Slowly slipping along the edges of the light, a shadow of a figure creeped down the hall of the Avengers Compound. It had been rebuilt remarkably fast for having been destroyed some weeks ago... Tony Stark couldn't be human with how fast he worked on unhealthy amounts of caffeine and little-to-no sleep. There were very little traces left of Loki's attack.

Which was good and bad for the figure.

Good in the sense that all of the facilities were working at full strength once more, which would be great in case a certain someone decided to go hunting mutants by themselves and get mortally wounded... Bad in the sense that meant all the security precautions were back in place and Earth technology was more annoying than anyone ever gave credit for.

"Dad!" A voice called, causing the figure to stop and let out a silent sigh.

Who needed security with an overprotective son on patrol?

Peter came running up to Loki, a scowl on his face and arms crossed. "I thought Dr. Banner said you should stay on bed rest for the rest of the week? The infection isn't completely gone yet, right? You need to be more careful!"

Loki raised an eyebrow, his signature smirk in place. "Just who exactly is the parent here?"

"Just who exactly is always questioning where my recklessness comes from and saying I should be more responsible?"

A chuckle passed Loki's lips as he shook his head. "Relax, child, I was simply going to the kitchen. Just because I am your father does not mean I sneak out for adventure when wounded."

Peter didn't look like he completely believed him, but he didn't voice those thoughts as the two started walking in the direction of the kitchen. "You could have called someone to bring you something?"

"Oh, but sneaking away from a sleeping Thor is so much more fun."

It was Peter's turn to laugh, his demeanor brightening significantly. Thor had been just as attentive to Loki as Peter once the man awoke from the infection. The entire time he was on bed rest, Peter was pretty sure Thor hadn't left Loki's side except when absolutely necessary. Knowing how much Loki enjoyed his privacy and alone time, he really couldn't blame Loki for wanting to escape.

"It seems more dangerous than fun to me," Peter said with a smile, glancing ahead of them. "Thor told me that if he caught you out of bed one more time that he would boar-tie you and leave Korg to watch you."

Loki barely suppressed his groan at the mention of Thor's friend, a childhood memory of something similar popping up in his head. "He's welcomed to try... if he wants to get stabbed."

"Again."

Loki sent Peter a look, but couldn't hide his chuckle as the two of them entered the kitchen. And just his luck when Friday called Peter to Tony's lab and Loki was left alone. Glancing toward the ceiling, Loki sent out an illusion of himself getting something to eat while his true form was hidden.

While the majority of his time as a parent was spent attempting change for Peter's sake, Loki was glad that his skills in deception were not faded. If Peter or any of the Avengers discovered his searching for the mutant that attacked Peter, he would never hear the end of it. But he could no longer deny the hidden plot that Peter and Thor had gone on about for so long before Peter's attack; there was someone out there that was against Loki's new home on Earth and didn't mind using a child to send that message. Loki would not allow such a person to continue existing at the risk of Peter getting hurt again.

And if all went according to his plan, then no one would ever know.

He had managed to get information of where Peter's attack took place, and even found a witness to it that could describe the mutant. After many meals later, the witness - a homeless woman - finally gave him the description he so wanted.

A person that was more monster than man, though he put up a good front. He had started out as a normal person with short red hair and freckles, casual t shirt and jeans. He had seemed like some middle-upper class citizen, which made him stand out in the solitude of the abandoned bridge. But then he had transformed into something that scared the woman, it took much persuading to get her to describe the new form. An unhinged jaw with spikes, black claw-like fingers and hands, and a purple liquid that dripped from spiked teeth and burned the ground.

That acid-like liquid is what caused the infection in Peter. If it burned the ground, what had it been doing to his insides? Loki could remember a brief flash of pain in his unconsciousness, but that was all it was. A flash.

The knowledge further fueled his resentment for the mutant, urging him to find it faster. As long as it lived, there was always a possibility of Peter getting hurt again. And who was to know if the mutant would let him live next time?

With his goal in mind, Loki snuck along the shadows of the Compound, completely hidden by his illusion. He would kill the mutant and return home with no one the wiser.

Some part of his mind that sounded suspiciously like his mother told him that it was a horrible plan, to which he ignored. He allowed a slight pause in his step as he humored the idea that the majority of Peter's recklessness came from him before continuing on with his self appointed mission.

~*LOKISON*~

"Tell you what, kid," Tony let out a sigh as he stared at his computer screen, "You should pay your respects to the spider that bit you. That regenerative healing is probably the only reason you didn't die immediately."

Peter sat on a bar stool next to Tony, watching the recording of his blood cells being destroyed by the infection before slowly repairing themselves in an endless cycle. It was unsettling to watch what had been happening inside of him not too long ago...

"I should have done a proper funeral for it..." Peter frowned, looking away from the screen. "Too bad the powers weren't instant so I would have known to save the body."

"Too bad it died right after choosing you as 'worthy,'" Tony chuckled, turning the recording off.

"Or it was trying to kill me, I did kinda stray away from the designated area. Who knows if I would have survived if I was fully human..."

"So I should probably stop my experiments on trying to recreate the spider for myself then?"

Peter looked at his mentor, the lighthearted smirk on his face causing a smile to appear on his own. He had missed spending time with the man; after everything that had been happening (Loki's arrival, spending time with Loki and getting to know him, then Amora and the problems she caused) Peter hadn't seen much of him lately. A part of his mind decided he would have to dedicate more time to Mr. Stark.

"Only if you don't want to be violently sick for a week while wondering if death by hummingbird would be easier."

Tony paused, his eyebrows pushing together as he looked back at Peter. "Death by hummingbird...?"

"Yeah! Just think of how painful it would be if you were pecked to death by a flock of hummingbirds!"

Tony didn't seem to have an answer for a long time, just stared at him for a second. "A flock of hummingbirds... I don't know, I think murder by spoon would be more painful."

Peter let out a laugh as he started to respond, but an announcement from Friday drew both of their attentions away. "Boss, Thor is asking for Peter."

The two looked towards the lab doors in unison, seeing a fuming Thor pacing behind the glass. "It's weird to see him without Loki..." Tony commented, waving his hand to signal Friday to open the doors.

"This can't be good."

"Peter," Thor called as soon as he was allowed inside, "Have you seen Loki? I fell asleep and when I woke up he was gone! I have searched everywhere and even Friday cannot say where he is!"

Peter's brows furrowed, a frown forming on his face. "I met him on the way to the kitchen, he was getting something to eat when I left... Friday can't find him?"

"That is correct. After you left him, all records of Loki's whereabouts are lost."

Peter cursed under his breath. "This is all my fault...! I should have known better than to think he wouldn't go looking for the mutant! He's still in recovery, he won't stand a chance!"

"At least now we know where your recklessness comes from," Tony gave him a half-hearted smirk before sighing. "Let's go get him, hopefully before he gets himself killed."

Peter nodded, running up to his room to get his suit. He ignored the elevators, knowing that he needed the short-lived adrenaline to his room to clear his head from the betrayal and anger he felt from Loki sneaking out. The man expected him to stay in bed and away from danger when he was injured, and yet Loki goes out and does exactly what he tells Peter not to? Where was the logic in that? Was this his first experience with parental hypocrisy? It really sucked... He could understand now why a lot of kids had a rocky relationship with their parents if that was what they dealt with so often.

Slipping his suit on as fast as he could, he opened his bedroom window and jumped out. "Karen, pull up security feeds around the bridge where we were attacked."

"There seems to be an error, all cameras in that area are down."

Peter let out another muttered curse as he ran to where Tony and Thor were waiting. "Mr. Stark, the cameras at the bridge-"

"I know, and it's spreading out further. It seems Loki's skill in provoking people managed to draw out that mutant. He could even be as good as me."

"But you couldn't get the mutant to come out of hiding."

"Shut up, the adult is talking."

Peter smirked despite his nerves, allowing himself a moment of calm and normalcy before heading out to potentially face the same mutant that had almost killed him not even a month ago.

As Tony lifted into the air, Peter shot a web onto his boot and held on as he was carried back to the city. He tried to let the wind clear his mind and focus on not falling off, he'd gotten better at the whole 'holding onto a flying object with just a web' thing since the Vulture fight happened, but he wasn't sure how good he'd be if he wasn't paying attention to what he was doing. Which was hard when he knew that his dad was out fighting a dangerous enhanced while not fully healed. An enhanced that Loki and the other Avengers had strongly forbid Peter from going find (not that Peter would, that had been far out of his league to deal with alone).

He could understand why Loki was mad, he really could. But what Peter couldn't wrap his mind around was the fact that Loki was idiotic enough to go into battle while still healing - a battle that wasn't raging or demanding his immediate attention! There was no point in going in by himself, without the strength of the full Avengers behind him! It was insane and suicidal! It was the exact thing that Loki always complained about him doing!

It didn't take long for them to get to the battle area, possibly because it was much bigger than the block that Peter had originally thought it would be.

From the air, Peter could see that the bridge where he fought the mutant was collapsed and that there were buildings burning or with smoke coming out of them within a five block radius. Though Peter saw evidence of the fight, he couldn't see any action currently happening. He didn't know if that was a good thing or not yet...

"Fri, look up anything having to do with Loki or a fight in the city." He overheard Tony command his AI. He waited with baited breath as Friday responded.

"The hashtag Loki is currently trending in regards to multiple attacks on civilians."

Tony cursed under his breath, something that Peter felt like doing as well. He could understand Loki attacking the mutant, but multiple civilians? What warranted that? Did the mutant have more powers that could control minds or something? Was Loki under mind control? 

The thought of someone threatening Peter to force Loki to take over the world crossed his mind, like what Amora did, but he threw that thought path away. Thor had told him about that scenario and Peter was confident that Loki wouldn't do something like that, especially not after Peter was finally able to start calling him 'dad' outloud... At least, he hoped that Loki wouldn't... There was a part of his mind that wasn't sure.

"Mr. Stark," He called, looking up at the man, "if Loki is moving around, then it might be better to split up."

"Alright, but you notify us if you find him. As soon as you do! We don't know what's going on with him now and I don't want to take any chances."

Peter gave a nod as he let go of the web holding him to Iron Man's boot, free-falling for a few seconds before sending another web out and starting to swing more into the city. "Karen, where was the most recent post about Loki at?"

"Wall street, he was just seen going into one of the buildings five minutes ago. However, new posts say that he grabbed a man a disappeared."

Swinging towards Manhattan, Peter's mind started reeling of all the places Loki could have taken a hostage. There weren't many ideas that came to mind... He was smarter than to bring them to his house, and that was in Queens. Where then...?

"Hey, where was the building that Amora kept me in?"

"Upper Manhattan."

"Show me the way, Karen."

Watching as a path was highlighted on his screen, Peter prayed that he was right and would be able to clear this whole subject up with him.

The route took him through Wall street where he was able to see all the police cars entering the building Peter assumed Loki had gone into. He saw some people that were out on the street crying as they were interviewed by the officers. Loki's explanation better be good.

It wasn't too much longer until Peter could see the abandoned hotel ahead of him, pushing himself to go a little faster and have this mess cleared up all the sooner. 

As he landed on the roof and began to make his way to the door, his ears picked up the sound of a man screaming inside. Running inside and down the stairs, he came to a hard stop as those screams suddenly cut out just as he reached the lobby.

Staring with wide eyes at the sight of a human man dead on the floor with Loki standing over him, Peter's breath was caught in his throat. Loki had just killed a man, a human man, that had no obvious threat about him - nothing that would be a threat to Loki.

"Dad...?"

Dark head of hair turning, Loki's vivid green eyes stared at Peter before softening. "Oh dear... I was hoping for more time before you found me. I haven't figured out what I'm going to say to you yet."

"Just... Just tell me the truth..." Peter took a step forward, his eyes locked on the body. "Tell me he was the mutant, that he reverted to a human body when you killed him."

"Should I inform Mr. Stark that you found Loki?"

"Not yet," Peter said just before pulling the mask off his head, his eyes moving back to look at his dad. The silence stretched on between the two of them, both of their eyes locked with the other in a desperate plea that neither could give.

"You need to go back home, Peter." Loki finally said as he turned away. Peter swore he heard his heart crack.

"What does that mean? How are you going to tell me what's going on if I leave?"

"I can't have you stopping me, not yet." Loki took a breath as his hands clasped behind his back. "I realized while fighting the mutant that you and Thor were right - don't tell him I said that. There are people out there who are spreading lies about me and rumors about you, people who cannot be allowed to live. I have taken it upon myself to find those people and stop their filth from polluting your name again."

"My name...?" Peter's eyebrows pushed together, his eyes bouncing in the space between them as tears built up. "You're killing people for my name just because they lied? In what world is that right? Dad, please-"

"It's right in my world!" Loki whirled around, his eyes hard and pinning Peter to the spot. "These mindless curs need to understand that they cannot just go around spouting blatant lies about the son of Loki that way! I almost ruled this world once, that deserves some authority and reverence from them! And I'm doing this for you! So that no mutant ever thinks to target you again just because you are my son!"

A tear slipped from Peter's eye as he swallowed thickly. "This isn't your world though... This is Earth. That's not how we do things on Earth, as an Avenger."

"I guess I wasn't meant to be an Avenger then."

Peter sucked in a sharp breath, which caused Loki's eyes to soften considerably as he turned away once more. "Go home, Peter. I won't let you stop me yet."

"No." Peter murmured, his head bowing as he rubbed his fist against his eyes then stood up tall. "As an Avenger, it's my job to stop you, Loki. I won't let you hurt anymore people - especially not in my name."

The man's head turned slightly, the corner of his eye visible with an emotion that Peter wasn't going to think about. But then his eyes shifted and became hard once more.

"You know, the last time you were in this building, you almost died because I was too weak to make the hard choices. I chose this place because of that... Because I held your dying body in that corner, cursing myself for not doing everything it took to save you. This building is motivation for me to not make the same mistake twice. I won't let anyone stop me," Their eyes met again and Peter almost took a step back at the glare he received, "Not even you."

"Loki-"

Before he could get another word out, the Loki in front of him disappeared in a flash of green light; leaving Peter alone with the dead body and his own thoughts. Clenching his jaw, Peter threw his mask on the ground with a loud curse as the tears he fought so hard to hold back broke through.

A/N: Aaahhh plot! I'm actually doing plot now wow! I even have the next two chapters planned out as well, I'm so proud of myself! Fair warning though, even thought the next chapters are planned out, I have no idea when they will be posted. I'm in my final semester of University and will be graduating in May. So it's a little hectic trying to get top scores in class to get into an honor society while also trying to plan announcements and pictures and putting together memorabilia. There's also the fact I'll be moving across the country after graduation, then next summer will be moving back. Life will be a little busy for a while... I really hope that I don't leave this cliffhanger for too long, I'm already starting comics and drawings for the next chapter so hopefully it'll be soon. Ya'll might hate me for how I plan to end this plotline... But that's also why you love me so much as well XD

Also- Anyone else feel bad that Peter went back to calling him Loki in the same chapter where he just got comfortable calling him Dad? Because I kinda feel bad... But I'm not taking that back XD