Sorry for the wait, I wrote this chapter a while ago, but then my computer crashed and I lost half of it. Now I don't have a computer at all, so updates could be shaky in the future. Thanks to everyone who reviewed my last chapter :), I've gotten over a hundred now and I still get excited every time I see that I have a new one.

Disclaimer: If I had enough money to afford to put Robert Downey Jr. in my movies, do you think I would be on here using a borrowed laptop?

Ali's POV

"Wait, you mean you didn't tell him?"

I'm fairly certain Kate and I were thinking the exact same thing: Oh, no. As in, I am so dead, and it is all my fault. Somewhere, in the back of my mind, I knew that this would happen. I knew I couldn't just pretend to be an innocent cat forever. In fact, I felt exactly like Odin right now, and that made me feel even worse. Because Loki had trusted me, and I had been keeping secrets from him the entire time, just like his adoptive father had. I was such a hypocrite. And now Loki would hate me, and whatever chance he had of not going over the edge was blown now because that was one. More. Betrayal. One more lie. And it was all my fault.

Loki looked incredibly confused, and I did not want to have to explain this.

"Tell me what?" he asked, looking back and forth between Kate and me. I felt like I was going to puke. Kate looked at a loss too, so I knew I wasn't getting any help from her. She sucked at improvising. Also, it was my battle, and she didn't have the same connections to Loki that I had. She probably still thought of him as a villain. But for once in my life, my mind went blank. I knew I had to tell him the truth. I just didn't know how to do it.

"Loki..." I started. He stared at me expectantly. "How do I say this?" I felt like Viola in Twelfth Night, revealing that she wasn't actually a boy named Cesario, only, this wasn't a comedy, and I doubted it would go over so well. I took a deep breath.

"I'm not a cat."

Loki stared at me. "What?" he said. I sighed.

"I'm a girl. My name is Alison. And I know I lied to you, and I'm sorry...though, actually, now that I think about it, I never actually said that I was a cat, so I didn't technically lie...but that's beside the point. My point is, I was never just a cat you found on Asgard. I'm a shapeshifter. I would show you, but, well...I'd be naked. So, that's awkward," I rambled. If I was a human, I'd be blushing profusely. Loki just blinked and continued to stare at me.

"That makes a surprising amount of sense, actually," he finally said. I looked at him.

"What?"

"I thought you were too intelligent to be an animal."

"So...you're not mad?"

"Mad? Why would I be mad? I should be used to this by now, shouldn't I? After all, everybody lies to me, why should you be any different? It's not as if I thought I could trust you or anything. It's not as if I've been betrayed by everybody in my life, including my own d**n cat! Oh, no, I'm not mad. Go ahead, I don't care what you do. I'm not affected in the slightest." His voice grew steadily angrier as he ranted, ending in a snarl that made my ears flatten back against my head. The sarcasm stung even more than I thought it would. For the first time since I'd arrived in Asgard, I started to see his potential to become the Loki in The Avengers. And I helped that happen, I thought bitterly.

I thought about his relationships with the people that betrayed him. They were never repaired. In The Avengers, he hated them even more over time. I didn't want to be one of those people, but I didn't know what I could do to stop it. I hung my head.

"I...I'm sorry. I promise, everything else I said was true. I'll answer any questions you have, please...how can I make this up to you?" I pleaded helplessly. He simply stared at me.

"You can leave," he spat. I looked up at him hopelessly, but he had already turned on his heel and started walking away. I could do nothing but sit and watch his retreating back.

Kate looked back and forth between us in awkward silence throughout the whole discussion. She took one look at my face and sighed. I guess I looked pretty pitiful.

"Hey! Loki!" she called. We both snapped around to look at her. What was she doing? She glanced at me again, then turned her full focus on the Norse deity in front of her.

"There's got to be something she can do. Don't you think it's rather unfair not to give people second chances? I know she'd give you one. There has to be a way to fix things. I mean, think about it. What would you do if you found yourself in a strange world you weren't supposed to be in? You'd lie, right? You'd disguise yourself so you wouldn't be caught and thrown in a prison. It's a misunderstanding, Loki, not a betrayal. At least try to understand," she ranted. I looked up at her in surprise, a warm feeling of gratitude spreading in my chest. She didn't even know Loki, and she was still standing up for me.

Loki gave her a stonefaced stare. "Who is she to you?" he finally asked. Kate shrugged.

"She's my friend."

"And has she ever lied to you?"

"Probably," Kate said. I looked at her. "But I don't mind, because I know she has her reasons."

Loki seemed to have been shocked into silence. For the record, so was I. Then he composed himself.

"I doubt it was like this."

Kate conceded with a nod. "True. But you have to admit, this isn't exactly a common situation."

There was a pause, and then Kate continued.

"Besides, you owe me one, remember? This is what I'm asking for. Give her a second chance."

Loki sighed. He stared at me coldly, and pursed his lips.

"Give me some time," he said. Then he spun on his heel, and disappeared.

I swallowed, then turned to Kate.

"Thank you," I said quietly. She flashed me a small smile.

"No problem. Now, let's get you some clothes, girl! And you have no idea how many questions I have for you!"

A/N It's a shorter chapter, but definitely an important one. Let me know what you thought in the comments! Until next time, ~I.A.