of him. He shook his head slightly, it was rare to get a memory during his waking hours. It had been shaken loose by the trees, which were getting their autumn colours when Engel was born, all except the fir trees, of which there were a lot.

“Are you alright, Dada?” Engel looked very concerned.

 “I’m fine, sweet girl. Just a jolt of memory, a good one.” He smiled down on her. “Why don’t we find a clearing and put down some of your almonds and wait very quietly and see what happens?”  They walked a little way further and found an area where some tree stumps had been turned into seats. They sat down and Engel threw some of her nuts away from them and they sat patiently and waited. Eventually they were rewarded when a grey shape made its way down the trunk of a tree and across the grass to the closest nut. It sat watching, whiskers twitching until it determined they were no threat, then it grasped the nut in its paws and began to nibble on it. Confidently it came a little closer and collected the second nut to eat, it was joined by another squirrel who had seen the first one had come to no harm from the two legged creatures so considered it safe to eat as well. Loki and Engel watched until all the nuts she had thrown were gone, and the squirrels ran back to their respective trees. The two of them carried on through the wood until they came out onto the road again, then they headed back down into the town. 

Lunch was at Earthlights, sandwiches, a shared greek salad, cake for Loki and ice cream for Engel. They took their time, there was no hurry. 

<<>>

All of the areas they drove through were potential places that Loki and Engel could be living in as far as Tony was concerned. Each area had a mix of housing and apartments, parks, public transport, good shopping areas. Tony fed data into FRIDAY to update her search parameters. Was his new AI up to the task? She hadn’t the experience at multitasking that JARVIS had. Tony just had to hope that she could deal with the steep learning curve he had forced her into. 

Rhodey and Stephen were rather enjoying their walk. They had stopped to pick up water at one of the chines before carrying on. This second chine had buildings in it, some sort of wooden lodges, but when they investigated them they were holiday homes, short term rentals. But they would let Tony know anyway. Bournemouth was now in clear sight and they were going to stop and eat when they got there. Rhodey rang Tony and told him they should be by the Pier in roughly thirty minutes. Tony suggested they meet up at The Real Greek, whoever was there first should grab an outside table and just have drinks until everyone got there as they had to get back to the hotel, park the car and then walk down to the restaurant. 

As it happened, Happy and Tony beat Rhodey and Stephen, but only by about ten minutes. They caught up over beers before they ordered a variety of dishes to share between them. They discussed what they had seen, Tony and Happy still had a few outlying areas to cover. The plan of action for the following day - they would all go out in the car and cover those areas. That would leave them with the city to cover. They designated Sunday as a day of rest, Monday they would split up and start on the city itself.

<<>>

Loki and Engel had filled in the rest of the afternoon by visiting Corfe Bears. This time around Engel was a little more focused than the first time as she wasn’t so overwhelmed by all the enticing things on display. She honed in on some small scale wild animals, they were expensive, the smaller they were, the higher the price probably because they were more fiddly to make. Loki started to take an active interest in what she was looking at, it was a fox, curled around as if it was asleep, its bushy tail wrapped around it. It was beautiful, he felt as if it would wake up if he attempted to touch it. “Is that what you would like, Angela?”

“Yes, Jack. There are lots of things I like, but he is special.” Her eyes sparkled as she looked at him.

Loki looked at the little handwritten label attached to him ‘Rufus 1 of 1, £150.’ The little fox was probably only four inches long in total. He looked at the shopkeeper. “We would like to take Rufus for my little sister’s birthday. But we are going to be moving apartment this weekend, can I pay for him and collect him once we have moved?”

“Good choice, young lady. He’s exquisite. Just put a deposit down on him today and I’ll put him away for you and you can collect him when you like and pay the difference.” The woman smiled at Jack.

“Are you sure? I’m quite happy to pay in full.” 

“We do this all the time, especially for locals.” She opened a cupboard and found a small white box, when she opened it, it was lined with white tissue paper. She popped Rufus inside and folded the tissue over the top of him. “How much would you like to put down as a deposit?”

“£50?” Loki suggested.

“That’s perfect.” She rang it up on the till and he paid with his card. She took his name and address and wrote it on a post-it note, along with the amount paid and the amount owing. She then put the box away on a shelf above the till. “I’ll see you when you are ready to collect Rufus.” Loki smiled at her and gave her a little nod. 

Engel clutched his hand tightly as they left the shop. “I love Rufus, Dada. He reminds me of the fox we saw at Hengistbury Head.”

“Hmn. If only that one had been asleep we might have got a better look at it! Perhaps we might see another one when we are out on one of our walks. But Rufus is very lovely, you need to take good care of him like you do with Fenris.”

“I will, Dada, I promise.”

“That’s my good girl. Now we will cross the road and go and see Mark Miles to collect the keys for our new home. It will be after three thirty when we get there which is good, we won’t look too eager!” Loki grinned at Engel. They were both very eager to get into their new home, but Loki knew how important it was to maintain a facade. 

In fact it was almost four o’clock when they got to Miles & Co and Jack and Engel were ushered into Mark’s office. “No Lauren today, Jack?”

“No, Mark. We’ve left her packing. I managed to get a room at The White Swan for tonight, so most of my gear is there and I left some with Lauren. I brought Angela along to give her a break, we’ve been in Corfe Bears choosing her birthday present.”

“Oh! Is it soon?” Mark asked the little girl.

“A couple of weeks. We’re going to go to Brownsea Island to see the red squiggles.” Engel gave Mark one of her most endearing smiles.

“I haven’t been there for years, but I’m sure you will like it. It’s a really interesting place.” Mark unlocked a cabinet and pulled out some key fobs, two keys on each one. “One set for you, Jack, and one set for Lauren. If you need another set for Engel you can get them cut at Newton’s. This key is for the main door downstairs, and this one is for the flat itself. Any problems, just come along and let us know. Enjoy your new home, and welcome to Swanage, Jack. I’m sure you will enjoy living here.”

“Thank you, Mark. I’m sure I will. Come, Angela, let’s see what our sister has been up to. Hopefully she has finished and we have escaped the brunt of the work.” Loki winked at Mark and headed out of the office.

<<>>

Tony and the gang were chilling out on the patio of the Garden Suite with beers in the afternoon sun. The breeze coming off the sea was refreshing without being cold. Tonight they were going to eat in the hotel restaurant. Now they were planning the route for tomorrow as they would tackle the north easterly suburbs of Bournemouth mainly by car, a little bit by foot when they found something exceptionally interesting or wanted to eat. 

Happy was having a couple of beers now, he would be back on water later. They were having a leisurely breakfast tomorrow, so the alcohol would be well out of his system by then. Saturday night he could drink with the rest of them, and Sunday, as he wouldn’t be required to drive on either day. Sunday they were sightseeing, and Monday they were splitting the city up between them and checking it out on foot. He would be glad of a bit of a break if he was being honest. He didn’t understand half of what was being discussed, he knew that Tony wanted his little girl back, but he wasn’t sure what that Strange guy was here for. Rhodey was Tony’s best mate, that he would be here made perfect sense. But Strange? What was this whole capturing this Loki in his female form all about. Happy shrugged and swallowed a couple of mouthfuls of beer and ate some pretzels. He was sure they knew what they were doing, they were all smarter than him after all.

<<>>

Back in The Studio, Loki collected the case they had already packed “OK, angel. Let’s take this to our new home. Although wait a moment.” He took a pen and notebook that he had left out and put it in Engel’s backpack.

“What’s that for, Dada?”

“I need to check the cupboards to see what we need to buy. I’ll write everything down and then we can stock up on Saturday and Sunday.”

“OK. Don’t forget milk for our hot chocolate.”

Loki laughed “I won’t, angel.”

He pulled the suitcase out of the door and locked it behind them, then they made their way over to The Parade. Loki inserted the key into the main front door and hauled the small case up the stairs while Engel closed the door behind them. He waited for her to join him and they entered their new home together, pulling the case after them. 

“What are we going to do first, Dada?”

“We’ll unpack this case, then put it in your wardrobe. Then I’ll check the cupboards and make our list. Then lastly I’ll take some of the stuff out of my pocket dimension.” He lifted the case onto the breakfast bar in the kitchen and opened it and they each took out their own things and started to put them in their own rooms. They both discovered that their beds were made for them with brand new white bed linen, with soft blue throws over the end of their beds. There were coat hangers in their wardrobes, soft white towels in the bathrooms. There was extra bed linen and towels for each room on the top shelf of each wardrobe, so nothing extra needed there! 

After they had emptied the case, hung everything up or folded things neatly into their drawers, Loki took the empty case through to Engel’s room and put it at the far end of the top shelf out of the way. He took the Command Strips out of his pocket dimension and put them on her bedside table along with the bottle of cleaning liquid and one of their muslin face cloths. His intention was to put her lights up on Sunday for her, to start to make the room feel like hers. He took the notebook and pen out of her backpack. “OK, let's see what we need to buy for the kitchen.” 

He glanced into the small bedroom as they walked back through the hallway, the bed now had a cheerful multicoloured striped duvet cover on the bed that almost matched the rug. It was a lovely little room, and a bit of a shame it would go unused. Once in the kitchen he started to open drawers and cupboards. They needed nothing but food really. Everything was pretty much provided. He wrote down on his list: dish cloths, kitchen roll, foil, cling film, toilet rolls, cleaning cloths. That was all he could think of for now. He pulled out of his pocket dimension the washing up liquid, detergent tabs, toilet cleaner, bathroom cleaner, shower cleaner and face cloths that he had stowed away. He gave Engel the supplies for her bathroom, he put away the kitchen bits under the sink unit and then finally put away his own bathroom supplies. He was standing in the living room waiting for Engel when he finally noticed what was on the dining table.

There was a bottle of red wine and a handwritten note welcoming the Edwardsons to Seaspray and hoping they enjoyed their stay. There was a telephone number in case there were any problems as all the appliances were brand new and under guarantee. It also let him know there was a folder on the bookshelf which gave him the instructions for every appliance and the WiFi code. He put the note down and found the folder, it was neat and tidy and broken down by room. The TV was a Smart TV and had access to Netflix as part of their rental fee. There was also a list of Emergency contacts, including doctors, dentists etc. Everything they could possibly need. Engel came back into the room, he showed her the wine and letter.

“I can’t drink that, you are going to be drinking it all.”

“That’s all right. It’s not as if I drink very much is it? I can have a glass or two a night once we move in. I just think it was a really nice thing to do.”

“I guess, Dada. What are we eating tonight?”

“I thought we could try The White Swan, as I am supposed to be staying there overnight after all!” They locked up behind them and walked over to the pub and found a table near the back where it was quieter. They both ended up having cheeseburgers with chips, with a portion of onion rings between them. Loki followed it with raspberry and white chocolate cheesecake, Engel had raspberry ripple ice cream. They then headed slowly back up the hill to The Studio. 

They played a couple of games of Ludo while they drank their hot chocolate. “Where would you like to have breakfast tomorrow, angel, Beavers or Brook Tea Rooms?”

“Can we go to Brook Tea Rooms, Dada? They have pancakes. I miss Nat’s pancakes.”

“Of course we can, missing your American breakfasts?”

“Just the pancakes, really. You make nice breakfasts.”

“In that case we will have breakfast at Brook every couple of weeks so you get your pancake fix, after all, it’s only downstairs from our new place. Not exactly far to go.” Loki took their mugs and the pan and soaked them in hot soapy water in the sink. “Go and put your pyjamas on and put your dirty clothes into the suitcase in the bedroom. Once you’re done, I’ll do the same, as we have a lot to do in the morning after our showers.” While Engel got changed he washed the dishes he had left soaking. He picked up his Father’s Day card, Henry the Duck and stowed them safely away in his pocket dimension. 

Engel walked back into the living room “Can you dry the dishes for me and put them away while I get changed, angel?”

“Of course, Dada.” Engel headed into the kitchen, while Loki headed into the bedroom and stripped out of his clothes, his chinos he kept to one side for the next day, but everything else went into the case. Tomorrow morning he would know if he was male or female and could pack the remaining clothes accordingly. He had kept a couple of carrier bags by the case so that he could keep the clean things separate from the dirty things. He pulled on his pyjamas and padded through to the living room. Engel had finished her task and was sitting on the sofa, legs tucked under her. He sat next to her and cuddled her in “I’m not tired yet, Dada.”

“No? Maybe we should watch something for a short time before I read to you then.” He put the TV on and flicked through the channels until he found a programme about a couple building a house, it was called Grand Designs, he was sure Engel would soon get bored by it and would get drowsy. It took a bit longer than he had anticipated, but they eventually got there. He read a chapter of the Weirdstone of Brisingamen to her and she was soon asleep. He tucked her in, last night they would be sharing this bed together, Fenris was tucked in next to her. 

He settled back down on the sofa and read on his Kindle, then instead of putting it on to charge as usual, he switched it off and put it on the table with the charger to pack in the morning. Then he made his way through to the bedroom, Engel was now fast asleep, he could tell by her breathing, he would miss that in future, but would like the privacy that separate rooms granted them.  He cuddled Rhubarb up against his chest, he was excited for tomorrow, but also tired. At least everything was in walking distance, no buses to take to get what they needed immediately. 

Sleep sweet prince, and if your friends ask things of you, tell them. They have your back…

There were no dreams for Loki that night, and Rhubarb nuzzled into him as if to protect him.

<<>>

Nat was talking to Skye at her desk when her cell phone rang. She excused herself, and answered the call, surprised when she heard the voice of Pepper Potts, Tony Stark’s CEO.

“What can I do for you, Pepper?”

“Is Tony at the Compound, Nat? His damned AI isn’t putting any of my calls through to him, she just constantly tells me he’s busy.”

She, Nat thought! “No, Pepper, we haven’t seen or heard from Tony since he left the compound and went back to live in the Tower. You are aware he fell out with all of us aren’t you?”

“Yes, I was aware, but I know he has been working on projects with Bruce, so I thought that may have continued.”

“Bruce has been to the Tower in the last few weeks, let me talk to him and I’ll call you back, Pepper.”

“Thanks, Nat.”

Nat wandered through into the R&D Lab that Bruce was working in “Hi Bruce, Pepper is looking for Tony, was he in the Tower when you were last there?”

Bruce put down the whiteboard marker he had in his hand, and looked steadily at Nat. “Come to mention it, I haven’t seen Tony for a while, maybe weeks. FRIDAY said he was away on business, but surely Pepper would know that. I mean Stark Industries is his only business, right?”

“It is. I’m going to ring Pepper back, but we’ll have a full team meeting tonight. I don’t like the sound of this.”

<<>>

Loki finished his shower, he was quite relieved to wake as himself; it would just make everything so much easier than trying to cope in a skirt! He dressed quickly and efficiently then woke Engel to go and have her shower. Meanwhile he carefully folded and packed up Lore’s clothes into one of the carrier bags and put it to one side to put last into the case. His pyjamas were folded and put in with the dirty things. He gave Rhubarb a quick hug and stowed her in his pocket dimension. 

He went into the kitchen and put the kettle on to make them some tea, they had just enough milk left for a mug each. While the kettle boiled he took his Kindle and charger and put it into the case. Engel was dressed and had just finished putting her pyjamas in the case. “Good girl, put Fenris in your backpack. I’m making us some tea, then I’ll check all the cupboards and drawers to make sure we have everything. Once we’ve had our tea, I’ll strip the bed and we can get on our way.” He could see the excitement on her face, and she held her hairbrush and hair ties in her hands. 

Loki made their mugs of tea, and brushed through Engel’s hair and made one single braid down her back for her. He fastened it off with a couple of her butterfly ties. By the time he had finished their tea was cool enough to drink. “I can wash up, Dada, if you want?”

“Are you sure, angel? I will run the water for you to make sure it is not too hot.” Engel followed him into the kitchen as he rinsed out the mugs and filled the sink with hot soapy water for her, not as hot as he would normally have it, but hot enough for the simple task. He headed on through to the bedroom and stripped the bed, then added the dirty towels from the bathroom to the pile of linen on the floor. He collected their toiletries, checking that he had everything and tucked them in the case. They both used the same thing so it didn’t matter if they got muddled up as long as they had the right toothbrushes and hairbrushes. Then he laid the empty plastic carrier bag over everything, and finally the bag containing Lore’s clean clothes. Nothing would be in there long. He zipped the case up, then checked everything again!

Engel had washed the mugs and put them away, Loki emptied the water out of the sink and wiped the bench down. He emptied the remaining water out of the kettle, then cleared what little remained in the fridge into a rubbish bag and quickly went over to the garage and disposed of everything. He came back and put their coats into his pocket dimension, grabbed the case and smiled at Engel “Here we go, angel. New adventure starting today.” She pulled on her backpack and skipped down the stairs. Loki pulled The Studio door shut for the last time, locked it and hid the key under the plant pot where he had found it two weeks before.

They made their way over to The Parade and up into Seaspray. Loki opened the case and took out Lore’s clothes and quickly hung them up. He opened up one toiletry bag, and it contained his toothbrush and hairbrush, he handed the other one to Engel “Just pop it in your bathroom for now.”, he put his own into the ensuite. He emptied the dirty washing onto the floor in front of the washing machine to deal with later. The case he put on the top shelf of his wardrobe. “OK, we can go and get breakfast now, not far to go!” They headed downstairs and the very short walk to Brook Tea Rooms so Engel could have her American Breakfast, Loki an English Breakfast and they both had glasses of milk.

Breakfast over, Loki took Engel by the hand and they headed up to the supermarket, they went to the big one by the bus station and he took out his list and got a trolley and they systematically made their way around the store, checking things off as they went. There were two bags full by the time he had finished as he had things to go into the freezer. They took the bags back and Engel handed him things as he filled the fridge, freezer and cupboards. He found the folder and hunted for the instructions for the washing machine which he studied carefully. It was really straightforward and incorporated a dryer. He opened it up and put in one of the detergent tabs they had brought with them the day before and put their dirty clothes in. He set it off on a thirty minute programme. While it was doing its thing he made them fruit teas from the bags they had bought that morning. In the tall cupboard next to the vacuum cleaner was a clothes horse, he pulled it out and set it up in the single bedroom ready for hanging their clothes up. He started to pull things out of his pocket dimension and started to place things where he wanted them. Rhubarb on his bed, his Father’s Day card on his drawers, the books, DVDs and games compendium on the bookshelves next to the sofa. Already the place was starting to look more lived in. His Kindle and chargers went next to the TV. He would log into the internet later on. 

He stopped and sat down next to Engel and they drank their tea together. “What are we doing next?” she asked.

“After I’ve hung the washing up, we can go to Chococo and pick up some chocolate flakes to make hot chocolate with. Have lunch at the bakers. Then we’ll go to Candle World and pick some lights and things up for your bedroom. If we have time we can go and get the rest of your books.”

“That’s a lot, Dada.” 

“It’s not really. We just need a quick lunch as we’ll be having fish and chips later and we had a big breakfast this morning.” He took their empty mugs into the kitchen and rinsed them out. Then he emptied the washing machine and sorted out all the small things and hung them up first, things that could go on hangers got hung up in their respective bathrooms, and what was left went in the spare space on the clothes horse. He would work out a washing schedule going forward.They headed out again in the direction of Chococo, he knew the temptation would be to buy more chocolate for eating as well as for drinking!

<<>>

Tony and the boys were watching out of the car window as they drove through all the various suburbs of Bournemouth. It was incredibly boring, and Tony was constantly feeding more instructions to FRIDAY about where to check. Some of the areas were more upmarket than others, some were very run down. They all felt that these run down areas were unlikely candidates as Loki would not want to risk exposing Engel to any danger and that was more likely in poorer areas. That was their rationalisation anyway. 

At lunchtime they stopped at a nice looking pub in one of the good areas and had a pleasant meal with some nice ale to wash it down. They finally called a halt when they realised they were heading towards Christchurch. Happy pulled into a supermarket carpark and turned around. They headed back to Bournemouth. It was midafternoon when they got back as they had had a lazy start.

<<>>

The SHIELD meeting had gone well, Nat and Steve had spearheaded it. Everyone had expressed concern that Tony was missing. Coulson and Fury had linked in via satellite. Pepper had come back to let them know that the cleaners had confirmed he was not in Malibu and hadn’t been seen there since he had visited with the children. They had decided that they needed to create an Amber alert and warn Loki that no one knew where he was, and that Loki needed to let them have a location so they could send him some security that would link to a SHIELD base in the UK. Hunter and Mac volunteered to take a Quinjet and hole up in the UK so they could fetch Loki and Engel home if the need arose.

Skye’s recommendation was that they set up a daily email address so that if by any chance it did get hacked it was relatively useless to anyone. Coulson thought that was a useful idea and JARVIS was tasked with randomly generating an email address and issuing it to all agents everyday including Loki. Nat sent an email to Loki to ask for their address and told him why, but emphasised that it was just a precaution at the moment until Tony showed up somewhere. She also let him know that JARVIS would be contacting him direct with the daily email address and he should use that in future. She waited to hear back from him.

<<>>

Loki had got away lightly in Chococo, they only bought caramel chocolate buttons as well as the proper drinking chocolate. Candle World was an entirely different matter! They spent quite a long time there, and both ended up with a string of lights, butterflies for Engel in all pretty shades, and dragonflies for Loki in blues and greens. There were things called snow globes in the bag as well, ornaments for each of their bedrooms. They had one final stop to make, they just had time, and that was to see the lovely man in the second hand bookstore. Loki loaded the chocolate into Engel’s backpack as it was the lightest thing he was carrying. 

The old man was delighted to see them both and Loki told him they could take all the remainder of the ‘Adventure’ books that he had put to one side for his little sister. The man went through to the back of the shop and came back with the books for them, Loki gave him the spare carrier bag he had in his pocket and the old man packed the books in there for them.  As he rang the sale up and Loki gave them cash he asked if they had been on the Enid Blyton trail yet. Loki asked what it was, and the man wrote down a website address for him. “If you look that up, young man, it will show you all the different sites she writes about in her books, some of them are here in Swanage. Places you can go and visit, it will be a bit of fun for your sister.”

“Thank you for that, and for keeping the books for her. We will see you again soon.” 

They headed back home, because home was now what it was and climbed up the stairs to Seaspray. They unpacked their bags “I’ll hang your lights up now, and do mine tomorrow as I know how eager you are to see them lit up! Can you put the books on the shelves for me and the chocolate in the kitchen?”

“Of course, Dada.” Engel started to unpack the books while Loki untangled her butterfly lights in her bedroom and laid them across her bed.  He wiped the top of the headboard with the cleaning fluid, then starting from the centre he began to press in place the clear Command Strips. He called Engel through to check which side of the bed she would be sleeping on so he knew where to place the on/off switch, then he carefully secured the wire in place so the butterflies dangled a little way down from the top of the headboard. He cleaned the edge of the headboard and using another Command Strip fastened the control box in place safely.  He plugged the lights into the socket and switched them on. “They are gorgeous, Dada.” Engel gushed. “Thank you.” She kissed him on the cheek. 

He smiled at her. “You just need to unwrap your snow globe and put it where you want it, and that's your room started.” She half ran to the living room and pulled her snow globe from its wrapping paper, she came back quickly and put it on the mantlepiece of the fireplace. It was Princess Aurora and the Spinning Wheel from Sleeping Beauty. “Pretty! Right, I’m going to put my snow globe on my drawers and I’ll sort my lights out tomorrow after breakfast.” Loki headed through to the living room and unwrapped his globe. It had been in the Christmas section and was an angel, with her wings spread behind her. He put it in the centre of his drawers and his card to one side. He delved into his pocket dimension and pulled out Henry the Duck and took him into the living room and put him on top of the book shelves. He took his box of lights and put them next to his wardrobe on the floor, then he headed back into Engel’s room to collect the cleaning materials and Command Strips to put with his lights for tomorrow. He found her by the fireplace shaking the snow globe to hide Aurora in the cloud of sparkly white opalescent glitter. “I’ll be going out for our dinner soon. Do you want to stay here or come with me?”

“Can I come with you, Dada? I’m not used to this place yet.”

“Of course, sweet girl. We will set the table up before we go. I will get you some coke while we are there, all the treats today!”

When they got back, Loki poured himself a glass of red wine and Engel’s coke before he split up their fish and chips. They each had a large fish today, so he had the lion's share of the chips. It felt quite decadent drinking wine with such a simple meal, but he didn’t care, it was their first night in their new home. Despite the fact there was a dishwasher, they washed up their plates and glasses by hand and put everything away as they normally would.

He fished out the Snakes and Ladders set from the Games Compendium and set it up on the table. They played one game, then he poured some milk into a saucepan and added the required amount of chocolate flakes according to the instructions on the packet and stirred it as it heated with a spoon until it was all melted and heated through. He poured it carefully into mugs and carried it through to the table in time for their next game. Engel opened up the caramel chocolate buttons and they shared a few. It was all very rich. “Time for bed, angel.” he said at the end of their second game. It was starting to get dark outside and he had had to put the lights on and shut the curtains part way through that game. “Go and get ready and I’ll come and read to you, can you remember where all the light switches are?”

“Yes, Dada. I’m not a baby.” She grinned at him.

“Don’t grow up too fast. I’ll be through in about ten minutes.” Engel disappeared through the kitchen in the direction of her bedroom and Loki cleared off the table and put everything away, leaving the dishes soaking in the sink after rinsing them. He opened the folder with all the instructions in and found the details for the WiFi. He brought his Kindle over to the sofa and left everything ready for when he had tucked Engel in. 

His little girl was in bed when he went through, her butterfly lights twinkling in the darkened room, she had managed to close the curtains herself. He made himself a mental note to find something they could put their dirty clothes into, carrier bags didn’t look too great in this pristine place! He sat on the edge of the bed and read her a chapter, only a few more left. Then he kissed her goodnight and tucked her in. “If you need me during the night, just come through, my door will be open. You’ve been used to sleeping with me for a few weeks now, it might feel strange on your own.”

“I’ll be alright, Dada.” He smiled softly at her and gave her another kiss on the top of her head for good measure and reminded her where the light switch was. Was he reassuring her or himself? Loki wasn’t really sure.

He settled himself down on the sofa and opened up his Kindle Fire on the ‘Settings’ page and followed the WiFi instructions in the folder. He would need to do this with his phone as well, but not tonight. He checked his email to find the message from Nat, his blood ran cold. Was Tony looking for Engel? He had to keep her safe at all costs, if that cost was this life then so be it. His little girl knew what had to be done although she would be greatly distressed if he died again. He just wished he had all his memories, all his seidr. 

He typed out a response to Nat, trying not to sound too distressed. He gave her their address, that they were both well and that he would keep his eyes open for anything suspicious. He would check in daily from now on using the email address that JARVIS would send out and would let them know when the package they were going to send arrived.

Now he did what he had intended to do and did a search for Lego suppliers. It took him a while to find one that could provide what he wanted, but they could courier to him for a fee, which was not an issue. He placed his order. 

He put his Kindle on to charge, he was tired, but not sure if he would sleep or not after that news. He got ready for bed and switched all the lights off and crawled into bed seeking comfort from Rhubarb. “What do I do if he finds us?” he whispered “I can’t bear to let her go, but I can’t risk her getting hurt.”

Sleep child, the Norns have written your future and hers, it will play out as it is meant to

It was a restless sleep he eventually fell into, partly from the news, partly from sleeping in a strange place yet again. The only comfort came from a generic store bought white rabbit that somehow talked to him in a familiar voice to soothe him.

Chapter Text

Oh, can’t you see?

You belong to me

How my poor heart aches

With every step you take

When Loki woke on Sunday morning he wondered where he was at first. Then realisation dawned on him. Rhubarb was tight against his chest, he had been clutching her like a child would. Feeling slightly stupid he put her carefully on the bed and stretched out his muscles. Then he climbed out of bed and headed into the ensuite to try and work out how the shower worked. He took off his pyjamas and stood under the rainfall head and turned the knob on. He had to adjust the heat as it was too hot for him, but the sensation was very relaxing. Coupled with the familiar scent of his toiletries he soon felt awake and refreshed. Wrapped in soft towels he cleaned his teeth, then tackled his damp hair before towelling himself dry. He hung the towels on the towel rail to dry and padded into the bedroom to sort out his clothes. Blue grey chinos, blue striped seersucker shirt, sandals, the sunlight was shining through a crack in the curtains already. He opened his curtains and pulled back the quilt to let his bed air off.

He made his way into the living room and opened the curtains and the french windows to let the sea air through. He stood and took in the view, The sea calmed his fears of the night before a little, he would face whatever life threw at him, and take what time he had left with Engel however long or short it may be. He padded through to her room and poked his head around the door “Hey, sleepyhead, it’s time to get up and have your shower. I’m going to prep breakfast for us. Put on a dress, we’re going out for dinner.”

“OK, Dada, I’m getting up now, honest.” He watched in amusement as a long, lightly tanned leg appeared on the floor where her pyjama bottoms had rucked up. Then she threw the covers back.

Loki headed back to the kitchen and decided what to make for breakfast, bacon and mushroom  sandwiches seemed a reasonable choice. He sliced up some chestnut mushrooms and kept them to one side while he heated up the grill. He added four slices of back bacon to the grill pan ready to put under when it was hot. Meanwhile he buttered four slices of fresh wholemeal bread, then added a good knob of butter to a small frying pan and put it on low to melt. The bacon went under the grill and the mushrooms went into the melted butter along with a little black pepper. He gave them a quick stir to coat them and poured out a couple of glasses of cold milk. He laid the table, and put the milk on it. He checked how everything was doing, he turned the bacon and stirred the mushrooms, they were starting to get a little colour on them. Engel walked in “Do you want me to do anything?”

“No, angel. Just sit down, I’m almost ready to dish up. Just a simple breakfast this morning.” Loki checked the bacon again, it was finished, he quickly put together their sandwiches and took them over to the table. They started to eat, the sound of the sea and the seabirds in the background. Loki felt calmer than he did last night before he went to bed. He needed to talk to Engel, but not just yet, he would drop little hints here and there over the next few weeks, but let her have her birthday in peace. It was only just a week away. Once they were finished Loki washed up and Engel dried the dishes, he showed her where everything belonged. Then they both had their beds to make. “We need to get something to put our laundry in. I think we should be able to get something at Newton’s but they don’t open until eleven o’clock, so we have time to go for a short walk, maybe on the pier?”

“OK, Dada. Where are we eating?”

“We’ll go to the Red Lion, we should be OK for a table there. We can always eat in the garden if we have to, it’s a nice day.” They headed out after they locked up and paid to go on the pier. They both loved walking out there and looking down into the water to see if they could see any fish. They also watched any anglers that were on the lower level of the pier who would fish from there, some for sport, who threw the fish back, others for food. There was a light breeze out here virtually all the time, so on a hot day it was really pleasant. They walked back slowly reading all the memorial plaques as they went. Some of them were for celebrations and Loki thought that maybe they should have one of their own on there in their real names. No one really took a huge amount of notice and would probably think it was a joke.

Newton’s was well and truly open by the time they got there and they had several different types of holders for dirty linen. Loki settled for simple linen ones on a metal cross frame. He picked up two and took them to the desk and paid for them, then they took them home. Home! There was that word again, it made his heart sing despite the fear that Nat had instilled in him the night before, he would hold onto that precious word for as long as he possibly could. 

They walked to The Red Lion via the back lane past Chococo, crossing the road by Earthlights. They had no trouble getting a table as it was still early and at no point did they pass a single CCTV camera. It was neither wonder that FRIDAY was having trouble finding them! They both had roast lamb and all the trimmings. Dessert was plum crumble and custard for Loki and three scoops of raspberry ripple ice cream for Engel. The pub was starting to get busy when they headed out after paying and holding Engel’s hand Loki crossed the High Street. 

They got to Rainbows End Too and Loki had an idea. He tugged Engel into the shop. “Why are we in here, Jack?”

“I want to get something for Lauren. If you see something you would like, bring it to me.” Loki headed towards the clothes. He started to hunt through the brightly coloured trousers, holding them up in front of himself to check the length. 

A man came over to see him. “There’s a changing room over there if you want to try them on.”

“Oh, they're for my sister. I’m just checking the length.” 

The man looked at him and said kindly, “We make no judgments here.”

“No, we are twins. That’s my other sister over there. I want to surprise my twin with a gift. As these are ‘free size’ as long as the length is good they will fit her. I just don’t know which ones to pick.”

“Are her hair and eyes the same colour as yours?”

“No, she takes after our mother. She has black hair and green eyes.”

“How about these then?” The man held up a pair of dark striped trousers, so unlike anything Lore would normally wear. Loki nodded in approval. He picked up a black cheesecloth loose vest and handed it to the man as well.

“Angela, is there anything you want?” Engel shook her head, it was all grown up stuff in here. Loki paid for Lore’s things and they were put into Engel’s backpack and they headed home.

“Why did you buy those strange clothes, Dada?” 

“We have to stay safe, my angel. You understand that, don’t you?”

“Of course, Dada.”

“Your father is not where he should be, no one knows where he is. Now that doesn’t mean he is near us, he could be in Australia or France. But we have to be careful. I wanted something for Lore to dress in that she wouldn’t normally wear. You look a little different, because you have got colour on your skin, and freckles, your hair is changing colour with the sun. But Lore is just Lore. I don’t look like myself anymore because I can cast a glamour over myself.”

“Can’t you do that with Lore?”

“I already do, she has longer hair, fuller lips, longer lashes, a slightly different face shape. I can’t change her too much otherwise it will look obvious. Your Auntie Nat is helping us, they are sending us a package of some security stuff, and I have to check in daily. There will be some SHIELD agents nearby who can come to us if we spot anything that looks suspicious. We just need to be careful, angel. Are you alright?”

“A little bit scared, Dada. But as long as I have you with me I feel safe.”

“That’s my good girl.” Loki wrapped his arms around her and cuddled her in “We will be fine. Now I will go and put the kettle on and we can sit out on the balcony with some tea and watch the seagulls.” He headed into the kitchen, filled the kettle with fresh water and switched it on. He found some rosehip teabags and put them into mugs and made them tea when the kettle boiled. He unlocked the french windows and opened them up and they both sat at the table outside with their tea. He wasn’t sure that telling Engel had been the right thing to do, but then neither was keeping her in the dark. If she had trouble sleeping he would deal with it, they were strong together, parent and child. There was no love like it.

<<>>

Tony and the guys had the latest breakfast that they possibly could, and were booked into the hotel for dinner again that night. They had walked through the Winter Gardens, ignoring the inquisitive squirrels, until they were almost at the beach, and headed into the Sea Life Centre. Compared to the American ones it was tiny and insignificant and Tony made sure that everyone was aware of the fact. Rhodey sighed, sometimes Tony was impossible!

They went to a bar and had a beer and shared some fries between them, then headed up to the Russell Cotes Art Gallery and Museum. It was an interesting place and Rhodey kicked Tony’s ankle when he opened his mouth to start off about how America had much bigger and better ones. This was a small city in an old land, with far more history in it than the US. The rest of them were fascinated. Maybe if they sold alcohol Tony would be happier, Rhodey thought. His friend was drinking more heavily than almost anytime he had ever known before. Maybe on a par with his return from Afghanistan. 

It was almost a relief to get back to the hotel and into Tony’s suite, beers were forthcoming and Happy could indulge as they would all be on foot tomorrow. They lounged about on the patio, taking in the last of the afternoon sun before they all headed off to get ready for their evening meal and accompanying drinks.

<<>>

Nat read Loki’s email. He seemed to be OK with the news that she had had to give him. She let Director Coulson know his address and he arranged a courier package to go out with some simple security devices that Loki would be able to fit himself. He also arranged for Mack and Hunter to head out in a Quinjet to a remote base close to Wareham where they would be able to get to Loki and Engel quickly. The choice of agents was deliberate, both Loki and Engel were familiar with both and would recognise them as ‘friendlies’.

Nat sent a further email to Loki to let him know to expect the package soon, but also remind him to check in daily. She also let him know that Mack and Hunter would be close if they were needed, but if he wanted at any point they could extract him and Engel. There would be no problem if they just wanted to pack up and come back to the compound.

<<>>

Loki headed into his bedroom and found Lore’s makeup bag. He took out the bottle of nail polish and headed back out onto the balcony and using seidr he got rid of the slightly damaged existing colour on his nails. He very carefully painted his fingernails with the first coat and left it to dry.

“Are you going to do your toenails, Dada?”

“Later on.”

“I could do them for you.”

“Really? When have you ever used nail polish?”

“I have done Nat’s toenails before. Never her fingernails though.”

“OK, but be careful you don’t spill it on the balcony.” He loosened his laces and took off his shoes and socks and she started on his left foot. It wasn’t perfect, but she did a decent job. She moved on to his right foot. While his toenails dried he gave his fingernails a second coat. Then he handed her back the polish and she carried on with the second coat on his toenails. She handed him back the bottle and he used a tiny bit of seidr to tidy up the edges where she had gone over. 

“Thank you, angel. Once they are fully dry I will make our sandwiches. I thought we could watch a film tonight as we have access to something called Netflix. I gather that it shows films and series, so it gives us something new to explore.”

“That sounds good, Dada. How does seidr work?”

“I only understand some of it so far, I am hoping when I can investigate my pocket dimension that there is something there that can help me more. When I am Lore I am shapeshifting, but I still look like me facially, so I have to add a little glamour to change the length of my hair and alter my features slightly so I look more feminine. Glamours are seidr. When I am Jack I am still me, but just with a glamour over the top if you like. My pocket dimension is a storage space created and accessed using seidr. It flows through my body from here.” Loki placed his hand on the spot under his ribs that he had dreamt about. “I think that my former mother, Queen Frigga, taught me most of what I know. Some things seem to take vast reserves of energy and I need to eat a lot of good quality food, so I use only little amounts. I think I could be pretty powerful, but I don’t know what I can do, angel, apart from a few glamours.” Loki looked at his feet, with his freshly painted toenails. He felt like he was letting her down.

Engel stood up and kissed his cheek softly “I love you, Dada. Whatever you can do, you are very special.” 

Loki lifted his head up and wrapped his arm around her “Thank you, my precious girl. Now we need to put away our clean clothes from yesterday and then I will make our sandwiches.” They worked together to put away the laundry, then Loki made a pile of salmon sandwiches with a bowl of cherry tomatoes. There were bowls of fresh strawberries and double cream to follow. They ate quietly, and then followed the food with mugs of tea white Loki worked out how to operate the TV using the instruction booklet. It was already set up to the WiFi and when he clicked on the Netflix icon it worked! “OK, that seems to work. We’ll wash up and find something to watch when everything is put away.” It didn’t seem to take them long as there was so much space in the kitchen to move about they weren’t getting in each other's way all the time. 

They settled down on the sofa and Engel snuggled into Loki’s side, he flicked through the list of films until he found something that would seem to work for both Engel and himself, at least it looked like it was a sort of fairytale. He put on Stardust. At first he thought it might be a little old for her, but then she had spent two years with the Avengers watching all sorts of things, so he stopped worrying about it. Anyway, she seemed to be enjoying it when he paused it to make their hot chocolate, he brought them a few chocolate buttons as well, you can’t have too much chocolate! He started the film off again as they indulged. His only complaint was the ending was a little lame, but was nice for an almost seven year old, they didn’t always need to see death at every turn, and most of the deaths in this had been done with humour. Engel was sleepy, so he chased her off to bed and told her he would be through shortly to read to her. As always he rinsed everything out and put the dishes in to soak. 

He poured himself a glass of red wine and put it next to the sofa for later. He headed through to Engel’s room and she was almost asleep, instead of reading to her he sang very softly as he stroked her hair and she was soon completely asleep. He switched her butterfly lights off and left her door ajar in case she woke up and needed him. He sat on the sofa and took a sip of the wine and switched on his Kindle. He had several emails. One to let him know that his Lego delivery would arrive on Tuesday, one from Nat to let him know that Mack and Hunter were going to be heading over to a secure location not far from them. She would let him know when they arrived. Loki let her know that they were both OK and that he had told Engel about Tony and that she had taken it in her stride. 

His third email was unexpected. It was from Phil Coulson himself. He was letting Loki know that a courier package should arrive on Tuesday, it was going to be a busy day! There were two very simple devices in it, a sensor that counted bodies through the door, that would trigger the second device. The second device was a tiny microphone. Phil needed Loki and Engel to agree on codewords to let them know if they were in distress so they could send help. Loki had to let Phil know the words and he would cascade them down to the agents and JARVIS, so whoever heard them knew to scramble Mack and Hunter immediately. Loki swallowed more of his wine, what would fit into conversation, but would alert the agents? Something that needed to be thought about carefully. He let Phil know that he would give him the codewords as soon as he had discussed them with Engel and thanked him for his help. All the emails were going to the same email address and JARVIS was fielding them to the correct people within SHIELD, Loki wished he could thank JARVIS himself. He would think on that as well. He read a few chapters of his book while he finished his wine, then closed down his Kindle. He put everything away, rinsing his glass, then headed through to his bedroom. 

As he undressed he thought that it would be better that the codeword conversation come from Lore, not him, on a girls shopping trip. He had intended that they go for an exploratory walk tomorrow but it could wait until Tuesday. So tomorrow morning in the shower he would force a shift, he would just have to make sure that he ate a lot of energy giving food during the day. Maybe they should eat at Salt Pig Too tomorrow night? It’s not as if they had a tight budget, and two days of high density food would see him right without protein shakes. He slipped into bed and pulled Rhubarb against his chest. He had left his door open as he wasn’t sure if Engel would sleep through or not, after their earlier discussion. The wine was making him feel very drowsy, he closed his eyes and snuggled Rhubarb into him. 

Remember to explore your pocket dimension, not all treasures have monetary value

Engel woke from a bad dream in the early hours of the morning, she grabbed Fenris by one of his back legs and headed through to her Dada’s room after letting her eyes adjust to the dark. He was asleep, she could tell by the way he was breathing, and he had his back to the room. There was space in the bed beside him so she wriggled her way in trying not to disturb him, but it didn’t work. He stirred, rolled over and wrapped his arm around her. “Sleep, angel.” he said sleepily. The comfort of the weight of his arm around her grounded her and with Fenris tucked in beside her she felt very safe, she listened to her Dada breathing beside her and soon fell back asleep. No more bad dreams for that night.

<<>>

There was no way Loki could get out of bed without waking Engel. He hated to do it, but he had no choice. “Angel, I need to get out of bed. Wake up sweet girl.”

She mumbled at him “I’m still sleepy, Dada.”

“Let me out and you can stay there until I’ve had my shower and got dressed. OK?”

“OK, Dada.” She struggled out of bed and Loki got up. He tucked her back in and put Rhubarb in with her. He headed into the ensuite, stripped off and stood under the shower, he found the sweet spot under his ribs and concentrated on it and forced a shift. Lore washed and conditioned her hair, then dealt with her body. She towelled herself dry, and cleaned her teeth. What to do with her hair to hide who they both are? That required some thought. She ran the comb through to detangle the long black waves. She headed back into the bedroom, Engel was still asleep. Lore pulled on her underwear and then the new clothes from Rainbows End Too. She opened the wardrobe door and looked in the full length mirror. She liked the strong dark colours, they suited her. 

“Engel, wake up. It’s time to have your shower, angel. I’m going to make us a big breakfast, then we are going to get the bus to Bournemouth.”

Engel groaned and finally pushed the covers back and got out of bed. She headed through to her own bedroom and put Fenris on the bed before she went in the shower. Lore shook her head, hopefully this was just a one off, Engel was usually a good sleeper. Lore switched on the oven and arranged the pack of sausages on the oven tray. She broke a couple of eggs into cups to fry later. She added a few halved tomatoes to the oven tray and once it was up to temperature everything went into the oven. She sliced some bread and loaded it into the toaster. Once Engel was dressed she could see to the toast and setting the table, establishing themselves a routine again. 

Lore walked over to the french windows, unlocked them and opened them wide to let the early morning air through the apartment. She stood on the balcony watching the sea and the island in the distance, they never did look up what it was, they must remedy that. She heard Engel make her way into the kitchen “You look nice, Dada. Those colours look good on you.”

“Thank you, angel. Can you set the table for me, and make the toast?”

“Of course.” Engel opened the drawer the cutlery was kept in and pulled out what they needed. “Why did you shapeshift today though?”

Lore gave a low chuckle “A couple of reasons. Most importantly is that we are going to go to Bournemouth and we are going shopping for something pretty for your birthday, and we will have a nice lunch out and if we have time before the bus back we can feed some squiggles. Sound good?” Lore handed her a couple of glasses of milk after Engel had pushed the lever on the toaster.

“Ooh, what sort of dress?”

“Something pretty, frothy and very impractical. It’s not every day you are seven.” Lore checked on the food in the oven and then began to heat the oil in the frying pan. The toaster popped up and Engel buttered the toast and took it over to the table. Lore tipped each of the eggs into the frying pan. “Breakfast won’t be long, angel.”

Lore carried the plates over to the table once she had plated everything up. They both started to eat. “What’s the other thing, Dada? You said there were a couple of reasons?”

“Clever girl. We need to think of a couple of code words for SHIELD in the very unlikely event that someone gets in here. Their access will trigger a microphone and so SHIELD know that it’s not someone we have invited in, we need a couple of words, preferably one each that let them know that we are at risk.”

“I could call you ‘Mama’, the Avengers all know I call you ‘Dada’.”

“That’s true and that slips easily into conversation. OK, along those lines what if I call you ‘baby girl’? Does that sound like it could be part of a normal conversation, yet it’s not any of the things I would normally call you?” Lore looked steadily at her daughter. He had been right, this was a better conversation between the two of them, he would have felt awkward having it, despite all the other things he had managed to accomplish with Engel.

“Yes, Dada. That would work. They are both things that are normal, but that we don’t use.”

“I will let Director Coulson know tonight. Now, as soon as we have finished eating we need to wash up, then I will do our hair.” 

After Lore had washed up she left Engel drying the dishes while she hunted down some ordinary hair ties. In her make up bag she had simple black ones, she piled her hair up on her head and created a messy bun, it would be hidden under her hat. No long dark hair on display. She slipped through to Engel’s room and rummaged in the bottom of her butterfly backpack and came up triumphant with a couple of simple brown hair ties. “Angel, let me do your hair the same as mine, then it will be hidden under your hat.” She pulled Engel’s long hair up into the same sort of bun as her own and then chased her into the bathroom to go and have a look at it, while she finished putting everything away. Lore then locked the french windows. 

They both put on their floppy hats and Engel donned her backpack, then they were out of the door and up the street to the bus station. At least it wasn’t as far to walk any more if they were running a bit late like they were today. As they sat on the bus to Bournemouth Lore looked at her fingernails with their black nail polish. “Angel, do you think they would look better if they were the same purple as the stripes on my trousers?”

Engel looked at Lore, then at the dark purple stripe on the trousers. “Yes, Lauren, I do.” Lore concentrated for a few seconds and the shade of her nails changed. “Pretty, Lauren.” Lore smiled at her. The bus started its descent into Bournemouth and they got off a stop earlier than usual and walked down past The Moon in the Square to the round cafe and Lore ordered two very sweet milkshakes because she needed the extra energy. They sat in the early September sun enjoying their drinks planning their route.

<<>>

When they had finished their breakfast Tony and his crew had split up and headed out. Tony had given himself the city centre as his search area, that might be due to the number of bars that he could nip into enroute. Happy was taking The Triangle which was the upper end of the shopping area where there were more food shops and bus stops. Rhodey took the area right of the railway station which was closer to the University, lots of accommodation and shops, bars etc. That left Strange with the area to the left of the bus station and railway station which seemed to be predominantly residential. 

Tony’s first stop was The Mary Shelley, a pub of course! No real surprise there and at 10.30 in the morning a double whisky would start the day off nicely. He asked the bar tender why the pub was named after the author of Frankenstein. He was surprised to learn that her grave was in the nearby church, St Peter’s. In the interest of doing something useful with the day, Tony finished his whisky and wandered over to the church. It took him a while to find it because nobody had put up a signpost, Mary Woolstencroft Shelley and no mention of Frankenstein on the big slab that was her gravestone. It was a bit underwhelming, he thought. He guessed he should get back to the task in hand. He crossed back over the road, avoided the pub and walked along by the shops he had never looked at opposite The Winter Gardens Theatre. He found a department store that looked interesting, it sold designer clothes, he headed in.

<<>>

Lore and Engel headed to Debenhams, straight into the Men’s Department. Lore found a pair of skinny dark blue denim jeans for Jack and a long sleeved white grandad necked cotton shirt. Just because it was a girls day out didn’t mean he had to miss out. They were heading out when Lore spotted the dressing gown, it was on a model near the exit, it was turquoise satin with gold sprinkled across the shoulders. The notice told her where to go to find it, she grasped Engel’s hand and they headed up the stairs to the lingerie section, and there it was, there were very few of them. When she looked at the price she understood why, it was stupidly expensive, but it was incredibly beautiful. And was it so wrong to want something just because it was beautiful? She found one in her size and bought it before she changed her mind. They could both wear this, that was her further justification! Engel grinned at her in approval as the robe was wrapped carefully in tissue before being popped into a carrier bag for them. “I think we had better go out now and head to Monsoon before I see anything else!”

“It’s magical, Lauren! I love it.” Lauren squeezed Engel’s hand and they headed up the hill towards Monsoon. It was a girls paradise as far as Engel was concerned. Lots of pretty, frothy dresses, the likes of which she had never owned even while in Asgard where they were more formal. She held one after another up against herself, Lauren reduced her down to three then took her into the changing room to try them on. All three were very pretty in their own way but once they were on one stood on from the others and they both agreed on it. Lore helped her out of it and left her to get dressed while she went to look at dresses for herself. 

Engel came out with the dress they had chosen “Have a look at the shoes, angel, while I try this dress on to make sure it fits me. Then we’ll fit you for shoes and find some lacy white socks.”

“OK, Lauren."

<<>>

Tony came out of the department store by a different entrance and found himself on another shopping street. He had no real idea where he was and opened his Stark Phone to check Google Maps. People were walking past him and he was tucked out of sight. He soon worked out where he was and glanced up and towards the shop opposite - Waterstones - that matched. Great. He turned onto the pedestrianised road and started to head down the hill, he had barely gone a few yards when he saw a young girl and her mother step out of a shop. The mother grasped the girl's hand and together they headed down the hill. The girl was long legged, lightly tanned, wearing a wide brimmed hat. The mother was paler skinned, wearing dark striped loose legged cotton trousers and a loose black vest, she wore a similar wide brimmed hat. She carried a simple black cross body bag and carried two carrier bags, with bright pink tissue paper peeking out of the top. The little girl had an iridescent butterfly backpack on her back and was talking animatedly to the woman by her side. Tony was just about to become absorbed once more in the people in front of him when the woman leant down to say something to the girl and he caught a glimpse of that perfect profile. He allowed people to slip by him so he could remain hidden from their sight. Engel had grown a couple of inches in these last few weeks. And that backpack! They had been looking for Simba, not a butterfly, they were blending in seamlessly. They looked just like everyone else on this street, individual, but not standing out at the same time. Perfect camouflage. 

Tony followed them tucked carefully behind many others as they made their way to a turning on the right. He held back a little then turned just in time to see them head into Patisserie Valerie. Once they were safely inside he cautiously made his way along the street to see if there was anywhere he could keep an eye on the cafe without looking obvious. There was a bar, how fortuitous! Tony slipped inside, ordered a double whisky and grabbed a seat by the window. 

<<>>

Lore and Engel sat at the table and waited for their order to be delivered. It soon appeared, Eggs Royale for Lore, Eggs Benedict for Engel along with tea for both of them. “When we are finished, angel, we can have a little wander in the gardens and see the squiggles if there are any about today. We’ll pop into Holland & Barrett on the way down and grab some nuts for them.” Main courses finished, they chose dessert, Lore opting for two, a cheesecake and a nutty confection, Engel for a double chocolate cake that Lore knew she was going to have to clean off her face. This time she was equipped, on their last supermarket shop she had picked up a small pack of wet wipes for such eventualities. Once they had finished Lore cleaned up Engel’s mouth and paid the bill, they then headed outside and into the shop to pick up some nuts. This time they picked up almonds and pine nuts before they headed down to the gardens. Lore was aware of all the people around them, it was a busy day, she was not to know that it was the final week of the holidays before the University was due to start. In amongst the holiday makers and the normal crowd was a whole load of students returning to take up their places for the coming term.

They crossed the road and headed over to the gardens, hunted for a reasonable patch of grass to sit on and Lore carefully opened the packets of nuts. Both of them tossed a small handful around them and waited for the slinky grey animals to arrive. They were unaware of the eyes on them from the seat high up on their left. They were focussed entirely on the animals.

<<>>

Tony had followed them, staying behind people to stay out of sight, it was easy to keep track of them, Lore was tall and then there was that floppy hat, it added extra height and made her distinctive. He watched where they headed and then looked for a vantage point. What on earth were they doing? They seemed to be throwing stuff around, what? He was really curious. He kept his Stark Phone on his knee and got FRIDAY to record everything he was seeing.

They seemed to just sit still for about ten minutes, then something grey and undulating moved cautiously across the ground towards them, then stopped suddenly. It sat down and started to raise its front paws to its mouth, was it eating something? It moved a little closer to them but to the left and again repeated the paws to mouth motion. Were they feeding the squirrels? They were vermin as far as Tony was concerned. Then as he watched another two came towards them from the right hand side and another from straight in front that was much bolder and came really close. Tony watched Lore sprinkle something on the grass out of a pocket and the bold squirrel came right up close to her. If one of them bit Engel he would be furious! Instead his little girl seemed to be utterly fascinated by the vile creatures.

Lore made a cautious movement to get to her feet and the animals scattered, she reached out her hands and helped Engel to her feet and they started to head towards the exit. Tony stuffed his phone in his pocket and cautiously followed them, once more using people as his cover and keeping his distance. They stopped at one of the bus stops, so he stopped at the one below theirs. This was an opportunity to see which direction they headed in, it would narrow their search tremendously!

Tony didn’t have long to wait for his answer, the bus for Swanage pulled in and he watched Lore and Engel get on board. Fucking awesome! A proper break at last! He waited until the bus left then spoke to FRIDAY “Get the others back to the hotel, now. And FRIDAY, concentrate all your resources on Swanage until I tell you otherwise.”

“Yes, Boss.”

<<>>

Lore and Engel unpacked all their purchases, their dresses carefully hung up in their wardrobes, Engel's new shoes stuffed with her lacy trimmed socks ready to be worn on her birthday. Lore hung her stunning robe on one of the hooks on the back of the ensuite door. She couldn’t wait to wear it! She hung up Loki’s new shirt, and put his new jeans away in his drawers. All the tags had been removed on the kitchen bench, and she went back through there and put all the rubbish into one Monsoon carrier bag. They would dispose of it on their way out. 

Engel came through from the bathroom where she had washed her hands “Where are we going tonight, Dada?” 

“The pizza place next to the White Swan. There are deliveries to come tomorrow, depending on what time they arrive you and Jack will be going out on a bus, or just out for a walk and he will cook later on. I thought we would walk along as far as the pier before we head for dinner.”

“Yes! Pizza and the pier!”

“We aren’t going on it, angel. Just walking as far as it. So don’t get over excited. We have done a lot of nice things today, haven’t we?”

“We have, Dada. I’ve had a lovely day and I love my new dress, it’s really pretty.” Lore smiled down at her daughter just before she locked the front door. She found the waste bin that belonged to their flats and dropped the carrier bags into it, then taking her angel by the hand they headed off in the direction of the pier, watching the terns dipping and diving into the sea to catch the small fish they thrived on.

They lingered watching the terns for around fifteen minutes and then they crossed the road and walked back towards the pizzeria. This was their first visit and it was quite busy with families, but they were allocated a table near the back and their drinks order was taken. Cider for Lore, coke for Engel. They looked through the menu, Engel delighted to find she could have a pepperoni pizza, the server came back, Lore ordered Engel’s favourite for her and a quattro stagioni for herself, and garlic dough balls for them to start with. It wasn't long before their dough balls arrived and they shared the portion happily between them. Their pizzas were thin, crispy based, like real Italian pizzas and were delicious. Engel couldn’t finish hers even though it was a smaller size than Lore’s. Lore had absolutely no trouble finishing hers. There was no dessert. 

After paying they headed back home and both opted to change into pyjamas before playing Ludo. Lore just wanted an excuse to wear her new robe, with her hair loose around her shoulders she thought it looked pretty glamorous. She set the board up while Engel sorted herself out and when she came through she had also undone her hair. Lore pulled the curtains across the french windows and they settled down to play. 

After Engel won the first game, Lore made their hot chocolate and they shared some of the caramel chocolate buttons as they played their second game. Engel only just won that one as well. “Well done, angel. That’s the first time you’ve won both games. I think we should try Snakes and Ladders again, we didn’t give it much of a go last time.”

“I quite liked that, it was different.” Engel packed the board away while Lore rinsed and soaked the dishes.

“Well now it’s time for bed.”

“I knew that was coming.” There was that cheeky grin and Engel disappeared along the hallway to her room leaving Lore sniggering. She pulled herself together and went through and sat next to her little girl who was now snuggled under the covers with Fenris wolf, butterfly lights twinkling around her. “I hope when I grow up I’m as beautiful as you, Dada.”

Lore leant over and kissed the top of her head “You will be far more beautiful, my angel, just you wait and see. Now let’s read another chapter and you can go to sleep.” Lore read and Engel listened to the soothing voice of her parent and towards the end of the chapter she began to yawn sleepily. Lore tucked the covers up around her, the evenings were getting cooler now, she stayed on the edge of the bed until she was sure Engel was asleep. She switched off the butterfly lights and went back into the living room.

With a glass of wine in her hand she sat and signed into her Kindle and opened up her email. She checked her email from JARVIS to see what that day's email address was and then sent her email message to Phil Coulson giving their codewords ‘Mama’ and ‘Baby girl’. She let him know that she would confirm when they received the package and it was fitted. Messaging completed she read for a short time while she finished her wine, then rinsed her glass and headed to bed. Her dragonfly lights lit up the area around her bed and she threw the covers back, she slipped off her glamorous new robe and slid into bed pulling Rhubarb towards her. She reached across and switched off her lights and allowed her thoughts to quieten as she shifted.

Remember to look for that which is hidden…

He was in a chamber underground that he had found purely by accident and it was full of boxed up things that had obviously belonged to someone of importance. But who? A chest was full of women's leathers in black and green. Elegant boots, finest kid leather gloves. A wealth of books on warfare and magic tumbled out of damaged crates, Paintings in heavy gilded frames had wood nailed across them so that he couldn’t see who the subject was. Everything was covered in a layer of dust, it had been buried here for centuries by the looks of things. He would mark the route down in his journal and bring something down here so that he could undo the panels on the paintings to see what they were of.

<<>>

FRIDAY had managed to secure one room at the Purbeck House Hotel for the next two nights, Tony had opted to send Rhodey in first. Neither Lore nor Engel knew him. Then there was another room available on Thursday night, Stephen would go then. Friday night both himself and Happy would join them, just in time for Engel’s birthday on Saturday. 

Rhodey’s task was simple, observe, but do not engage. Likewise when Stephen joined Rhodey, they could take turns observing and report in via FRIDAY. The main objective - find out where they were living, if they had a daily routine. Tony was more animated than they had seen him in days, they watched the footage of the woman and child in the gardens as they sat feeding the squirrels. Rhodey was a little uneasy, she looked just like any other mother with her child, pretty, harmless and doting. He was going to be very interested to see the young man in action with the child, would he get a different feel from him? After they had dined and had drinks, Rhodey headed upstairs and packed up his bag. He would leave them after breakfast, heading into Swanage on the bus. He had pinned the map to Google Maps. For the next couple of days he was going to be free to eat and drink where he felt like. He thought his liver might appreciate the break!

Tony headed to bed with a glass of whisky in his hand and asked FRIDAY to play the footage yet again. He scrutinised Lore, despite the fact her glossy raven tresses were out of sight she was still a stunning sight. He finished off his whisky and turned out the light. What he dreamt of that night was not for public consumption…

<<>>

After Loki got dressed he took the robe back into the bathroom and hung it up on the back of the door again. He tidied up the bed and opened his curtains. It was grey outside. He headed into the living room and opened the curtains there, the balcony was wet. It had been raining. He shrugged, they were stuck inside until the couriers arrived anyway. He made his way into the kitchen and started to prep their breakfast, grating cheese, chopping mushrooms and ham, slicing bread for toast. He heard sounds of life at the other end of the hallway and smiled softly as he started to break eggs into the Pyrex jug and beat them thoroughly. He listened carefully for the shower switching off, and as soon as it did he started to melt the butter in the pan and then tossed in the mushrooms to allow them to sweat. He melted more butter in the large pan for the eggs, then added the ham to the mushrooms to heat it through. 

Engel came through, and pushed the handle down on the toaster, then set the table and poured a couple of glasses of milk. She added those to the table, then came back and buttered the toast while Loki added cheese to the eggs in the frying pan. He carefully drained the excess liquid from the ham and mushroom mixture and added it to the omelette carefully folding it over before he split it between them. He carried the plates over to the table and sat down. “I thought you could read or do some colouring this morning, angel.”

“What are  you going to be doing, Dada?”

“Investigate my pocket dimension. I want to see what books there are in there, something that may help me with my memories.”

“With your seidr?”

“Perhaps. I don’t know to be honest. I could be clutching at straws, but there is only one way to find out. It’s been raining, but it seems to have stopped, so if you want to sit on the balcony you can, I’ll wipe down the table and chairs for you.”

“No, I’ll stay inside with you, Dada. I’m curious to see what you find.” Loki smiled at her, that trait could come from either him or Tony to be fair.

After they cleared up and made their beds, Engel settled on one side of the table with her colouring book and Loki, now glamoured as Jack was carefully unpacking books from his pocket dimension by centring his seidr and thinking of books and journals. There were a lot of books, and he would have to investigate them all at some point. Engel reached out and snatched one from the pile “I remember this! You taught me about animals when I was little using this book. Can I keep it out, Dada?”

“I guess so, angel. People will just think it is in a foreign language if they see it.” Her face was joyful at having something of hers from Asgard.

Finally he got to the end of the books, then came the journals, and of course the one he really wanted was the very last to appear, because it was the oldest. It was from when he was young. Black leather bound, tied with strips of leather. The front was tooled with the image of a bird, a magpie he thought. He vanished everything else back where it came from. He unwrapped the strings and opened the journal. The runes were those of a child, but undoubtedly his hand was behind them. He started to read. 

<<>>

James Rhodes got off the bus in Swanage, he followed the route on Google Maps to reach the hotel which was part way up Swanage High Street. On their last visit they hadn’t really come up this far. From the outside it didn’t look much, but apparently it was a four star establishment. It was too early to check in but he was just going to drop off his bag and have a wander around, get a feel for the place. Inside the hotel was more luxurious in a slightly old fashioned way, but the receptionist was young and efficient. He took the bag from James and gave him a ticket stub and told him that he could check in from 3pm onwards. Back out on the High Street James opted to head downwards in the direction of the sea, he had covered the shopping area with Stephen, time to look at the rest of this town.

He crossed over by the fish and chip shop and the lifeboat station and it brought him to the paved walkway that bordered the sea. He could go right or left at this point. He headed right past the amusement arcade, several outdoor eateries and onwards to the pier. Across the road from the pier was a startling sight to James, an amphitheatre sat at the foot of a green park which led quite steeply upwards, part way up was a clump of trees and some scrubby undergrowth, and a car park pretty much bisected the green space. Today was not the day to explore the pier, it’s not as if he was going to find them living on there! James turned and went back the way he had come and then carried on as if he had turned left. He checked the map, this was called The Parade. There were some beautiful three storey houses along here, with gorgeous wrought iron balconies to their second floor and french windows. Several of them had the windows open to take advantage of the warm sea air. At the end of The Parade was a cafe. James decided to sit and have a coffee and a bite to eat, he sat at one of the outside tables and glanced at the menu, they had BLTs. The girl came over and he ordered one and an Americano. He sat and scrolled through his phone while he waited, therefore missed the courier van until it went past where he was sitting…so observant these guys!

<<>>

Loki was part way through the journal when the front door bell rang, Engel glanced up at him. “Just stay there, angel. I can manage.” He raced down the stairs. 

“Hi, I’ve got two packages for Jack Edwardson. One of them is sizeable.”

“That’s me, and it’s OK. I’m much stronger than I look.”

“OK, mate. I need you to sign the manifest just here.” The delivery guy pointed to a spot on the form and Jack scribbled his signature. Then he took possession of one small neat box and a very large box that had carrying handles on it. He shut the main front door and once no one else was around he vanished everything into his pocket dimension and headed upstairs. He closed their apartment door behind him and then pulled everything free from his hidden space.

"What's in that big box, Dada?” Engel’s eyes were wide.

“What did I promise you?”

“Lego?” she asked cautiously. 

Loki lifted her up and swung her around. “Indeed it is, my beautiful daughter.” He laid his fingers on the crate and the outer layers fell away as green tendrils of seidr undid all the complicated fastenings that secured the packing together. Then the packing itself broke down into a neat little pile. “OK, you can go ahead now and open the box up while I look at this package from Director Coulson.” Engel opened the lid and began to explore the contents of the chest of bricks and components in front of her. So much Lego!

Loki opened up the box from Coulson, inside was a kit, tiny tools, and magnifying glasses, a list of instructions. He sat down to read them carefully. The device that went into the lock that registered how many people came through the door at any one time was no bigger than a grain of rice. Certainly no one would see it when it was in situ. Likewise the microphone, so small, he would have no difficulty hiding either of them.

He opened the apartment door and looked at the lock mechanism within the door jamb and could see exactly where he could fit the tiny camera, it wasn’t strictly a camera, but its true title was bigger than the item itself! He slipped on the magnifying glasses and picked up one of the tools and created the small indentation needed to seat the camera. He added a tiny drop of adhesive to the indentation then carefully inserted the camera and left the door ajar to let everything dry. He let his breath out slowly. 

He headed over to the bookshelves and picked up Henry the Duck, Engel gave him a puzzled look. “He’s just been promoted!” Loki eyed up the front door in relation to where Henry had been standing. He put the glasses back on and added a tiny drop of glue to the string just above Henry’s name tag, then he attached the tiny microphone. It seemed to vanish among the rough string. He breathed out slowly yet again, it was straightforward to do, but fiddly when you had very long fingers. Then after putting Henry back in his place he gathered together all the tools and packed everything back in the original box. Then he vanished it into his pocket dimension, that way no one could gain access to it and realise that anything was odd about their apartment. He waved his hand in front of the camera four times and then said in a normal level voice “Testing. Mama, baby girl. End of test.” He very gently closed the front door. 

He sat down opposite Engel who was happily clicking bricks together. “Do you want to go out, angel? We could have a late lunch. Or we can stay in.”

“Go out, Dada.”

“Get ready then, angel and we’ll head out.” Loki shut the french windows while Engel found her backpack and put it on. They headed out to the bus station walking past Brook Tea Rooms and the dark skinned man that was sitting outside on his phone. They made it to the bus station just in time to get the Poole bus and sat downstairs near the front. They were talking to each other and took no notice of the other passengers that got on after them, one of whom was the man from Brook Tea Rooms.

<<>>

Rhodey sat downstairs on the bus behind Loki and Engel. He had no idea where they were going so he had bought a ticket to Poole - the final destination of the bus, that way he could get off wherever they did without calling attention to himself. That was the plan anyway. What he hadn’t bargained for was for them to get off at a tiny little village in the middle of nowhere. Was this where they lived? He had no way of knowing. If he got off here he would stand out like a sore thumb, a token black man in a rural village in the wilds of Dorset. He would get off in the next main place, hang around for a bit and then get the next bus back and check into his hotel. This trip had been a fools errand on his own. 

The bus carried on down a steep hill and into the picturesque village of Corfe Castle. A lot of people alighted here, Rhodey decided to join them. He could mooch around the village for a few hours and pick up another bus back to Swanage, this was going to be a steep learning curve.

<<>>

Loki and Engel made their way into the Scott Arms and went to sit outside in the Beer Garden, it had stupendous views over the countryside right down to Corfe Castle which sat proud on its hill, showing off its defensive position. Loki checked out the menu and left Engel while he went inside to get them drinks and order sandwiches. He came back with a pint of beer for himself and a coke for Engel. 

“Why are we here, Jack?”

“We are going to walk from here down to Corfe Castle after we have had a look around the church. Then we will get the bus back home. I thought it would make a change from Durlston and Ulwell.”

“Ooh! It’s all downhill as well!”

“Yes, angel. I don’t think it’s too far for you to walk but if you get tired I’ll give you a piggyback.” Just then their lunch arrived, smoked salmon, cream cheese and cucumber for Loki, cheddar cheese and pickle for Engel, both came with crisps and a side salad.  And to follow thick slices of Dorset Apple Cake. They both tucked in. Loki letting Engel taste his sandwich, she wasn’t sure about the smoked salmon. He relished it. 

They finished their drinks and headed over to the church, for such a small village it was a very grand church, more ornate than they had seen in Swanage which was a town. They walked a little way down the main road then found the public footpath that headed off to Corfe Castle. It was a beautiful walk across open countryside, swifts and butterflies flew across their pathway as they headed downwards towards the village. They ended up close to the butcher, who was sadly closed.  

They headed into the main part of the village and The Square. They had time before the bus was due so Loki bought Engel an ice cream and they browsed the National Trust shop to fill in their time. They headed over for the bus and stood in the queue waiting. Loki’s curiosity was roused by a man who seemed a little out of place. He looked to be military by his bearing, a sight he was familiar with from his dealings with Steve Rogers. But then he relaxed a little, why wouldn’t a soldier be interested in Corfe Castle, it was a place of siege and military action. He slipped an arm around Engel who glanced up at him, he smiled at her “Go upstairs on the bus, angel, when it comes.” Engel gave him a slight nod.

The bus pulled up, it was busy, but there was room upstairs and Engel found them a seat together. The strange man went downstairs. Loki thought nothing more of it until they got off the bus. He checked around when they alighted, the man was not in sight, but they didn’t head straight home to be sure. They headed into Salt Pig Too. “Hi, I’d like to book a table for Saturday night for my sisters, Lauren and Angela Edwardson for 6pm, please.”

“Of course, that’s all booked in for you, sir. If there are any problems just let us know.”

“Thank you.”

Loki kept hold of Engel’s hand as they left the restaurant, he looked up and down the street, ostensibly checking for traffic, but actually looking for the man. He was nowhere in sight. They crossed the road and headed over to Brook Tea Rooms, Loki ever vigilant. There was no one in sight on The Parade, but to be doubly sure they watched the terns fishing for a while. Once he was happy he unlocked the main door and closed it behind them quickly. Then they went upstairs to the safety of their own apartment.

“What’s wrong, Dada?”

“Probably nothing, angel. There was just a man who looked out of place in Corfe this afternoon, he got on our bus. But he is more than likely just here on holiday and I’m being paranoid after that message from SHIELD. If they hadn’t said anything I wouldn’t have given him a second thought. I don’t want you worrying your pretty little head about it though, we are safe in here. And now I suppose I had better make us some dinner.”

Engel hugged her Dada, and then sat at the table to play with her Lego. Loki headed into the kitchen and put the oven on to heat up. He tossed baby potatoes in olive oil and put them on a tray and sprinkled them with a little bit of sea salt then he spread a layer of foil out on the bench and put two lamb leg steaks on it, he thinly sliced mushrooms and added them to the lamb, along with a small tin of chopped tomatoes and a sprinkling of oregano. He carefully folded up the foil to create a parcel and added it to the tray with the potatoes. Now the oven was hot he put the tray in to cook. He topped and tailed fine green beans and popped them in a small saucepan and partially cooked them, then drained them. He added a generous knob of butter and a crushed garlic clove to the pan. He would finish cooking them when it was almost time to dish everything up. He hulled half a punnet of strawberries and shared them out between a couple of bowls for after their dinner. 

“Angel, can you push your Lego to one side and set the table for me?”

“Yes, Dada. I’m coming.” Engel pushed the maze she had started to one side of the table then headed into the kitchen to gather the cutlery and table mats. She set the table and poured two glasses of milk for them. “Dada, we will need more milk tomorrow. We have enough for breakfast.”

“OK, sweet girl. Sit at the table and I will bring everything over.” Loki finished the green beans off, cooking them in the garlic butter. He dished up the potatoes roasted in their skins and the lamb steaks with their tomato and mushroom sauce first, then finally the green beans. He brought the plates over to the table and they ate in silence. 

“Dada, can we play with the Lego tonight instead of watching a film after we have had our dessert and washed up?” 

“Of course we can, sweet girl. And if it is nice tomorrow I thought we could go swimming, if you like?”

“Yes, Dada! I would like that very much.” Loki cleared their plates, added cream to their strawberries and they ate their dessert. They had enough milk for tonight’s hot chocolate and tomorrow's breakfast. He washed up, and Engel dried the dishes and put them away. Loki investigated the box of Lego and pulled out some green base boards, then he filled a dish with a variety of different pieces. Both of them sat at the table quietly clicking pieces into place, Loki was completely zoned out, it was like something else took control of him when he was let loose with these coloured bricks. They took a break for hot chocolate and then worked for a bit longer before Loki sent Engel to get ready for bed. As always he read a chapter of her book to her and then tucked her in with Fenris. He left her lights on as she was still awake, he would check later to make sure she had switched them off herself. 

Back in the sitting room he sat with his Kindle, there was a message from Phil Coulson to let him know that the test had been successful. Their codewords had been cascaded down through the ranks of SHIELD so if anyone heard them, they would act. Mack and Hunter were in position, so close by if they needed help. Loki emailed Phil back to let him know that they were both OK, but that he had seen someone today that he wasn’t sure of. He would keep his eyes open in case he saw them again. Message sent he turned back to his journal. There were drawings of passageways with annotations of which door led to where. They seemed to be servants routes, not regular hallways. The handwriting was young, not as well formed as it was later in the journal. How old had his former self been when he mapped all this out? He wrapped the leather ties back around the book and stowed it back on the shelf. He checked on Engel, she was asleep, her butterfly lights were out. He smiled softly, she was a good girl.

He headed through to his own room, undressed, slipped into his pyjamas and then into bed. He yawned as he pulled Rhubarb against his chest.  It wasn’t long before he fell into a shallow sleep.

Remember what you saw

He was in a tunnel that headed downwards, roughly hewn steps underfoot near the end, it was dark so he lit another witchlight, stronger and brighter than the last. He was in a storeroom of some kind, but his mind would not let him go further.

<<>>

James Rhodes had eaten a solitary meal in the hotel dining room, the food and wine were good. Now he was in his room talking to the others, making his report. He had explained how out of place he felt, how he stood out here like a sore thumb as it was not cosmopolitan like Bournemouth. That Loki had seen him in Corfe Castle, really seen him, had seemed to look right through him.

Tony sighed “Maybe I should have sent Stephen in first. I just thought that he had never seen you before, I never thought that an African American would stand out so much. Sorry, Platypus. Don’t try and follow them, just mooch around tomorrow, fill your time in as best as you can. Stephen will be with you on Thursday, he can do the leg work, you can do the reporting.  But at least we know they are in Swanage. Get a good night’s rest.”

Tony put the phone down. “Fuck! Why didn’t I think of that? There are people of every colour and nationality under the sun here in Bournemouth, but apparently not a few miles down the road.”

Chapter Text

Every move you make

And every vow you break

Every smile you fake, every claim you stake

I’ll be watching you

Every move you make, every step you take

I’ll be watching you

Director Coulson called another video conference with what remained of the Avengers. “My question to you guys is, who would Tony Stark trust enough to take away with him, if anybody?”

Steve Rogers answered first “Happy Hogan, Director. He normally acts as his chauffeur, pilot, collects his food orders, that sort of thing. He’s also his Head of Security.”

“Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes, US Air Force. Long time friend and confidante.” Nat spoke up “Pepper Potts would have both of their contact details, sir. She is, was, friends with both. I'm not sure of their current status in relation to Miss Potts.”

“Anyone else you can think of?”

“Not that Tony trusts, he’s not the trusting type.” Steve commented.

“Thanks guys, I will contact Miss Potts and see if I can get in touch with either or both of the above. There is a chance Tony is out there with someone else, whoever it is might help us track him down more quickly. I’ll update as soon as I have any new information.”

<<>>

Loki and Engel had had a simple bacon and egg sandwich for breakfast with a glass of milk. They had then headed to the amphitheatre and completed three run throughs of their forms, at least Loki had. Engel could now manage five of the exercises really well, and a sixth to a lesser degree. Forms finished they headed to the newsagent to pick up a couple of bottles of water then headed back along The Parade towards the beach. Loki was wary of letting Engel into the toilets on her own to get changed, but he really didn’t have a lot of choice. He hurried to get changed so he was hanging around outside when she came out. 

Once she was out of the toilet block he took hold of her hand until they were on the beach. There was hardly anyone else around now, if Loki had been aware the schools had now returned as it was term time, it was mainly older holiday makers about now and most of them didn’t venture on the beach as much as the families. He placed a protective ward around their things and they headed into the water, romping around in the shallows to start with, then striking out to swim with smooth, sure strokes. The tide was heading out, so Loki kept a careful eye on Engel, but she was a strong swimmer. When they got out of the water, he used a little seidr to dry them off and they played catch with the ball for a short time, then built a sand castle as usual. This time it was long and low as they had space to themselves. A woman spoke to him “Shouldn’t your little girl be in school, dear?”

“My sister is home schooled. We spend so much of each day outdoors when the weather permits, then the rest of the day is bookwork. This afternoon we are going to be tackling physics. I have to go and pick some supplies up from Newton’s for our experiments.”

“Isn’t physics a bit advanced for her?”

“No, it’s one of her favourite subjects, isn’t it Angela? That and mechanics.”

“Yes, I want to be a mechanical engineer when I’m older, like my father. He’s a genius, bad tempered, but a genius.” Engel smiled at the woman who managed a tentative smile back. Girls had such strange ideas of what they wanted to be these days! She carried on with her walk. 

They packed their things up and headed back to the toilets to get changed back into their shorts and tops, Loki rushed to make sure he was outside once more waiting for Engel. Was he getting paranoid? His relief when he saw her was huge. He took her sandy things from her and buried them at the bottom of the rainbow patchwork bag, underneath the beach toys. He grasped her hand as they headed towards the shops. 

“Are we really going to Newton’s, Jack?”

“Yes, angel. I want to see if I can get you some ball bearings for your physics experiment.” She looked puzzled. “Your maze, angel.” He winked at her. Engel grinned, her Dada was smart. The hardware store had a variety of ball bearings, all different sizes. Loki bought her a selection, the woman at the till looked at him strangely “They’re for a science project.” 

“We’re using magnets.” Engel chimed in. The woman smiled at her.

“That sounds like fun.” Engel nodded enthusiastically.

They picked up four pints of milk and some fresh apricots at the supermarket. Then sandwiches and sausage rolls at the bakery. The sky was getting dark “I think it’s going to rain this afternoon, angel. We may be stuck in. At least we have things to do.” They headed back home via Brook Tea Rooms and into the sanctuary of their apartment. Loki unpacked their shopping and put most of the stuff away. The sandwiches and sausage rolls went onto plates for their lunch, along with mugs of hot fruit tea. 

<<>>

James Rhodes had a lazy morning, and after a late breakfast in the hotel had explored the pier, then headed up onto the green park above the amphitheatre. It was a pleasant enough place, but boring. There was nothing to do here. Apart from the beach, what was the attraction? Rhodey could not figure it out at all. He headed back down into the small town and into the White Swan, ordered a pint of lager and a cheeseburger and fries. He spoke to Tony, briefly, they were down in a bar in the centre of town. They were bored too. It struck Rhodey that the only two that weren’t bored were the two they were tracking. They were living their best lives.

<<>>

Loki and Engel spent several hours clicking together brick after brick. Loki’s project seemed to be a garden of some sort, he still had no idea what it represented, but something within him kept him moving the project forward, layer by layer. Engel had found a ball bearing she was happy with, and was building her maze around it. Outside it was grey and the rain battered against the french windows.

“Why don’t we take a break for a while and read? I’ll make us a drink and we can cuddle up on the sofa. We can come back to this after our dinner if you like?”

“OK, Dada. I’ll go and get my book from the bedroom.” Engel disappeared down the back hallway and Loki filled the kettle. He put rosehip teabags into two mugs ready to pour boiling water on them when the kettle boiled. Engel settled herself down on the sofa with her book and Fenris Wolf. Loki brought their hot drinks over and put them on the small coffee table, he picked up the journal and unwrapped the leather ties and delved back into his former self's childhood wanderings. The descriptions were absolutely meticulous, the maps detailed. He was quite sure he could turn up in Asgard and find his way around using these subterranean tunnels and get from A to B without any problem. What would he find as he got into the later journals? And how old had the other Loki been when he wrote this, not too old judging by the writing. Engel tapped his arm “Dada, where is that?”

“It’s some of the servant’s tunnels in Asgard. This one leads to the gardens, the kitchen garden, flower garden, then it branches off here and goes to the kitchen and laundry. That one leads to the Royal quarters, the princes suites, the nursery, then on to the kitchen and laundry via this little dog leg here. So that means by using that dog leg the other Loki could leave his quarters and get out into the gardens without anyone but the servants seeing him. From the gardens he could get out of the palace completely and no one would be any the wiser apart from Heimdall.”

“Wow! So he could explore wherever he wanted whenever he wanted?”

“More or less. This journal has lots of these maps, and they are all incredibly detailed. I don’t know if he was just exploring because he was bored, looking to escape or trying to find something in particular. Maybe I’ll find out as I go through them.”

“Maybe he was trying to get away from Grandpa.”

“Maybe, angel. We’ll set the table and then I’ll go and get us fish and chips as we are eating out on Saturday.” They stood up and took the mugs into the kitchen and rinsed them out. Engel laid the table and Loki got the plates ready. He pulled on his coat as it was still raining.

“Can I come, Dada? I don’t want to be here on my own.”

“Get your coat on then, sweet girl. It’s still raining out there.” Engel went and put on her brightly coloured raincoat, she left Fenris in charge of the apartment. They hurried along to the fish and chip shop and placed their order, Loki got Engel a can of coke. He hung their coats up in the bathroom to drip while they ate their dinner. Then finished the last glass of wine with his fish and chips while Engel drank her coke. He felt a little guilty, it was a lazy meal, he should have cooked, but on the whole what they ate was good food, and they had apricots for dessert. Loki cleared away their plates and brought through the apricots, he then brought himself a glass of water. 

“What are we going to do tomorrow, Dada?”

“It depends on the weather, angel. If it’s nice I thought we could get the bus up to the upper High Street and pick up the Priests Way Trail to Worth Matravers. Then get the bus back after lunch, there’s an interesting pub up there and you can also get out on the cliffs as well. But if it’s not so good we can have a lazy day at home, have lunch at Earthlights and go and pick Rufus up. We have to collect him at some point over the next couple of days, and see if we can get you a birthday cake for Saturday.”

“I’m getting a birthday cake?”

“If I can get one, angel. We’ll get something special anyway for Saturday after you have been to the Salted Pig Too for dinner.” Engel grinned at him “Go and wash your hands, you are covered in apricot juice. You can’t touch your Lego like that, it'll get all sticky. I’ll clear up.” Engel headed off to the bathroom and Loki washed the dishes after disposing of all the apricot pits. When she came back Engel started to dry the dishes he had already washed and between them they put everything away. Loki pulled the curtains after he switched the light on, it seemed pointless hanging on, it wasn’t getting any brighter outside. The two of them sat down at the table and started working on their projects, Engel kept checking that her chosen ball bearing would run freely through the maze she was creating. Loki had built several flower beds by now and pathways wound between them. There were benches started and partially built bushes and trees and a circular object. 

Loki stopped and made them their hot chocolate, he brought the drinks through to the table and they sipped as they clicked away with the coloured bricks, oblivious to the world around them. “Engel, sweet girl, it’s time to go to bed. I’ll come through and read to you in about ten minutes. Put clean pyjamas on, I’ll do the washing tomorrow at some point.”

Loki rinsed and soaked the dishes, and went into his own room and put out his own clean pyjamas, putting his dirty ones in the linen basket in the bathroom. He headed through to Engel’s room and read her the penultimate chapter of her book. He tucked her and Fenris in and stayed with her until she fell asleep, then he switched off her butterfly lights. 

<<>>

Pepper wasn’t altogether surprised when she received a phone call from Phil Coulson. She gave him both Happy and Rhodey’s phone numbers and wished him luck. 

Phil tried both numbers, but just got a recorded message from FRIDAY saying that they were unable to be contacted at present as they were away on business. Phil took that to mean that Tony was not on his own in this venture, whatever was going on, he had two others with him. He appraised the team, all of them. Nat sent a message to Loki, hoping he would pick it up the same day so he would be prepared. The more he knew, the better.

<<>>

Loki was tired, although they hadn’t really done much but play that day. Although the temptation was to have an early night he knew he had to check in with the SHIELD team to let them know that they were both OK. He signed into his email account on his Kindle and let his messages load. There was nothing from Phil, but a message from Nat. He half expected the usual chat, but his blood ran cold when he read her warning that wherever Tony was he had Happy with him and a man called James Rhodes. Nat recommended strongly that he carry his phone with him daily now, that he change his SIM card every day and if he saw anyone he was suspicious of, take a photo and send it in as soon as he possibly could. Loki emailed back to the daily email address and told her he understood and would ensure he always had spare SIM cards. He fished his phone out of his pocket dimension and put it on to charge. He checked his SIM cards, he had six, enough to keep them going for a good few days. He would make sure that every time they went to the newsagent or the supermarket he would get a spare one.

It was time to seriously think about going back to the safety of the compound. But first he wanted Engel to see Brownsea Island, after they had done that he would ask for extraction, he couldn’t keep her at risk, they would be safer with the others. He rubbed his face wearily and closed down his Kindle. He was just about to stand up when he heard a noise and turned quickly, dagger in his hand.

“Dada, can I sleep with you? I can’t stay asleep.” Engel stood there in her pyjamas holding Fenris by one ear.

Loki quickly flicked the dagger back into his pocket dimension. “Of course, angel. Go and get yourself into bed, I’m just about to come through myself.” Engel headed into his bedroom and climbed into his bed, shuffling over until she was near the window. Loki switched his dragonfly lights on, they softly lit up the bed. Loki put Rhubarb on his pillow and then quickly undressed and put his pyjamas on, he dropped his dirty clothes into his linen basket in the bathroom and then slid into bed beside Engel. He switched the lights off and put his arm around his daughter and pulled her towards him. “Come, angel, Dada will keep you safe.” He cuddled her and Fenris into him. Rhubarb snuggled up against the back of his neck. His weariness soon had him slipping off to sleep, Engel joining him, safe in his arms. 

Be vigilant, and remember who you are

<<>>

The sun woke Loki up, Engel was curled up at the other side of the bed, all that was visible was the tangle of her hair peeking out from under the covers. He smiled as he got out of bed and padded into the ensuite, the water was warm as it cascaded over his body, the soothing fragrance of his shampoo and body wash easing him into the morning. He cleaned his teeth and ran his wide toothed comb through his damp hair. He slipped on the turquoise robe and headed into the bedroom to sort out some clean clothes. Engel poked her head above the covers “Good morning, sleepy head. Are you going to have your shower?”

“Morning, Dada. I’ll go and start my shower.”

“Good girl, it’s a nice day, we’ll go up to Worth Matravers, but I’ll take our coats in my pocket dimension just in case. Trousers and walking shoes, angel.”

“OK, Dada.” Engel grabbed Fenris and headed through to her own room, pulled out her clean clothes then switched on the shower, she had slept well curled up next to her Dada.

Loki pulled on the new jeans that Lore had bought for him with his green Mantaray t-shirt, he pulled on his socks and walking shoes then headed through into the kitchen to cook breakfast. Sausages and tomatoes went into the oven to cook while he cracked some eggs into a jug and beat them with a fork ready to scramble them. He sliced some granary bread from the bakery for toast and dropped some of it in the toaster ready for Engel to deal with. They would need more bread, he could sort that out when they got back when he went to ask about a birthday cake. 

Engel came through in red trousers and one of her broderie anglaise blouses. She popped the handle down on the toaster and automatically laid the table for breakfast. She buttered the first two slices and put another two in the toaster then poured two glasses of milk and put them on the table. Loki started off the eggs and as soon as they were cooked he dished everything up and brought the hot food over to the table.

“Are we still going to get Rufus today, Dada?” Engel spoke before she took the last bite of her toast.

“We are, angel. Bakery first, then Corfe Bears as soon as we get back. There is only one bus back from Worth Matravers, so we need to be on it.” They quickly cleared the table and washed up. Engel headed into her bedroom and put her walking shoes on while Loki made his bed and opened the curtains. There wasn’t time to do their forms today, it was a brisk walk to the bus station for the first bus out to Poole, which would take them to Upper Swanage and the start of their walk.

<<>>

Happy walked with Stephen Strange to the bus stop in Bournemouth to have a break away from Tony who seemed intent on drinking himself into an early grave. He had never seen Tony this bad, even when he first came back from Afghanistan and his PTSD was really bad. It was a beautiful morning, yesterday’s rain had freshened the air and Happy felt glad to be doing something, even if it was keeping this man company, Strange by name, Strange by nature. 

The bus pulled in, and Happy said that he would see Strange on Friday morning, but to keep in touch with Tony as agreed. “Of course I will. I know what I am here for. I will find them, then hopefully we can get back to New York before Monday if possible.” Happy nodded and stood and watched the bus pull away. He headed down into the gardens just for a quick walk in the fresh air he told himself. 

He walked for around fifteen minutes then found himself a bench to sit on and scanned the scene in front of him. It was quite a nice place. No Central Park, but not bad for a place like this. He played with his phone and realised he had a text message from Pepper. She was trying to get hold of Tony as she had important documents for him to sign, did Happy know where he was?

Happy sent her a message back ‘We are on an impromptu business trip to Europe, hopefully back early next week. Tony doesn’t want to be disturbed. I’ll let you know when we are back in The Tower.’ Not only did Happy’s message go to Pepper, it went straight to SHIELD, and both Skye and JARVIS started to trace Happy’s phone, fighting against FRIDAY’s firewalls. Happy took a slow walk back to The Nici to see what sort of state his boss was in today, after his sensible breakfast had been followed by several whisky chasers.

<<>>

The Priests Way Trail took them across open countryside high above Swanage. It was a nice easy trek past Langton Matravers on to Worth Matravers, the views over the coast and the countryside were absolutely stunning. They made good time, Loki had his phone tucked safely in his pocket dimension, easy to call to his hand if he needed it. They soon reached the lovely little village at the end of the walk, sitting around a duck pond. The village pub, The Square and Compass, was where they would have lunch before they caught their bus back. There was also a tea room. They headed down a footpath that took them towards the cliffs, and they walked along the cliff path for a short while, Loki keeping a firm hold on Engel’s hand as the path was narrow and there were rabbit holes along the way. 

As it got close to twelve o’clock they turned back and headed back to the Square and Compass. Loki sat them at a table in the pub garden which was the most fascinating place, the tables and benches were made of stone, and there were strange wooden structures in the garden. Loki went inside and thought he had stepped inside a museum rather than a pub, there were cases full of fossils and skulls of different animals. Taxidermy animals abounded. Food consisted of pies or pasties. He ordered them a pastie each, a pint of local cider for himself and an apple juice for Engel. He asked if it was OK to bring his little girl in once they had eaten to look at the fossils, the publican said that it was fine. 

The food came out quickly and was good, hearty fare. There were other people out in the garden now eating and drinking. Loki checked the time on his phone, they had twenty minutes before the bus was due on the other side of the duck pond. “We can have a quick look at the fossils inside, but we can’t miss the bus back, angel, otherwise we will have to walk back to Swanage.”

“OK, Jack. We’ll keep a close eye on the time.” He took her inside and they gazed at all the different fossils on display. Everything was labeled and was totally fascinating. There was five minutes to go, and they reluctantly left, walked around the pond and joined the others waiting at the bus stop. The bus pulled up relatively on time and everyone got on, Loki and Engel headed upstairs to take in the view as part of the journey was different to the normal route. 

<<>>

Stephen Strange met up with James Rhodes in the Reception area of the hotel and dropped off his bag in Rhodey’s room until it was time to check into his own room. “Have you managed to discover their whereabouts at all or have you just kept a low profile?”

“After the episode in Corfe Castle I’ve kept a low profile. I think I’ve only seen two other coloured people in this town since I got here, I stand out like a sore thumb.”

“You need to get out there, otherwise he will just get more suspicious of you quite frankly. Look more like a tourist. Take photos of stuff, even if you're just pretending, browse the gift shops. I’ll try and ascertain where they are living, we won’t meet up outside of the hotel. We’ll come and go separately. Does that work for you?” Stephen looked at Rhodey.

“Yeah! You have no idea how he looks at you. It’s like he can see right through you.”

“That’s probably just because he has green eyes. There are all kinds of superstitions about people with green eyes, mainly to do with witchcraft and the supernatural. It’s just the way they scatter light, nothing spooky at all.”

“You head out now, then I’ll walk to the other end of the beach and make like a tourist in about fifteen minutes. I’ll see you later, Stephen.”

“Yeah, OK James.”

Stephen wandered around the town, just over fifteen minutes later Rhodey walked along the seafront to Ulwell and grabbed lunch at the cafe there. Stephen ate at the bakery, he just happened to be at the Post Office when the bus from Poole pulled in and two familiar figures got off and started to walk in the direction he had just come from.

<<>>

Jack and Angela walked straight past Stephen Strange without noticing him, and why would they? He was just an average man, nothing stood out about him at all, he was just checking out the goods in the Post Office window. Loki checked the time on his phone, they had ample time to get everything done before he needed to cook. They called into the second hand bookstore to see their friend there. “Hi, have you any more Alan Garner books, we are nearly finished the Weirdstone of Brisingamen?”

“Let me just check what I have for you, I’m sure I have another one.” The old man headed off into the far reaches of the shop and came back clutching two books “Here we are. I have two. The Moon of Gomrath and The Owl Service. I can put one to the side for you if you like.”

“We’ll take both, we have a bookshelf in our new apartment that is begging to be filled, so there is plenty of space for both.” The old man smiled, he liked these two. He popped the books in a brown paper bag and Loki handed him cash for the books. 

Next stop was the newsagent and Loki picked up a SIM card, he let Engel browse through the children's magazines and he quickly scoured the birthday cards. He found a pretty one with butterflies on it that was three dimensional. He quickly paid for everything and tucked them in the brown paper bag with the books. “Anything you want, angel?”

“No, Dada. I’m fine with the Lego.” They left the shop walking out past the tall man with the dark hair that was greying at the temples. He had a goatee that was almost the same as Tony’s, Loki thought. It must be a fashion choice, something he would never understand as he seemed to be incapable of growing facial hair. 

They headed into the bakers and the task of trying to get a birthday cake at short notice. Loki spoke to the woman at the bakery end of the shop and asked if they did such a thing as a birthday cake. She let them know that they didn’t do birthday cakes as such, but they could buy a whole cake which was iced that would perform the same function if it was just for family rather than a party. She explained that the most popular was the chocolate cake, which was sandwiched and iced with chocolate buttercream. She mentioned a few other choices but Engel’s tugging at Loki’s t-shirt made the chocolate her clear preference. “Can we order a chocolate cake for Saturday, please?”

“Of course, can I take a name please?”

“Yes, of course. My sister will come to collect it. Her name is Lauren Edwardson. Can we collect in the morning?”

“Yes, that’s no problem. Any time after we open. If you want candles for the cake they sell them at Newton’s.” The woman smiled at Engel, she knew exactly who the cake was for, and what little girl didn’t like candles! Loki bought a loaf of bread.

“OK, angel. Next stop is collecting Rufus, we’ll get your candle tomorrow.” Loki and Engel headed off to Corfe Bears, Stephen Strange shadowed behind them stopping every now again to browse shop windows while watching where they were going using the reflections in the windows to track them. They walked into the shop and spoke to the woman who took their small box down from the shelf, she opened it up to check that it was indeed Rufus inside, and Loki handed over his card to pay the remaining £100. He tucked the little box and its precious cargo into Engel’s backpack. As they were leaving the shop Loki glimpsed a familiar face crossing the road heading towards them. He positioned Engel next to the giant bear, took out his phone and took several photos. Only one of which was of Engel and the bear. He took a firm hold of her hand and crossed the road away from Rhodey and they headed down the lane towards Chococo. If he tried to follow them it would be very obvious that that was what he was doing. Loki’s heart was pounding rapidly, he didn’t know who the man was, but his bearing unnerved him. 

He took Engel across the main road to Newton’s “I thought we were going to do this tomorrow, Dada?”

“I changed my mind, angel. It’s just pasta for dinner, so it’s nice and quick to do. And then we have everything we need other than the cake itself!” He smiled down at her, trying not to let her see his tension. “And we can stop at the supermarket and get something for dessert for tonight and tomorrow as there aren’t many apricots left.” They found a selection of cake toppings in Newton’s and finally settled on a candle in the shape of the number seven rather than seven small candles. Loki also got a box of Household Matches so that he could light the candle, instead of using a witchlight, that way it would blow out properly. 

When they came out of Newton's, the coloured military man was nowhere in sight. Loki relaxed a little and they headed into the supermarket. He picked up another four pints of milk, they could never have too much, extra bacon and tomatoes, an apple pie and a carton of double cream. He pulled a carrier bag out of his pocket and packed everything away and they headed down Station Road to Brook Tea Rooms, then onto The Parade after he checked that the man was nowhere in sight. He inwardly heaved a sigh of relief once they were safely in their own space. As soon as he had put everything in the fridge he started to send the photos he had taken to Nat.

“What are you doing, Dada?”

“I’m sending Nat the photos I took of you with the bear so she can see how much you are growing. She asks about you every day.” It was only part of a lie. 

“I’ll take some on your birthday and send her those, she said we are safe as long as we only use the SIM card once a day.”

“You need to get the girl at the restaurant to take a photo of both of us so she can see how pretty you look in that dress.” Loki laughed at Engel, but he would do it so his little girl felt safe and Nat would like the photo of them both dressed up. Now the photos were sent he took the SIM card out of the phone and cut it up with the kitchen scissors, then threw it in the rubbish. He would put a fresh one in tomorrow morning. 

<<>>

Stephen was sitting in the hotel bar when Rhodey got back. He sat and had a drink with him “I’m sure he spotted me again, he was taking photos of the kid outside the shop with that big bear outside. We need to let Tony know, he should be able to track his phone surely.”

“Yeah, with all that tech at his disposal and now FRIDAY isn’t searching half of the south of England for the two of them it should be child’s play to find them. They didn’t do a whole lot when I was following them today. A bit of shopping, they didn’t head for wherever they were living that’s for sure.”

“Do you think he knows he’s being followed or do you think he’s just careful with their time?”

“I think he’s just careful with their time. I mean how is he to know he’s being followed? No one knows where we are, FRIDAY has that covered and we only communicate with each other on these phones, any outside calls are rerouted via FRIDAY.”

“That’s true. OK, let’s get you checked into your room and we can move your luggage. Do you want to eat in here again tonight or at the pub just down the road, it looks OK?”

“We’ll try the pub. I’ve no doubt we’ll be eating here all the time when Tony arrives.”

“True, although he’s hoping we’ll be on our way out of here ASAP.”

They put down their empty glasses and headed for Reception, unaware that Happy’s message to Pepper had already been intercepted by SHIELD and that both JARVIS and Skye were working to break through FRIDAY’s firewalls and defences.

<<>>

Loki and Engel spent an hour playing with their Lego before he got up and switched on the oven to warm up. In a pan he put a little olive oil and a crushed garlic clove to gently cook through, then added a finely chopped onion. Once it was turning transparent he added a tin of chopped tomatoes, black pepper, a drained tin of tuna and measured in some fusilli pasta. Once it was all mixed together nicely he added it to an oven proof dish and grated cheddar and mozzarella cheese over the top. It went into the oven to cook thoroughly. He tossed together some baby salad leaves in a bowl and chopped some cherry tomatoes and radishes up and added them into the mix. He went back to play with the Lego while his Tuna Pasta Bake cooked. 

About ten minutes before everything was due out of the oven he pushed everything to one side “Angel, set the table for me while I finish everything off. Apple pie for dessert, and we need forks and spoons for dinner, I think it may be a bit messy!”

He wandered into the kitchen and tossed the salad after adding a little lemon juice to it to brighten it. He added it to the centre of the table then took the pasta out of the oven, it was bubbling fiercely. He served it into big bowls rather than onto plates then put the apple pie on a tray and put it in the oven to heat through while they ate. He dished up some salad for each of them and they sat down to eat. It was very simple, but tasty. He ate the remains of the salad then cleared the plates and rinsed them before he put the kettle on to make them tea. While it brewed he dished them up a quarter of the apple pie each and a generous amount of double cream. He knew Engel’s preference would be ice cream, but he would try and fit that into her day tomorrow. He brought the steaming mugs of tea over and they indulged in their dessert, once again something very simple, but good fuel for both of them and it was made with proper apples not a pie filling, so it was relatively healthy. 

<<>>

Nat was teaching her first class of the day when she felt her phone vibrate in the pocket of her judogi. She quickly glanced at the screen and when she saw who the message was from she excused herself and told the class to just keep repeating the exercises while she took an urgent message. She opened the photos that Loki had sent her, two showing James Rhodes quite clearly, the third of Engel standing next to a giant stuffed bear with Rhodes just visible in the background. “JARVIS, can you distribute this message to everyone urgently, please.”

“Of course, Ms Romanov. Do you need me to do anything further?”

“Not at present. I’m sure Director Coulson will have instructions for us later.”

“Is Mr Ash safe, Ms Romanov?”

“I hope so, JARVIS. I hope so.”

Nat returned to her class and put them through their paces. She looked forward to Loki’s return so he could see how she had incorporated his forms in with her own and created something new. She felt he would approve, and how lovely Engel looked in her brighter clothes and fresh faced look.

<<>>

Once they had washed up the temptation to play with Lego instead of a game or a film was just too great for them both. Parent and child sat across from each other, one raven haired, the other chestnut haired but both with the same silky soft waves to their hair and intense green eyes now they were behind closed curtains. They were both deeply concentrating on the projects for different reasons. In Engel’s case it was ensuring the ball bearing could flow freely through the maze from one level to the next. Loki was still working on building up his layers, the benches were nearly completed now, as were most of the shrubbery, the fish pond and part of the tree trunks. In the fish pond he had used tiny bits of seidr to create the fish underneath the clear blue blocks. 

He stopped what he was doing to make them their hot chocolate and as he brought it to the table he casually said “Are you sleeping with me tonight, angel?”

“Is that alright, Dada?”

“Of course, sweet girl. Whenever you need to. I’ll do the washing in the morning before we go out, so make sure you put everything in your linen basket before you come through, OK?”

“OK, Dada. What are we doing tomorrow?”

“We’ll walk along the beach to Ulwell and have lunch there at the cafe. And ice cream on the way back. Sound good?” Engel nodded enthusiastically. They sipped their drinks and continued with what they were doing until Loki decided it was time for Engel to go to bed. She got changed, grabbed Fenris and slipped into Loki’s bed. He read her the final chapter of The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and tucked her and Fenris in, leaving his dragonfly lights on. “I won’t be much longer, sweet girl. I just need to check in with SHIELD and see to a couple of things.” He kissed the top of her head, put Rhubarb on his pillow and headed back into the living room. 

He rinsed and soaked the dishes, then put Engel’s dirty clothes into the washing machine ready to add his own things to in the morning. He settled down with his Kindle, there was a quick email from Nat to say how much Engel had grown and how lovely she looked. A soft smile crossed his face. Then he opened the email from Phil Coulson and his worst fears were realised. Phil identified the man in the photos as Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes, best friend of Tony Stark, also known as War Machine, possessed of a suit as powerful as Stark’s Iron Man one. SHIELD needed Loki and Engel to be extracted as soon as possible.

Loki felt the cold finger of fear run down his spine, his precious alone time with his daughter was coming to a close, they were at risk. A stray tear slid down his cheek, he would not let her know, she was seven years old in two days time, let her have those last few days of freedom before she became closeted inside a building yet again. He replied to Phil that he would pack their things up over the next couple of days if Mack and Hunter could extract them on Sunday they would come back to the compound. 

Loki looked around at their comfortable living room, their familiar things and allowed the tears to flow quietly for a few minutes before he dried his eyes, headed into his bathroom and splashed his face with warm water. Then he changed into his pyjamas and slipped into bed cuddling Rhubarb into him. Engel was deeply asleep, he switched off the lights. He listened to his little girl breathing on the other side of the bed, and tried to match his own to hers. His emotions kept betraying him, but gradually his eyes grew heavy with sleep and Rhubarb nuzzled him affectionately as best as she could.

Be brave, winter child, you have things yet to discover about yourself and your daughter…

<<>>

Tony, as always, had gone to bed full of alcohol. The last few nights his dreams had been very disturbing, nightmarish in fact. He repeatedly dreamt that his beautiful Lore would turn into that killing machine of a Loki whenever she turned towards him in the middle of the night. Several times she had flickered from one form to the other repeatedly as she had that first night, driving him from his bed to vomit. Most frighteningly because they were facially so similar. Obviously bodily they weren’t, he didn’t know which aspect was worst. 

He got up and downed a coffee. Hopefully today or tomorrow they would find their lair, and then they could capture her and force her to remain in her female aspect. Strange was convinced he could achieve this without any problem using a facility he already had in the Sanctum in New York. Tomorrow afternoon, Happy would drive him to the hotel in Swanage, and the Lodge he had booked. He would meet up with the other two and hopefully by then they would have all the intel he required. He opened what at first glance looked like an earbud container, nestled within was a couple of pieces of nifty nanotech that he had invented. Let’s see Loki deal with that with his sneaky magic! Tony stumbled back to bed and fell back into the drunken stupor that he called sleep. This time it was dreamless.

<<>>

Loki woke early, it wasn’t even dawn yet, Rhubarb was snuggled up against his neck. He pulled her down to his chest. How was he to explain to Engel that they were leaving on Sunday and had to start packing things up, it would break her heart. The only saving grace was that they were going back to people who genuinely cared for both of them. He moved carefully across the bed until he was closer to her, he could feel the warmth coming from her, but he wasn’t actually touching her, therefore she didn’t wake. He started to doze again as his mind sifted through the things they had to do. If she kept sleeping in his bed they could pack up most of her room, just keeping out the clothes she would need for the next few days. Likewise he could pack most of his clothes and the majority of their books…he went back to sleep. His internal alarm woke him up at more or less his normal time and he shuffled across the bed so as to not wake his little girl up. He padded into the bathroom and after stripping off stood under the soothing warm water of the shower. He dried off and slipped on his lovely robe, cleaned his teeth and combed the tangles out of his hair.

Back in the bedroom he pulled on his grey chinos, grey and white striped shirt, and grey tweed waistcoat. It was a little cooler this morning. Socks and walking shoes went on his feet. He emptied his linen basket and loaded everything into the washing machine, pushed a detergent pod underneath the pile of clothes and set the programme. He sliced bread ready for toasting, cracked eggs into the jug and whisked them thoroughly before putting them to one side. He warmed the grill and added bacon to the grill pan ready to go under the heat once Engel came out of the shower. Obviously the noise from the kitchen had roused her and she padded through the kitchen towards her bathroom, wishing him a ‘good morning’ on her way through, Fenris in her hand. 

As soon as he heard the shower switch off he put the bacon under the hot grill. He added butter to a large frying pan and added the eggs to it over a lowish heat. He added a handful of cherry tomatoes to each plate, gave the eggs a quick stir and poured out two glasses of milk. Engel came through dressed in russet trousers and a cream t-shirt. She popped the bread in the toaster and took the milk over to the table. Loki started to stir the eggs properly, creating fluffy scrambled eggs, quickly checking the bacon. Everything was OK. Engel laid the table, set the second two slices of bread off to toast and buttered the first. Loki smiled gently at her. Engel noticed his smile was a little sad, she wondered what had upset her Dada. She buttered the second two slices of toast and took it to the table. Loki switched the cooker off, dished up the scrambled eggs, then added the bacon, more for him than Engel, then took the plates over to the table. 

They ate the food while it was still hot, Loki cleared the plates, then brought them over the last of the apricots to finish off with. “Angel, I have told SHIELD that we will go back with Mack and Hunter on Sunday as they are worried for our safety. I know it’s not what we really wanted, that we love it here, but keeping you safe is the most important thing. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Dada. Is that why you are sad?”

“I guess so, angel. I wanted you to see as many things as possible. We will start to pack away our things and I will store them in my pocket dimension.” 

“It’s OK, Dada. I have had the best time. But I will miss doing things with you outside. Do you think SHIELD will let us go outside sometimes?”

“In the grounds, certainly. And Clint said they would take us to Central Park Zoo sometime. We have lots of memories though, and I will sketch them in my art classes with Steve. I’m sure he will want to see them.” Loki stood up and began to clear up the plates and glasses and carried them through to the kitchen. He started to wash the dishes and Engel dried them and put everything away. The washing machine started its spin cycle. Loki put his glamour in place and became Jack, and opened the curtains and the french windows to let some fresh air in. 

The two of them hung their clean clothes up then headed into Engel’s room. Loki pulled down her suitcase from the top shelf of her wardrobe. They put to one side her clothes for her birthday and some jeans, a t-shirt and a sweatshirt for Sunday. Then they packed up the rest of her wardrobe into the small case as best they could, Loki left space for her lights, unclipping them from the Command Hooks and wrapping them in a t-shirt to protect them. He did the same with her snowglobe, wrapping it in a couple of her blouses. They started on her drawers next, taking out what clean underwear and socks she would need for the next couple of days. He stuffed what he could into the little places in her case then zipped it up. There were a couple of blouses left, her sandals, her raincoat and all the clothes that were drying. “We will need to pick up a big bag of some kind to fit everything else in. We should be able to get something at Newton’s on the way back from Ulwell, and some boxes to put our Lego in. I will put our books in a carrier bag, they can be stored now.” Engel looked a little tearful, he pulled her into a hug, holding her close to him for quite a while. Needing comfort from her as much as she needed it from him. 

“Are you up to helping me, angel? Or do you just want to play?”

“I can help you, Dada.”

He wandered into the kitchen and found a strong carrier bag. “Can you pack our books into there for me, sweet girl? I will sort mine and Lore’s clothes out. Leave my journal out and whatever you are reading, and your bedtime book.” 

“Yes, Dada.” She took the carrier bag from Loki and headed to the bookshelf. 

“Don’t touch Henry, sweet girl. He will be the last thing we pack.” Engel nodded in understanding, he was part of their protection. 

Loki opened his bedroom curtains and quickly made his bed. He brought his case down and left a pair of black jeans and his green Mantaray t-shirt on the bed for Sunday. He started to fold jeans, trousers and shirts into the case, there wasn’t much room left. Like in Engel’s room he unclipped his lights and wrapped them in Lore’s teal striped t-shirt, he wrapped his angel snowglobe in his grey t-shirt, then he added his beautiful robe into the case. He filled the gaps with some underwear and socks. They might need two bags, depending on how big they were. He zipped up his case. And put it in the wardrobe out of sight. He checked on Engel, she had finished, he took the carrier bag from her and headed through to her bedroom. Her wardrobe was bigger than his, he put the carrier bag in the bottom and her case to keep everything tidy.

“OK angel, if we put the clothes we are going to wear tomorrow and on Sunday into an empty drawer, we know that everything else has to be packed up later on. It just keeps things tidy. I’ll empty the food out on Sunday morning after we have had breakfast while we wait for Mack and Hunter to get here. I’ll just lock the windows up and we can go out for our walk.” He gave her a quick hug and walked into the living room and closed the french windows and locked them. Engel was just behind him. Loki cautiously checked out of the front door before they stepped out onto The Parade, there was no one there. He closed the door behind them. They headed out onto The Parade and then onwards to the promenade in the direction of Ulwell. There was a slight autumnal bite to the air, but the sun was shining and the sky was blue. Loki kept a tight hold of Engel’s hand. It was a walk they had done several times, it was perfectly safe, but he felt the need to keep her close. 

<<>>

Yards behind them on the opposite side of the road, a tall distinguished looking man strolled along with a copy of The Times tucked under one arm. He was dressed simply in a white cotton shirt, a pale blue Ralph Lauren sweater and navy blue trousers. He seemed to be minding his own business, occasionally glancing at the seascape to the side of him. If he happened to catch a glimpse of the young man and the little girl who were walking along hand in hand, well that was pure coincidence.

Stephen Strange had left James Rhodes wandering around the other end of the small town, towards the pier and park until Tony arrived. He had headed through the town centre and decided to explore the beach area, the newspaper was a disguise. It made him look more English as did the choice of clothes. He had no idea where Loki and Engel had come from, they were already ahead of him when he spotted them, but he had soon made up some ground. Now all he needed to do was keep them in sight as casually as possible. Maybe he could even get a bonus out of Stark for this!

The pair walked at a steady comfortable pace suited to the girl’s shorter legs, sometimes stopping to watch something out at sea, one or other of them pointing out things, but at no point did the young man let go of the young girl's hand. Strange hoped that when the time came to take them that Stark had a way to separate them to make his task easier, he didn’t want to have to deal with the child. His focus was purely on the adult, the shapeshifter. And now he had him in his sights he was fascinated by him. He would enjoy studying this individual once he was in containment. 

He watched as they stopped at a cafe at the end of the promenade. Here was an opportunity to observe further, he could stop as well, it was perfectly natural, there were others sitting outside in the autumn sun as well. He crossed the road and found a seat not far from the pair. He glanced at the menu. The waitress had already taken Loki and Engel’s order, Stephen ordered an Americano and a ham sandwich. He spread the newspaper on the table and pretended to read while he kept an eye on the quarry.

<<>>

Loki and Engel had stopped and watched a black headed gull trying to swallow a fish it had caught, the fish was huge! It was having a lot of trouble swallowing it but eventually it managed to get it into its gullet and then it could swallow it. “I didn’t think he would manage that, Dada.”

“No, angel. Neither did I. I thought he was going to have to let it go. That just shows that he knew more than we did.” They reached the cafe and took a seat and looked at the menu. Even though they would probably order what they normally did. The waitress came to take their order and Loki ordered two bottles of sparkling water, a cheese and chutney sandwich, a ham and tomato sandwich and a portion of chips. The water came out straight away and Loki poured it out for both of them into the glasses they had been given with ice. They sat and sipped while they waited for their food to arrive. They didn’t have to wait long, neither did the man with The Times who was doing the crossword, who would take a bite of his sandwich, then continue filling in answers, ballpoint pen in hand. Loki tried not to stare, he was wary of absolutely everyone at the moment, but this middle aged man looked harmless enough. Paranoia was creeping in. He swapped a sandwich with Engel so they had one of each variety and they began to eat. 

“Angela, do you want some chips?” 

“Just a few, Jack. I’m saving some room for my ice cream.” Loki laughed softly, he put some chips onto her plate and she stopped him when she had enough. He took the rest for himself. They sat close together, their knees touching under the table, seeking the closeness of each other.

<<>>

Happy had packed both his bag and Tony’s into the car and Tony had settled the huge hotel bill without even flinching. They walked down to The Real Greek for the final time and had lunch, Happy settling for water while Tony downed several beers. He kept patting the pocket of his jacket, Happy wondered why. After lunch they picked up the car from The Nici car park and drove to the chain ferry at Sandbanks and then on through the countryside to Swanage. Rhodey met them and they went down to the Red Lion for drinks after Happy parked the car. Rhodey let Stephen know where they were.

“Where is he?” Tony asked.

“Out trying to spot our two fugitives. I hope he has better luck than we have had so far. We have seen them, but have no idea where they are living.”

“I want us out of here as soon as possible, so the sooner we track them down, the better. Let’s hope the magician has some luck.”

The Sorcerer Supreme was indeed having some luck. He watched the two youngsters pay, then leave hand in hand. He folded up his newspaper and put the pen in his trouser pocket. He paid his bill, let them get some distance ahead then followed them, crossing over to the other side of the road again. 

They stopped at one of the concession stands and the little girl left with an ice cream in her hand. Stephen looked into the window of the Tourist Information Office, he could see their reflection in there, he watched them head towards Station Road. He turned and followed, keeping a sensible distance away on the opposite side of the road, sometimes using shop windows as mirrors to observe. He watched them head into the hardware store, he didn’t venture in, he needed to see where they went from there.

<<>>

Loki and Engel wandered around Newton's, they picked up a couple of plastic boxes to pack their Lego models into, then they found some large laundry bags that they could pack the remainder of their things into. The cashier packed everything into a large carrier bag for them. Loki thought to himself that that would come in useful to pack their dirty clothes into to keep them separate from all their clean things.

They headed down from the shop and round the corner by Brook Tea Rooms. There were several people sitting outside in the afternoon sunshine, and a man stood and glanced at the menu. Loki glanced down The Parade, there was no one around other than the patrons of the tea room. He inserted his key in the lock of number twelve and Engel stepped inside first. Loki followed, closing the door behind them. They headed upstairs and into their flat. They were totally unaware that they had been spotted. Loki dropped the bag into Engel’s bedroom and made them a cup of tea and they sat and played with their Lego projects for just over an hour.

<<>>

Tony’s phone rang, it was the wizard. “Where are you, Stephen?”

“I know where they are. At least I know what building they are in. Rhodey will tell you where to find it, they are on The Parade. I’m at Brook Tea Rooms. I’ll stay here.”

“Fuck me, wizard! You're brilliant! We’ll be there real soon.” Tony turned to Rhodey “We need to be somewhere called The Parade, Brook Tea Rooms. Strange has found the building they are in.”

“It’s only about a ten minute walk from here, Tone. No distance at all. Let’s finish our drinks. I’ll text Stephen and let him know. He can keep an eye on the place and let us know if they leave.”

“Good thinking, Platypus. Looks like we won’t be here for long at all.”

<<>>

After Nat had let Hunter know that they would be extracting Loki and Engel on Sunday she sat in the communal lounge and gave out the orders she needed completing in time for the two of them coming home. 

“JARVIS, I need you to unlock the apartment and arrange to get it thoroughly cleaned and the bedrooms and bathrooms made up for Engel and Ash to take up occupation from Sunday. I don’t care if we have to pay them overtime.”

“Order sent out, Miss Romanov.”

“I am going to type you out a list of toiletries and foodstuffs to stock up the apartment and the panic room. Again, delivery as a matter of urgency. We need to change the access code on the panic room as well. We don’t want Tony to be able to get in there.”

“I have set it to 0000, Miss Romanov. When you are ready I will talk you through the procedure to set the new code.”

“Thank you, JARVIS. I will discuss with the others and agree a new code. Sorry it’s short notice, but I know that you are more than capable of dealing with this.”

“It will be good to have them back in the compound, Miss Romanov.”

“Yes, it will be JARVIS. Keep me updated on progress please.”

“Of course, Miss Romanov.”

<<>>

Loki stretched. “I’ll make us another cup of tea and we’ll take a break and I’ll read to you if you like.”

“Yes, please Dada! I’ll get my new book, and Fenris.”

“OK, angel.” Loki rinsed out their mugs, boiled the kettle again and made them a fresh drink. He carried them through and put them down on the coffee table in front of the sofa. He sat down and put his journal on the end of the table closest to him to read later. 

Engel came through with Fenris under her arm and a book in her hand.

“What are we going to be reading, sweet girl?” He asked as she snuggled up to him, Fenris on her knee.

“The Moon of Gomrath, Dada.”

“OK, let’s get started then.” He opened the book and started to read the first page in his soft baritone.

<<>>

Happy had opted to stay behind and check them in at the hotel and put their luggage in the lodge they were going to be staying in.

Tony and Rhodey walked down the High Street, across the road and along The Parade to join Stephen at Brook Tea Rooms. “Well, where are they?” Tony was as direct as ever.

“They are in the second house down from here. I don’t know which floor they are on, but that’s the building.” Stephen remained calm. 

“Well, let’s go and check it out. Shall we gentlemen?” Tony mockingly waved his arm in the direction of number twelve. They wandered along and stood outside the three storey house. The ground floor was unoccupied. It was hard to tell if anyone was on the first floor or the second floor. Tony pulled the earbud box out of his pocket and took out a tiny nanobot. “FRIDAY, activate Goldeneye.” The tiny little bot spread out gossamer wings, Tony issued instructions for it to fly up to sit on the balcony railing, they all watched as the tiny little bot alighted on the railing. “OK, let's get out of sight somewhere in case someone looks out of the window.” The three of them headed down towards the outside eateries and grabbed coffees and sat with them and watched what was unfolding on Tony’s phone.

At first the picture from Goldeneye was blurry, but FRIDAY adjusted the image for them. In a corner the golden sunlight of the afternoon streamed through the french windows filling the room with a soft glow. A bookshelf sat in an alcove next to a comfortable looking sofa. Beside it was a coffee table with a couple of steaming mugs of tea on it. Sitting nearest the bookshelf was Jack Edwardson looking calm and smart with his mousy brown hair and gold rimmed glasses balanced on his nose. He wore a neat grey waistcoat over a grey and white striped shirt and he held a colourful paperback book in his hand. His other hand gently rested on the shoulder of his little sister, Angela, who was cuddled into his side. She had wavy chestnut brown hair and curious eyes, and her much loved toy wolf, Fenris, was sitting on her lap. As Jack read to her he smiled softly showing how much he cared. The warm light around them almost looked like a glowing halo showing how strong their bond was. But there was a quiet worry too. Jack held her just a little too tightly and on the table in front of them was an old black leather bound journal and hidden within its pages were maps that hinted at secrets from their past. The moment felt peaceful and safe yet full of things left unspoken, a mix of love, protection and quiet strength.

Rhodey took a deep breath “He doesn’t seem to be much of a threat to me, Tone. She seems perfectly safe and dare I say content with him.”

It was the wrong thing to say “Don’t you remember The Battle of New York? That’s the fucker that pushed me out of the window of the Tower, that brought an alien army to New York. And you are telling me he doesn’t look like much of a threat! And that’s my daughter he has there.”

“Cool it, Tone. She is not afraid of him. Every time I have seen that child with him she has been happy, content and safe. I am perfectly willing to help you get her back, but he is not a threat to her is what I am saying.”

“Just make sure you are on my side, Platypus. Otherwise we will cease to be friends once this operation is over.”

Stephen intervened “Does the child have powers?”

“No, of course not. She’s perfectly normal.”

“Good, then it’s just the young man I have to deal with. That’s just a superficial glamour he has over himself, I observed him in action today, all he has done is change his eye colour, hair and add glasses. An incredibly simple disguise. He seems to expend minimal energy, what can you tell me about him physically?”

“He’s fucking fast, and strong. He is thin, but there is muscle under there. He does some fancy martial art stuff. His preferred weapons seem to be daggers, but we have kept him well away from any blades.”

Stephen gave a short nod. “I will create my spells of binding to compensate to keep us all safe until I can get him in containment. It will work like clockwork. You just need to get us inside there so we can capture him.”

“Goldeneye will monitor them from now on. Once we know they are out of the apartment for any length of time, I have a handy little tool that will get us through any normal door lock with minimal fuss. How will you get him out of there, Strange?”

“Portal straight to the Sanctum in New York.”

“Can you take me and Engel too?”

“Shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Great. That means no one will think we are kidnapping her. Rhodey, you can fly back to DC with Happy, then he can come back to New York once he’s dropped you off. OK, guys, let's head off and get ready for dinner and let FRIDAY and Goldeneye do their stuff.”

<<>>

The light had started to dim, Loki got up from the sofa and switched on the light and pulled the curtains over the french windows. He dropped his glamour, half lowered the blind in the kitchen and started to prepare their dinner. It was fairly simple tonight as they were eating out tomorrow, so bought salmon encroute with roasted vegetables, and they had some left over apple pie to use up.  “Angel, can you set the table for me?”

“Yes, Dada. Can we play with our Lego later?”

“Of course we can, sweet girl. Pour out some milk for dinner, we can get a couple of pints tomorrow when we go to get your cake. They sell it at the newsagent.”

Engel finished laying the table and poured them a glass of milk each. Loki dished up their dinner as soon as it was finished and carried the hot food over to the table. “Eat what you can, angel. There is apple pie for dessert. I can finish what you can’t manage.” She did quite a good job, and Loki finished off what was left of her salmon, it was an adult portion, he hadn’t expected her to eat everything. He cleared their dinner plates and fetched over their apple pie and cream, unaware of the insect that was floating around outside the kitchen window. 

After they had eaten Loki washed up and Engel dried the dishes and put them away. Once everything was neat and tidy they headed back through to the table and worked on their Lego. They had their usual halfway break of hot chocolate, worked some more, then Loki chased Engel off to his bed. He read her one more chapter of The Moon of Gomrath, then tucked her and Fenris in. There were no pretty dragonflies to provide a soft light tonight, so he used the light above the mirror in the ensuite, so there was just a gentle glow. She would hopefully sleep soon. 

Loki settled back down on the sofa and switched on his Kindle. There was a message from Nat to let him know that they were getting the apartment ready for them coming home. They were going to reset the code on the panic room, was there a four digit number he would like to use? Where the number came from he had no idea, it just popped into his head - 1712 - he typed. He also let her know that they were looking forward to seeing everyone. He didn’t mention that they didn’t want to leave! He signed out of his email and put his Kindle on the bookshelf next to Henry so it wouldn’t get forgotten.

Then he pulled out of his pocket dimension the card he had bought for Engel. It was covered in butterflies, he retrieved a pen from the same place and wrote in it. Then put the card in its envelope and placed it on the table for the morning. Then he picked up his journal and carried on reading where he had left off. He found his younger self exploring Asgard’s Library, with detailed descriptions of each section, where his favourite books were held, and the various tapestries. He started to yawn. Time to get some sleep.

Loki headed into the bedroom, Engel was fast asleep. He undressed, put on his pyjamas, switched off the light in the ensuite and slid into bed carefully so he didn’t disturb his little girl. He cuddled Rhubarb into his chest, and soon slipped into a fairly sound sleep. At some point during the night both Loki and Engel moved together in their sleep and cuddled into each other. All was peaceful. Outside the kitchen a small insect shaped bot settled on the windowledge to rest its wings until morning.

<<>>

Tony could barely sleep and as he was sharing a lodge with Happy it was a bit of a problem. He took a bottle of whisky into his bedroom with him and poured a generous measure into the glass. He soon knocked it back. He had watched the footage from Goldeneye several times over now, seeing the change from Jack to Loki, watching him cook for Engel and himself. The more he watched it, the more angry he became. He vowed that tomorrow he would be rid of Loki forever, that Lore would take his place for good, then he could have his perfect family around him. His lovely, well behaved daughter and her beautiful, vivacious mother.

He slumped on the bed, glass in hand, and when it was empty he filled it up from the bottle. Unlike Loki he had completely forgotten that it was Engel’s birthday. There was no JARVIS to remind him, and FRIDAY was unaware. He finally started to feel drowsy again, and put the empty glass down and laid down still on top of the covers. He couldn’t wait to be back in his own bed in the Tower with a room that was a constant temperature. How did the English cope with all these fluctuations throughout the day and night? Weird country.

<<>>

Loki woke up and carefully untangled himself from Engel and Rhubarb. He padded through to the bathroom, undressed and switched before she stood under the gentle waterfall spray of the shower. She washed and conditioned her hair before she dealt with the rest of her. She wrapped her hair in a towel to soak up the moisture and then dried herself before she put her pyjamas back on. She cleaned her teeth, then ran her comb through her damp hair. Lore then headed from the ensuite into the living room and opened up the curtains to let the morning light shine in, then she fully opened the blind in the kitchen. The movement woke up Goldeneye’s sensors and the bot started transmitting again. 

Lore opened up the fridge door and took out the bacon, she switched the grill on to heat up and put four slices of bacon on the rack ready to cook. She cracked two eggs into two cups ready to fry. Engel walked into the kitchen. “Good morning, birthday girl.” Lore picked her up and swung her around and then kissed her on the cheek.

Engel giggled. “Good morning, Dada. Why are you wearing your pyjamas?”

“So our good clothes don’t smell of cooking, sweet girl. Now go and have your shower and put your pyjamas back on. We’ll get changed once we have done the washing up. OK?” Engel nodded enthusiastically and headed off down to her bathroom. Lore heard the shower start and cut four slices of bread and buttered them. She stuck the bacon under the grill to cook. She added oil to the frying pan and let it start to warm up, ready to turn high when she heard the shower switch off. While she waited she set the table and poured out their glasses of milk. She heard the shower switch off, turned up the heat under the frying pan and as soon as it was hot she added the eggs one at a time to fry them. Engel came through into the kitchen and Lore told her there was nothing to do, she could just sit down. 

Lore made up their bacon and egg sandwiches as soon as everything had finished cooking and brought them over to the table. She had added a small number of cherry tomatoes to each plate, leaving just enough for Sunday’s breakfast. They ate quietly concentrating on their food, unaware that they were being observed by the small insect that was now resting on their balcony. Food finished, they drank their milk and Lore handed Engel her birthday card. Engel opened it and was delighted by the 3D butterflies, and then she read the message ‘To my darling daughter, have a wonderful seventh birthday, you make me proud every single day. I will protect you every day of my life, Dada xxx’

“Thank you, Dada. That's beautiful.” Engel put the card back up on the table, she would have to pack it in the morning, but then it would go up in her bedroom in the compound. They finished off their milk and cleared everything off the table and Lore filled the sink with hot soapy water and washed the dishes.  Engel dried them and put them away and once Lore had wiped down the benches, cooker and table the place looked spotless.

“Right, we just have to pack away our clean clothes and the remaining stuff in our rooms and then we can get changed into our new dresses.” Engel grinned, she was so excited about putting on her fancy new things and going out in them. “Get everything that's left in your drawers and wardrobe and put it on your bed and I’ll gather my remaining clothes and bring them through to your room and then I can pack them up in one of the bags we bought yesterday.”

Engel ran through to her room, she hadn’t very many things left, Lore on the other hand had a lot and her armfull was pretty big. She opened up one bag and folded up her clothes and Loki’s first, and put them in the bottom of the bag, then she added Engel’s. Then she went into the child’s room and took the clean clothes from the clothes horse and folded everything and packed it away carefully in the bag as well. There was still space in it, but not enough for their Lego models, but certainly enough to take the finery they would be wearing today and their toiletries after their showers in the morning. Lore put the bag in Engel’s wardrobe. “Do you want me to help you with your dress, angel?”

“I think I can manage, Dada. I’ll come through to you if I can’t.”

“OK, I’m going to make my bed and get changed. I’ll see you soon and we will go and get your cake.” Lore walked back into the living room and then into her bedroom, she put Rhubarb on the floor, then made her bed. She picked Rhubarb up and settled the rabbit between the two pillows, touching the rabbit’s nose gently with her fingertip. She pulled out her beautiful black silk underwear from the chest of drawers. It was a strange thing to have found in her pocket dimension, but it was obviously hers - it fitted her perfectly. She got her new dress out of the wardrobe and stepped into it. It was cotton, but had a sheen to it that made it look special, a very deep navy, sleeveless fitted dress, the shape was simple, but the pattern was anything but. From the fitted waist up to the neckline, and down to the middle of the length it was a riot of small flowers of various shades against a plethora of leaves of different shades of green. It elevated the simple into something very special and very grown up. She pulled up the zip, the length fell to just above her knee, on others it would be longer. She slipped on her sandals then pulled open her bedroom curtains. She changed her nail colour so it matched the rose pink of her lipstick, just a shade darker than her natural lips, then she brushed her hair until it gleamed. 

“Dada, can you fasten the sash on my dress for me?” Engel wandered into the living room in her very pretty deep rose pink dress, made up of many layers of gossamer thin material that swished about as she walked. Lore fastened the satin ribbon in a big bow at the back making sure it fell as evenly as possible. She then took her brush to Engel’s hair to bring the same gloss to her daughter’s chestnut waves.

“”I’ll take a photo for Nat.” Lore grabbed her phone and inserted a fresh SIM card then placed both of them by the french window so that the sea was in the background and took a selfie. She emailed it straight to Nat using the last email address she had been provided with. “I’ll get someone to take a proper photograph later on for her. Let’s go and get your cake and the milk and then we can enjoy your day.” 

Goldeneye followed them across the road to the bakers where Lore picked up the cake put to one side for Lauren Edwardson. It was neatly boxed up and tied with string, the girl behind the counter popped it carefully into a carrier bag for Lore after she took payment for it. The pair headed along to the newsagent and picked up a two pint bottle of milk and then crossed the road to head back home.

<<>>

Just outside of Wareham, Mack had finished his breakfast and got behind the wheel of the inconspicuous black 4x4 that belonged to the farm they were using as a hideout. “I won’t be long, Hunter. I’ll just fill her up for our trip tomorrow and grab some supplies for the flight home for the four of us.”

“OK, Mack. I’ll get as much straight here as possible and check the Quinjet. It’s going to be a long flight for those two, they aren’t used to it, so I’ll stick some pillows and stuff in to make it a bit more comfortable for them.”

“Yeah, good thinking. See you in about half an hour, bud. Don’t work too hard, I would hate you to exhaust yourself!”

“Go on, get outta here, Mack!” The pair laughed as Mack headed out of the driveway and Hunter went back indoors to assess what needed to be done. He would be far happier once they had Loki and Engel safely in their hands.

<<>>

Tony had joined the others for a late breakfast in the hotel dining room, he had spent most of the morning so far nursing both a hangover and his StarkPhone watching the footage from Goldeneye unfold on the small screen. Footage of his very beautiful Lore, and his daughter.

“Well, I can see what the attraction is, Tone. But isn’t the age difference a bit awkward?” Rhodey broached the subject of the elephant in the room.

“Age difference, Platypus? Don’t be fooled by how she looks. She’s over a thousand years old. Remember she is an alien being.”

“Then there is still an age difference, Tone. But as your friend, I will point these things out to you, and always have your back. You know that.” Rhodey tapped the table with his finger.

Strange looked at Tony, “When are we going to take them?”

“Tonight, when it’s dark. I think they’ll go out to eat, then we will go in and capture them when they come back. Everyone pack your gear up, Happy will load it in the car. Once we have Lore and Engel, Strange will take the four of us straight to New York. Rhodey will go in the car with Happy and fly to Washington in the Jet. That’s our plan and we stick to it. It will distance us from each other. Nobody can tie Strange to this. I will have Engel with me in the Tower. Rhodey will be back where he should be. Lore will then come to me of her own free will in time as far as the world is concerned.” Tony stretched with a satisfied grin on his face. It was all coming together quite nicely. The fact you could drive a bus through his plan was irrelevant, everything always worked out for him, he was Tony Fucking Stark, genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist!

<<>>

Lore put the milk in the fridge, then carefully took the cake box out of the carrier bag. She put the bag in the cupboard, that would come in useful tomorrow for the remains of the cake. She carefully undid the box that held the cake and slid it onto a plate, then inserted the candle on top. She put the matches next to it and a large knife. Then she added a couple of small plates and forks. That was everything set up for later. 

“Get your backpack, angel. We are going out to show the world how beautiful you are and then we are going to have lunch. It’s a nice day, so I thought we could have a stroll along the pier in our finery. What do you think?”

“Yes, Dada. I will miss walking along the pier, so that would be perfect.” Engel almost ran to her room and stuffed Fenrir into her backpack then slipped it over her shoulders. She was back in the living room in no time at all and the two of them headed downstairs and onto The Parade, followed by Goldeneye. They walked hand in hand to the pier and purchased their tickets, getting a cheery smile from the man at the ticket office. As always they read the brass plates on the planks as they walked the length of the pier and back. This time they headed into the shop and cafe at the end of their walk. 

“I would like to buy a plaque on the pier, please.” Lore said to the woman in the shop. The woman told her it would cost £50 and the money went towards keeping the pier repaired. She handed Lore a form to complete. In the space for what they wanted on the plaque she wrote ‘Loki Odinson & Engel Starksdottir 2015’, the form went on to say that they would post out a photograph and certificate. Lore explained to the woman that they lived in the USA, could it be emailed? The woman said that it could, so Lore put down the Edwardson email address. She handed the form to the woman and paid their fee by card. “We have left our mark on this pretty little town, my angel. I hope we can come back one day to see it.” Lore kissed the top of Engel’s head. 

Holding Engel’s hand tight they walked past the amphitheatre for the last time and up through the park and crossed the road to walk along Marshall Row past The Studio. They both nodded their heads gracefully at it like the royalty they were as they went past, then they headed down onto the bottom of the High Street, past Serendipity and Corfe Bears to cross the road by the library and headed into Earthlights. They sat by the side window watched over by the ever vigilant Goldeneye. Lore ordered them sandwiches, a greek salad to share and pink lemonade to drink. She needed extra food to maintain her energy levels so she had a piece of coffee and walnut cake and Engel had ice cream. They ate leisurely, there was no need to hurry, they had nowhere to be. 

They finally headed back to the apartment and they sat at the table with their Lego. Lore stood up after an hour and made them a mug of tea each. She then carried on clicking her bricks in place, she was at the final stages, this was delicate work. Each branch on the weeping tree was a different length. She sat back and sighed when she finished. Engel looked up from the fourth layer of her maze. “Dada, that’s Grandma’s garden, even down to the fish in the pond. I remember those!”

“Its a real place?” Lore looked puzzled.

“Yes, Dada.”

“Why do I keep making models of real places?” Lore tipped her head on one side.

“Maybe it’s your memories trying to come through.” Engel gave a surprisingly adult answer to Lore’s question.

Lore sighed “I wish they would come through in the right order and in the same format, it would make life so much easier. And it would also help if I knew where these places were and what they meant. I suppose it will all come together eventually, perhaps the journals will help with that. How is your maze coming along?”

Engel demonstrated the layers of the Lego maze she had constructed so far. Lore had a go and got the ball bearing stuck twice, the third time she got it right. “So clever, my little girl. Imagine what you will be able to do when you are older.” Engel gave her a hug in return. “It’s nearly time for us to go out, then when we come back it’s cake and hot chocolate time.” Lore lifted her up and Engel laughed.

“I love you, Dada.”

“I love you too, angel.” Lore put her back down on the ground and ran a hand lightly over her daughter's hair affectionately. 

<<>>

Sitting in the garden of The White Swan Stephen, Rhodey and Tony watched the footage over beers as it came through from Goldeneye.

“You can see there are very minimal glamours in use here.” Stephen pointed out “The lips are slightly fuller, as is the face, making it softer in appearance from the boy. The nails have had a colour change, all just superficial things. The body is female though, so definitely a shapeshifter.”

“Well that’s really reassuring.” Tony replied sarcastically “I would hate to think that the mother of my child was a man 100% of the time, it’s bad enough that he’s a man most of the time.”

“Are you sure that separating them is a good idea, Tone? They are very close.” Rhodey looked at his friend questioningly, the affection he was seeing on the screen was all too evident.

“They will only remain separate until Lore comes to understand that being female is the best way forward. Then we will be one happy family.”

“Right, OK, I guess.” Rhodey fingered his bottle of beer.

“Now, Strange, you see that rabbit on the bed there. That is a magical rabbit and could cause problems, it doesn’t vanish like the one at the party.”

“That was a mouse, Stark, and a clever illusion. That is a store bought toy rabbit from what I can see. Why would it cause problems?”

“It’s ears and whiskers twitch. I’ve seen it happen at night.”

Both Rhodey and Strange looked at each other, they had both seen how much alcohol Tony consumed each night, it was unlikely that the toy rabbit did anything of the sort. Then they saw Lore and Engel leave the apartment, Goldeneye followed them and they saw them enter Salt Pig Too and after a chat with a server who took their photograph they were seated at a table and given menus.

“OK guys, this is our cue to move. FRIDAY, alert Happy to get into position on The Parade in two hours from now to pick up Rhodey. We’ll finish our beers and head out to their apartment and our surprise welcoming committee.”

<<>>

Lore and Engel were both having Venison burgers, something nice and simple. Lore was having cider to drink, and Engel was having apple juice. While they waited for their food Lore checked her phone and emailed the new photo that had just been taken to Nat. She handed the phone over to Engel so that she could see the photo herself. 

“Oh, that’s lovely, Lauren. We should get that printed out when we get back.”

“That’s a good idea, Angela. It will be a lovely memory of this trip. I’ll ask Steve, I’m sure he will help.”

Their food arrived, and they started to eat.

<<>>

The three men approached 12 The Parade. Tony pulled out the earbud case again and pulled out a small tool. He approached the downstairs door and set his second nanobot in place and it started the task of unlocking the door for him. Once through the door they moved upstairs quietly and the little bot did its thing on Seaspray's front door. The three men walked through, and unbeknownst to them a tiny little gadget registered that there were more than two people in the apartment and triggered the microphone attached to Henry the Duck sitting on the bookshelves.

In Loki’s bedroom something else also registered that there was something wrong. Rhubarb moved from the middle of the bed and dropped gently to the floor, she moved under the bed and hid as close to the window as she could get, tucked into the darkest corner. She stayed perfectly still, to all intents and purposes the stuffed rabbit she always appeared to be.

The men moved from room to room, the apartment was immaculate, there was very little out of place. Tony face palmed when he saw both the birthday card on the table next to the Lego models and then the birthday cake with the candle waiting to be lit in the kitchen. Perhaps his daughter’s seventh birthday was not the best day to do this, but he would make it up to her later. He would buy her a lavish cake and lots of presents. He moved into the bedroom and saw the Father’s Day card and picked it up to read. He was furious when he read the message in Engel’s simple hand ‘I know you are really my mama, but you are more father to me than my real father. I love you always, your Engel xxx’ His instinct was to tear it up, but Rhodey walked in, so he just slammed it down instead. Maybe less presents.

Rhodey stayed in the bedroom doorway, hidden from sight. He would only get involved if necessary. Strange and Stark hid in the hallway that led out of the kitchen towards the back bedrooms. They made not a sound. 

They heard the door of the apartment open and Engel’s excited voice in the living room. “Can we light the candle on my cake now, Dada?”

Then that soft velvety voice “Just let me close the curtains first, angel, then I’ll do that for you. Then you have to make a wish as you blow it out.”

“I know what I want to wish for”

“Don’t tell me, if you tell me, it won’t come true, sweet girl.”

Tony heard the curtains close and then heard the footsteps change as they went from carpet to floorboards, the lights came on under the kitchen cabinets. Then he saw Lore moving in front of him, she had her back to him, totally unaware he was there. Her glossy black hair falling to her shoulders. He watched her strike a match to light the candle on the cake. Then Engel came into view and Lore stood to one side to let her blow out the candle.

“Did you make your wish, angel?”

“Yes, Dada.” 

“Good girl. Go and sit at the table. I’ll cut some cake and make us some hot chocolate.”

Engel turned to go and Tony gave Strange a quick hand signal. They both moved fast. Strange created orange glyphs of magic that encased Lore who cried out in shock as Tony grabbed hold of Engel.

“Mama!” Engel cried out, despite her panic she remembered her codeword. But then sharp fragments of ice seemed to fly from her at Tony and Strange that stung as they hit. Tony shook her.

“Baby girl.” Lore sobbed “Don’t hurt her, she’s just a child, she doesn’t know what she’s doing. Can’t you see she’s terrified.” Lore was frantic, struggling against the magical restraints that bound her to try and get to her frightened daughter. “Baby girl, my angel, take deep breaths.”

Engel tried to follow Lore’s instructions and the ice stopped and Tony held her tight, spots of blood dripping from his face and hands where his skin was exposed. Safely hidden in the bedroom Rhodey was OK. Strange had also been hit by the ice, as had Lore, but she was more concerned for her daughter. 

“Get us out of here, Strange. Rhodey, you need to rendezvous with Happy and follow your plan.” Tony grimaced as Engel wriggled and kicked out. 

Suddenly there was a big orange circle appeared in the living room, Lore recognised it as a portal as she could see what lay beyond, Strange motioned for Tony to go through, then Strange followed with Lore firmly restrained, her seidr bound and totally useless to her.

<<>>

The codewords rang out across all of SHIELD and Mack and Hunter were on the road within thirty seconds of receiving them, but it was thirty seconds too late. By the time they arrived at The Parade and Seaspray everyone was long gone and the apartment stood empty. Hunter put the light on, there were drops of blood and water on the floor, Engel’s birthday cake stood virtually untouched on the kitchen counter. He banged his hand on the counter in frustration. Mack was on the phone to Steve as he checked the bedrooms to let them know they were too late. He handed the phone to Hunter.

“Cap, there are no real signs of a struggle, I think they were taken completely by surprise. But there are blood drops on the floor.”

The voice on the other end retained his composure and issued orders. Strip the apartment of all their belongings and bring them back to base, throw away all the perishables. Blot up the blood and bring that back to base for testing to see who it belonged to. Hunter handed the phone back to Mack and ran his fingers through his hair.

“She didn’t even get to have any of her birthday cake.” Mack patted his partner on the back, he knew Hunter had spent more time with these two than he had which was why he was on this mission. Hunter pulled himself together and grabbed the kitchen roll and dropped a square at a time on the floor to soak up the spots of blood. Mack searched through the cupboards and found some plastic sandwich bags. He put one square into each bag then stowed them in his pocket. He then used damp kitchen roll to wipe the floor and threw it away in the rubbish. They started in the back bedroom and opened the wardrobe and found virtually everything neatly packed away in cases and big bags. Mack carried the full bags down the stairs while Hunter took the hardly used bag and went from room to room and started to pack things in it. He found the plastic boxes for the Lego models and packed them away. In Loki’s bedroom he found the Father’s Day card which went in the bag and Rhubarb, who was sitting on the floor by the side of the bed. She went in the bag too, then back in the living room he added Henry the Duck, Loki’s Kindle and journal. 

Mack looked at Hunter “Is there much left to do?” 

“The rubbish to sort out. The Lego and this bag to go downstairs. What do we do with Engel’s cake?”

“I vote we take it with us back to SHIELD. Better than wasting it.”

“OK, I’ll fold the box back up. You take this back downstairs. I’ll sort the cake out and deal with the rubbish, then we will haul the Lego downstairs, it’s pretty heavy!” Hunter started to fold the box back up around the cake and found a carrier bag to put it in. He then emptied the fridge and cupboards of any food, there was very little left, Loki had obviously kept everything run down ready for leaving tomorrow. He took the rubbish downstairs with the cake and opening the front door put the cake carefully in the car, then wandered around the building until he found the bin. When he got back upstairs Mack was waiting for him. He had opened the curtains, they went around checking that they had everything then moved the Lego box onto the landing. They closed the door behind them after they switched the light off then humped the heavy box downstairs. After a short breather they lifted it into the back of the car, then packed everything else in. Mack started the car and they drove back to the outskirts of Wareham in the dark. They would load the Quinjet in the morning and head back to the compound.

<<>>

Lore looked around her, wherever they were was subterranean. It was cold and damp, cells lined the room hewn by hand from rock, the walls facing into the room were of glass or some other crystalline substance. She shuddered, Engel would not cope in this place. The man holding onto her, sorcerer, she corrected herself, pushed her towards one of the cells. 

“This one has been specially set up to contain you, it’s designed for a shapeshifter, to stop then shifting from one form to another. You will have the use of your magic returned to you once you are in the cell, but you won’t be able to shift.” Stephen Strange looked at her as if he was giving her a gift.

Lore looked at him aghast “You are sentencing me to death.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You will just stay in this form until you accept it as your true form, then you will be released.” Strange talked down at her as if she was an idiot.

“You don’t have much experience with shapeshifters do you?” Lore asked as Strange pushed her into the cell and sealed her in, then released the glyphs that bound her “We have one true shape, and one true shape only. This is not mine.” Lore looked sorrowfully at Engel, what must her little girl be going through at the moment, she must be terrified and there was nothing she could do to help her. She mouthed the words ‘Angel, I love you. Remember that.’ to her precious child. 

Engel kicked and struggled in Tony’s arms, she screamed “Dada!” 

Stephen Strange looked at Tony “Right, we had better get you home.” He created another portal and Tony saw with relief the familiar sight of the lounge in The Tower. Home.

Lore gazed on in despair, at least Engel still had her butterfly backpack, and tucked within it was Fenris. At some point in the future, her little girl could hopefully find Nat and their spell book. By that time Lore would be dead and the resurrection spell could begin again. There was only one other hope, but it was the most unlikely of all…Thor.

Outside her cell a small winged nanobot watched her and an AI recorded her every moment.

Every move you make, every step you take

I’ll be watching you