Nell's Ranch.
Nell brought one of Lana's classmates over.
"Hey, Lana, your classmate is here to see you."
Seeing the girl standing next to Aunt Nell, Lana quickly greeted her, "Hey, Tina."
The two of them had a good relationship. Lana smiled and asked, "You weren't at school yesterday. Are you feeling better?"
"Not bad. You quit the cheerleading squad and got sent to the garage by your aunt?"
Lana shrugged at Tina's teasing. "Aunt's stuff is a mess. I'm just helping her clean up a bit."
Tina nodded, then said with a complicated expression, "Well, not being on the cheer squad isn't so bad. At least now you have time to help your unpopular friends."
Hearing that, Lana paused what she was doing. "No, Tina, you're not unpopular."
Tina stared at her. "Honestly, Lana, I wish I could be you. Your life is perfect."
Thinking Tina was joking, Lana laughed. "If you want, I can give it to you."
"Really? Then I'll take everything about your appearance."
Tina said seriously.
Seeing the look on her friend's face, Lana felt something was off.
Tina was usually a shy person, insecure about her looks and social skills. She rarely brought up personal topics like family and life.
"If you became me, what would you do?"
Lana asked casually.
"I don't know, but I'm sure it would be fun."
Evening, Padraic Farm.
Clark was watching TV when another midday bank robbery was reported.
This time, the culprit wasn't Lex Luthor—it was his father, Lionel Luthor.
Lionel had chosen a different bank this time, but once again, it was one owned by his company.
Unlike before, this robbery went smoothly. Lionel Luthor didn't arouse suspicion and managed to withdraw a large sum of cash directly from the bank.
"No, I have to stop Loki."
Clark couldn't sit still any longer. He got up and walked toward Loki's room.
He knocked, but there was no response from inside.
He knocked harder. Just as he was losing patience and about to barge in, the door creaked open.
Young Loki stood at the doorway, looking surprised. "Something wrong, Clark?"
Their voices attracted John and Star-Lord, who pushed open their doors and looked over.
"Clark, what's going on?"
John frowned and asked.
Clark quickly explained what had happened earlier in the day and mentioned the robbery at noon.
"You mean someone disguised themselves as a Luthor and robbed their own bank?"
John asked in confusion. "Are you sure this wasn't just some staged stunt by the Luthors?"
Loki chimed in, "I think John has a point."
"No."
Clark shook his head. "I called Lex. He said he was in a meeting in Metropolis at the time—he had no opportunity to commit the crime."
"So you suspect me? Clark, that's a little rash. You should have solid evidence before making accusations."
Loki shrugged. "You're hurting my feelings, brother."
Clark ignored him and continued, "I'm still at the suspicion stage. But to prevent anything like this from happening again, you're staying with us tonight."
"Until Godfather gets back, you're not leaving our sight."
As he spoke, Clark glanced at John and Star-Lord.
"You two back me up on this, right?"
"Of course."
John immediately took Clark's side.
Making Loki uncomfortable was something he thoroughly enjoyed.
Star-Lord wasn't entirely convinced Loki was behind it, but there wasn't a better plan, so he went along with Clark's proposal.
Seeing himself surrounded by the three, Loki sighed. "Alright, fine. I see you've already labeled me a criminal. I thought we were brothers."
Clark replied, "Exactly. That's why, while Godfather isn't here, we won't let you make mistakes."
Late Night.
Loki's room was packed with four people. John, Star-Lord, and Clark took turns watching him, making sure he didn't try anything.
When it was Star-Lord's turn, Loki asked to use the bathroom.
Not thinking much of it, Star-Lord accompanied him.
The sound of water flushing.
Loki obediently followed Star-Lord back to the room.
But soon, Star-Lord realized something was wrong.
Loki was usually a chatterbox—why was he so quiet after coming back from the bathroom?
Alarmed, Star-Lord quickly moved to Loki's side and reached out to touch him.
The moment he did, Loki's body turned into mist and vanished completely.
Realizing he'd been tricked, Star-Lord hurriedly woke Clark and John.
The three of them immediately left the room and began tracking Loki.
Boom!
John took to the skies, using his super vision to quickly locate Loki's fleeing figure.
With a heavy thud, he landed in front of Loki, standing up slowly.
"This time, you're not getting away, Loki."
"Oh? Making bold claims ahead of time? Not a good habit, John."
Before he finished speaking, Loki pulled a dagger from his waist and lunged at John.
John's expression shifted. He caught Loki's wrist mid-strike and forcefully pushed him backward.
Thud!
Loki crashed to the ground.
"You're overthinking this, Loki. You don't need to turn into a snake and play tricks—just stabbing me directly with a knife. Do you really think that would work?"
John spoke confidently, stepping forward.
But the moment he moved, a sharp click sounded beneath his foot.
A hidden trap—a metallic sphere—suddenly appeared and detonated with a loud boom!
Shards of metal struck John's body, while a blinding flash of light forced him to shield his eyes.
At the same time, a binding spell activated, locking him in place.
"This is just a little magic tool, one that can rapidly drain your strength. The only downside is that it takes time to set up, so I had to prepare it in advance and trick you into stepping on it."
Loki smirked at the immobilized John. "You're arrogant, John. Dad favors you, but he doesn't realize you're just an overconfident fool who keeps getting himself into trouble. Like just now—you thought you had me, but in reality, you've been dancing in the palm of my hand."
His smirk widened. "I am the one who will inherit everything from Father—the rightful king."
John stared at Loki's smug expression, finding it incredibly irritating.
At this moment, he reassessed Loki's threat level, ranking him above both Star-Lord and Clark.
After all, this brat wasn't just ambitious—he was cunning, constantly pulling tricks to lower John's standing in their father's eyes.
Narrowing his eyes, John responded coldly, "You're wrong. I'm the one protecting the farm for Father. I was here first. And you, Loki—you're just an afterthought. On this farm, besides Dad, I am the one in charge."
"Oh, really?"
Loki took a step forward, gripping his dagger. "You don't even understand how vast the Nine Realms are, nor what the World Tree represents."
"I am glory itself. I am the rightful heir of the Nine Realms and Asgard. I will inherit Father's name and command the world to bow before me—"
Before he could finish, John suddenly broke free from the magical trap.
BAM!
John's fist smashed into Loki's face, sending him sprawling to the ground.
As Loki lay there, stunned and questioning his life choices, John felt an immense sense of satisfaction.
He had wanted to land that punch for a long time.
And the angle, the force—everything about it was perfect.
"It's pretty obvious—you're not."
John shrugged.
Feeling his face go numb, Loki's eyes flickered with clarity. "…Uh, brother, you do realize I was just joking, right?"
"Your acting sucks."
John rolled his eyes before grabbing Loki by the collar. With a whoosh, he rocketed into the sky, heading straight for the farm.
Ten minutes later, back at the farm.
Clark and Star-Lord arrived just in time to witness an absurd sight—
Loki, now sitting cross-legged on the floor, hands and feet tied up, with a gag strapped into his mouth.
Clark blinked, feeling an odd sense of déjà vu.
"…Where did you even find all this stuff, John?"
Pushing aside some very strange thoughts, Clark turned to John.
"The ropes were already in the barn," John replied matter-of-factly. "As for the gag…"
He thought for a moment before adding, "I think it was meant for the cattle in the pen."
Loki immediately began thrashing and making muffled noises through the gag, clearly not okay with this revelation.
Star-Lord glanced at Loki, suddenly feeling a twinge of pity for him.
Night passed without incident.
With Loki bound and gagged, they finally got him to behave for the night.
The next morning.
Peter pulled into the farm, having spent the previous day in Metropolis sorting out property documents and bar licenses. Since there was no rush, he had taken his time, even staying overnight at the bar before heading back.
But the moment he stepped inside the house, he was met with a shocking sight.
In the living room, John, Clark, and Star-Lord sat on one side, while Loki—now back in his teenage form—sat cross-legged on the couch, hands and feet still tied, the gag still in his mouth.
"What the hell are you guys doing?"
Peter's anger flared immediately.
Loki was tied up?!
"Mmmph! Mmmph—!!"
Seeing Peter return, Loki frantically made muffled noises and desperately signaled for help.
Clark and the others quickly stood up.
Without hesitation, Peter summoned rune magic around Loki, dissolving the bindings and removing the gag.
"John, Clark, Star-Lord—why did you tie up your brother?" Peter demanded, furious.
Now free, Loki instantly ran to Peter and pointed at them. "Dad, it was them!"
"Godfather, we suspected—"
Clark started to explain, but Peter cut him off.
"Even if you suspected he did something wrong, you don't treat your brother like this! He's family!"
Star-Lord, meanwhile, noticed the triumphant glint in Loki's eyes and felt a chill run down his spine.
…They had just been played.