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*****
The school auditorium.
Mike and Thor sat in the center seats, staring at the distant stage, waiting for Gwen's class to perform.
"Thor, make sure you get some good shots," Mike reminded, pulling out a compact camcorder.
Thor would be in charge of photography, while Mike handled video recording.
Thor nodded solemnly. "Don't worry. I asked Jane earlier—she taught me how to make everything look great on camera."
Mike glanced at the time.
Three more performances to go, and then it would be Gwen's class.
Backstage.
The kids about to perform were changing into their costumes.
Gwen and her classmates had finished their makeup and were getting into their outfits.
However…
The students in their class looked at the Evil Queen and Snow White with somewhat strange expressions.
Snow White was adorable and beautiful, of course—but the Evil Queen… was stunning.
Sinister, alluring.
Just by standing there, Loki radiated the aura of the Evil Queen to perfection.
And once he put on the witch's costume—the one used to disguise herself while offering the poisoned apple—that aura gained a touch of mystique.
Several kids and even the teachers started thinking that this kind of Evil Queen could easily make people willingly eat her poisoned apples.
Aside from Gwen, Peter, and Harry, everyone in the class—boys and girls alike—kept sneaking glances at Loki. Even the teacher couldn't look away.
At that moment, Loki completely stole the spotlight.
Compared to the sweet and innocent Gwen, Loki had a mature charm—something incredibly rare in a child.
This is it!
Their class was definitely going to win an award!
The teacher smiled so wide their eyes nearly disappeared into the grin.
Clapping their hands, they urged, "Quick! Hurry up and get changed!"
The performance was only a few minutes long, but everyone was taking it seriously.
Loki, now fully made-up, stood in front of the mirror and stared at his reflection. For a moment… he actually thought he looked kind of pretty?
But when he saw the dress he had to wear, his expression stiffened.
I'm doing this to regain my power…
I'm doing this to regain my power.
I'm doing this to regain my power!
Loki repeated the words in his head, clenched his jaw, and changed into the costume. He glanced at himself in the mirror again.
Not bad… actually kind of good-looking?
"…"
He paused in silence.
Then let out a quiet snort.
He was Loki, god of Asgard—he looked good in anything.
Moments later, Gwen's class finally took the stage.
Mike and Thor watched with anticipation.
The narration was provided by one of the teachers.
"Once upon a time…"
As the standard fairytale intro played, each key character appeared one after the other:
Snow White, the Evil Queen, the Huntsman, the Prince, and the seven dwarfs.
Gwen, as Snow White, wore a blue and white dress. Her delicate little face and dazzling platinum-blonde hair made her look like she had stepped right out of a fairytale—utterly lovable.
Harry Osborn, playing the Prince, brought a touch of melancholy to the role—not bad.
Peter, the Huntsman… well, he lacked any presence.
But thanks to repeated rehearsals, he managed to recite his lines completely—already a vast improvement over the previous class.
What made Mike chuckle, though, was when the narrator mentioned Snow White entering the forest—suddenly, several kids dressed as trees and flowers ran out.
So eco-friendly...
But what truly stunned everyone… was Loki's Evil Queen and later, his Witch performance.
When he played the Queen, his aloof, domineering, and narcissistically sinister demeanor was brought to life with shocking accuracy.
As the Witch, the sweetness he pretended to show chilled people to the bone.
This was supposed to be a cute children's play. Everyone had been smiling and laughing—
until Loki appeared.
Suddenly, the audience held their breath.
Loki's performance was too good.
Better than the actors on that new variety show—whatever-it's-called—where amateurs try acting.
One of the parents, who happened to be a film director, became eager to sign Loki on the spot.
In his professional opinion, Loki had the kind of talent that would make the gods of acting want to worship him.
He was phenomenal.
But to Mike and Thor—who knew Loki's true nature… this was just him acting like himself.
Still, the outfit was very pretty.
Thor chuckled while snapping photos—click click click.
These pictures would be treasured memories.
He planned to print them right away, pick the best ones, enlarge them, and take them back to Asgard.
His parents would be thrilled.
And Loki—he'd be so grateful.
Thor grinned happily.
A few minutes later, the performance ended.
Led by their teachers, the kids bowed to the audience and lined up to exit the stage.
Mike and Thor slipped out of the crowd and hurried backstage.
They had to take commemorative photos!
When they arrived, the children were just starting to change out of their costumes.
"Loki! Loki!"
Thor shouted anxiously. Anyone hearing him might think he'd lost his child—but in reality, he was just worried Loki had already changed out of his costume.
Thankfully, Mike and Thor arrived just a few steps behind Gwen's group.
After rounding up Gwen and the others, Thor handed the camera to Mike and dragged a very grumpy-looking Loki over for a photo.
A beaming, chubby Thor next to a scowling, loli-fied Loki…
Beautiful.
Mike glanced at the photo—surprisingly good.
The brothers made a great pair. There was a charming contrast between them.
After Mike took a photo with Gwen, they had the teacher take a group shot for everyone.
Shy Huntsman Peter, dashing Prince Harry, adorable Princess Gwen, and the dazzlingly beautiful—yet obviously irritated—Evil Queen Loki.
Behind them stood Mike, smiling warmly, and Thor grinning like a big goofy kid.
The teacher handed the camera back to Thor—who took it as license to go wild, chasing Loki with nonstop clicks.
Loki's expression remained dark the entire time, cold energy practically leaking from his body.
Seeing Loki's face, Mike worried that by nightfall, Thor's kidneys might mysteriously disappear.
Meanwhile…
Kryptonian commander Faora had already arrived on Earth.
She wanted to speak with Superman, Kal-El—but first, she had to find him.
Tracking down a person with a hidden identity on a planet this large… was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
So, she chose to make Superman come to her.
Since he was protecting the people of this planet, she would force him to show himself.
According to intel from their allies, Superman was most active in the United States.
So she came to the nation's biggest city, kidnapped a large number of civilians, and placed them on the roof of a building called the Empire State Building.
Within moments, police and media swarmed the area.
Faora stood silently atop the building, behind her two dozen unlucky hostages.
Looking at the police cars below and the helicopters circling from afar, Faora muttered:
"This… might be the dumbest thing I've ever done."
(End of Chapter)