"Loki!" Thor's bellow roared through the main floor lobby with a thunderous clamor. He stood near the receptionist desk wearing his usual commoner clothing, his fair hair tied in a top knot.

Loki ignored his brother and stormed toward the exit. Thor jogged up to him, beaming broadly. Clueless as usual. "Brother, what is the hurry? I have brought joyous news."

At any other time, he would wonder why Thor was so exceedingly happy and how he might change that state of affairs. "Fascinating. I need to be going." Loki said in clipped tones slipping out the revolving door.

He plowed onto the sidewalk, eyes narrowing against the brightness of the afternoon sun. It was a chilly fall day and many of the mortals bustling down the sidewalks wore thick jackets and scarves.

Loki scanned the street for a cab. He spotted a yellow vehicle idling at the curb on the other side of the street. Drivers honked angrily as he wandered into traffic to reach the cab. A few vehicles slammed on their breaks to avoid hitting him. A round of angry honking ensued.

Thor, never one to take a hint, followed at a jog, threading through the vehicles crowding the street.

"Hey, its Thor!" A man called from a nearby vehicle and snapped a photo on his cell phone.

Loki rolled his eyes. What did these Midgardians see in his brother?

Thor waved graciously at his fan and joined Loki on the sidewalk, tucking a hand into his pocket. "Loki, what's this about? You are acting very agitated."

Instead of replying with a snappy retort, Loki yanked open the rear door of the cab and climbed in. "177 A Bleecker Street." He ordered.

The cab screeched away from the curb as Thor slid in beside Loki, pulling the door shut. The top of his blond head brushed the ceiling. "Why are you going to see Strange?"

"I do not need you along." Loki said through clenched teeth. He gripped his thighs to keep from going for his brother's throat. "This is my affair."

Thor regarded him soberly. "I hope you aren't going to do something stupid. Not when you've made so much progress blending into society."

At his brother's words, something inside of Loki snapped. He whipped his head around, lips peeling back in a snarl. "You are always so quick to judge me when you know nothing!"

"That's not true. I-"

Loki sliced his hand through the air. "Spare me your feigned sentiment!" He turned and faced the window, an oppressive silence falling over the back seat as they sped through the city.

Familiar anger and pain swirled around Loki's heart which had never healed from Odin's betrayal. Thor always looked down on him and assumed the worst. He had never seen him as an equal, not really.

To Thor, Loki would always be his little brother. Not a god capable of living free of his shadow.

Steepling his hands together, Thor sighed heavily. "Perhaps, I am being unfair. I did not come to lecture you. The truth is I found out I'm going to be a father."

Shocked to his core, Loki gaped at his brother. Of all the news Thor could deliver, he never expected this. He always believed Thor's relationship with Jane would end eventually. A child changed everything.

Thor shifted under Loki's assessing stare, the corner of his mouth curling up slightly. "I wanted you to be the first to know."

"Why?" He asked, genuinely confused, though he felt a traitorous spark of hope.

"Because you are my brother." Thor squeezed Loki's shoulder, blue eyes warm with affection. "You are going to be an uncle."

An uncle? For a moment Loki imagined a precocious tow-headed demi-godling tottering on unsteady legs toward him begging to be picked up and spun around. An unexpected longing filled him. Oh, the tricks he could teach that child to torment its father!

An involuntary smile tugged Loki's lips. "Do you know the sex of the child?" He knew earth had ways to detect such things.

"Jane wants it to be a surprise." Thor rubbed his chin abashedly, his beard rasping slightly beneath his fingers. "I agree there is joy in the anticipation."

Shaking his head slightly, Loki settled back in the seat stiffly. "I suppose congratulations are in order."

"Thank you. Now tell me this problem with Strange. I might be able to help."

"How? From what I understand he is no more fond of you than he is of me." Loki replied.

"Ah, that's not true. The wizard likes me a great deal." Thor said lying through his teeth.

Loki smirked. He always was a lousy liar. "Strange abducted Cassandra out of Stark's tower. I'm going to get her back."

"Strange can be capricious and very arrogant." Thor mused. "But I do not think he will harm her."

Loki raised his chin. "It's a point of pride."

"It always is with you."

*************************************************************************************

Cassandra pushed herself upright on the dusty Persian rug. She immediately regretted it when the room began to spin. Closing her eyes, she swallowed against a sudden bout of nausea. Her fingernails scraped against the hardwood floor as she sprawled on the rug. She had no idea where she was.

From the outrage that contorted Loki's features the teleportation spell hadn't been his doing.

Only when Cassandra was certain she wouldn't hurl did she try to open her eyes again to take in her new surroundings. She suspected the house to be Victorian or older judging by the excessive use of wood paneling on the walls and the crystal drop chandelier hanging above the foyer. Dust motes spiraled through the air, glimmering in the light beaming in from the large round window at the top of the stairs.

A yellow tabby cat watched her from on top of a sideboard with large green eyes. It jumped nimbly to the floor rattling the mirror on the wall.

Cassandra held her hand out to the feline. The cat trotted over to her, tip of its tail curled in a question mark. She hooked a finger around the tag dangling from its collar and smiled. "Hello, Goose. You're a pretty kitty."

The cat sniffed her hand curiously and meowed.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Flerkens are dangerous." A deep voice warned from the shadows.

Cassandra stiffened. The silhouette of a man now stood at the top of the staircase, but the dim light prevented her from making out his features clearly. Her captor presumably. Anger took over, and she surged to her feet to face him. "Who are you and where the hell am I?"

The shadow of wings spread around the man's shoulders and he floated down the stairs. He landed softly before her and the light on the chandelier brightened to reveal an older man wearing a floor length red cape. "My name is Doctor Stephen Strange."

Well, if they were throwing titles around. "I'm Dr. Pierce."

He clasped his hands together at his waist, narrow face remote. "I know exactly who you are. Though, it is evident you have no idea who you are."

Cassandra snorted. "I don't need a man walking around in a cape and tights telling me who I am."

Strange seemed unmoved by her insult. "Looked in a mirror lately?"

She turned red, remembering she still wore her Asgardian fighting leathers. Talk about putting her foot in it. Flustered, Cassandra folded her arms over her chest. "Fashion choices aside, I notice you haven't answered my questions."

"Tony Stark informed me you have been keeping company with Loki of Asgard. I decided to intervene."

"I don't need an intervention." She bit out, furious with this stranger who was arrogant enough to believe he had a right to interfere in her life.

"Don't you? You've befriended a mass murderer and have even taken magic lessons from him." Strange challenged a spark of anger appearing in his faded blue eyes. "The earth does not need another rogue sorcerer."

"I'm not a threat to people!" She argued, unable to believe what she was hearing.

"But you might be with Loki's continued influence." The wizard contested.

"You're a moron, Dr. Strange and I'm out of here." Cassandra huffed and spun for the front door.

Before her hand closed around the handle the door vanished along with the rest of the foyer. The abrupt shift momentarily disoriented her.

The wizard now regarded her calmly from a wing-backed chair beside a fireplace in a well-appointed study. "We are not finished with our discussion. So, have a seat. I promise it will be worth your time."

Cassandra remained at a safe distance, ignoring the second chair. She was sick of these men telling her what to do all the time. They acted like she was some air-head who couldn't manage without their instruction. Sexist pigs. If only she knew a spell to blast this jerk off his ass. That would teach him a lesson.

Strange's mouth thinned. "Fine. I can see you are ridiculously stubborn. I will get to the point."

"Please do. Unlike you I have a job and don't have a ton of time on my hands." She shot back nastily.

He tilted his head to the side. "I will ignore your rudeness because this is important." A delicate teacup and saucer floated across the room to her.

The saucer bumped against her chest pointedly when she refused to grab it. "How about something stronger?" Cassandra challenged.

The teacup changed into a giant beer stein. "Whoa." Cassandra regarded the frothy amber liquid in awe, momentarily forgetting to be angry with Strange. "Gives a whole new meaning to Happy Hour."

The layer of froth on top tickled Cassandra's nose as she took a big drink. The beer was rich and dark without that gross hops-y taste that tended to overwhelm the flavor in a lot of beers. "This is good."

Strange smiled thinly. "It's a gift."

Okay, he was being a dick again. Cassandra scowled at him over the stein. "Well? What do you want?"

"My assistant Wong has spent some time in Kamar Taj digging around the archives. He found something interesting about your tattoo."

"And that would be?" She prompted when he hesitated to say more.

"We are still deciphering the symbols but essentially you bear the mark of the Merlin."

Cassandra shook her head slightly. "I'm not following. Care to clarify?"

"A Merlin is a type of falcon. The ancient druids of England gave that title to their leader." Strange explained.

She held up a hand reeling from the information. "Hold up. Are you talking like King Arthur/Excalibur-that Merlin?"

"Yes, it appears the Merlin chose you as his successor."

Cassandra burst out laughing.

A/N: Okay, another one done. We had some interesting revelations this chapter. I would have posted this yesterday but my computer broke and I had to go out and get another one. As always, comment, vote and have a great day.