"Seriously," Ms. Marvel said, "you what?!"
"Like I said before," Loki stated, "I'm here to help."
"You'll have to forgive us if we don't believe you," Twilight retorted.
"I understand," Loki replied, "but I assure you, I'm here to help."
The girls still weren't convinced.
"Perhaps you would trust be better in a different form?" Loki suggested, "maybe something like this?"
In flash of green and golden light, Loki transformed into Thor.
"Like this?" he said, in Thor's voice.
"Slightly better," Ms. Marvel replied, "but no."
"Very well," Loki nodded, shapeshifting into another form, this one the form of Timber Spruce.
"How about this?" he asked.
"No," Twilight answered, her cheeks going bright red.
"How about this?" Loki asked, changing his form one final time, into that of Superman, "don't much care for the red trunks," he said, looking his form over, "but I feel the righteousness coursing through me, you wanna have a talk about truth, justice and the American way?"
"Just give it up, Loki," Midnight said, "it doesn't matter what form you take, it doesn't change the fact you're still you."
"Very well," Loki responded, "if I can't win your trust with a face you recognise, then I'll just be one of you."
In another flash of green light, Loki transformed again, but this time into a female version of himself.
"What do you think?" she asked, "is this enough?"
The heroes all gave the god of mischief the same disapproving look.
"What do I have to do to prove to you that I'm trustworthy?" Loki replied, as he reverted back to his normal form.
"Hand over your weapons," Squirrel Girl stated.
"What?" Loki exclaimed, "absolutely not, what if we get captured? How will I defend myself?"
"If you want us to trust you," Twilight continued, "you'll give us your weapons."
Loki was about to argue again, but the look in Twilight's eyes told him she was serious.
"Very well," he sighed, finally.
He handed over two daggers.
"One last thing," Midnight said, her ring lit up.
Before Loki could react, some yellow handcuff constructs clapped onto his wrist's.
"Is this really necessary?" he asked, "I thought we were all allies here."
"We are," Spider-Girl replied, "allies who trust but at the same time don't trust you."
"What's wrong?" Midnight asked, with a cheeky smile on her face, "I thought the god of mischief liked tricks."
"Now," Twilight said, "you said that the Casket was at the Garden of Heroes?"
"Yes," Loki answered.
"Then lead the way," Rarity ordered, "we'll follow behind."
"I take it," Loki said, "I'll be your meat shield?"
"No," Ms. Marvel smiled, "we just want to keep you where we can see you."
"Now move it," Squirrel Girl ordered, "and don't get any funny ideas or you'll have answer to Tippy Toes."
Squirrel Girl's pet sidekick, who had been with the Champions ever since they arrived on Themyscira, glared at Loki cracking his knuckles in an intimidating way.
"If you're trying to scare me," Loki said, "you'll have to try harder, I've faced my brother and father countless times, faced the fury of the fire demon Surtur and faced the down the Mad Titan, I will not be intimidated by a Midgardian tree rat."
Tippy Toes growled and prepared to leap at Loki, only to be grabbed and restrained by Squirrel Girl.
"Tippy," she said, "let it go, you can beat the stuffing out of him, later."
"Anyway," Twilight said, "I believe you were showing us the way to the Garden of Heroes?"
"Yes," Loki nodded, "follow me, please."
With that, the group followed Loki, making sure that they didn't lose sight of him.
Hours later.
Twilight's group arrived at their destination, the Garden of Heroes.
Usually, it was a magnificent garden with statues of Earth's heroes as a way of honouring their legacy.
But now, the garden was covered in snow and rendered barren and cold.
"Alright," Twilight said, "now we have to signal the others to let them know where the Casket is hidden."
Twilight held up her Lantern ring, firing a bright beam of green light into the sky.
The beam was bright enough that the other teams could see it through the snow and wind, signalling them to head towards it.
"There," Twilight said, after she had finished, "now, we just have to wait for the others to regroup with us."
All across the island, the other teams had seen Twilight's signal and were heading towards its location.
The other teams had also met with unfortunate and bizarre transformations as a result of Circe's magic.
Rainbow Dash and Applejack's teammates, Kate Bishop and Stinger, Kate's head having transformed into that of a Hawk and Stinger having partially transformed into an Otter.
Sunset Shimmer, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy's teammates, Thunder having partially transformed into a Bear and Lightning having gained the features of a meerkat.
Wonder Woman's teammates, Yara Flor and Mala were partially transformed into a snow leopard and a cougar.
Wonder Woman and Valkyrie were unaffected by Circe's magic, due to her demi-god status and Odin's magic.
"We saw your signal," Wonder Woman said, "and have come as swiftly as possible."
She and Valkyrie then noticed that Loki was with the group.
"What is the name of Hera, is he doing here?!" she exclaimed.
"He says that he wants to help us against Circe," Twilight explained, "we believe him...for now."
"The girl is right," Loki chipped in, "and I can assure you that this is not a trick, I wish to help."
"You'll forgive me, if I don't believe your words, trickster," Wonder Woman responded, "there is only one way to know if your words are true."
She produced the Lasso of Truth, "with this, we will find out the truth," she declared.
"Very well," Loki said, "if I must, I must."
Twilight nodded to Midnight, who released the hand cuff constructs she had placed on Loki.
Loki, didn't resist as the Lasso was placed on him.
The Lasso glowed bright gold and Loki seemed to fall into a trance-like state.
"Why do you really want to help us?" Wonder Woman asked.
"Because," Loki answered, "Circe has gone back on our agreement, when Fimbulwinter has finally consumed everything we were supposed to rule Midgard together, but she is making it all about her and I, Loki, will not let some ancient, self-absorbed, power-hungry witch steal my conquest!"
"Wow," Sunset said, "that Lasso really works."
"That. Is. Amazing!" Twilight exclaimed, "that thing's power can really help me in collective surveys."
"What other secrets are you hiding?" Valkyrie asked.
"You know that D.B. Cooper mystery from 1971?" Loki replied, "that was me, I lost a bet with Thor and that was the result."
The girls all stared, slack-jawed and in shock at what they had just heard.
"You were D.B. Cooper?" Twilight said, almost struggling to breathe, "Y...Y...You?!"
Twilight, who had been fascinated with the D.B. Cooper conspiracy when she was younger, was still recovering from what she had been told.
"Anyway," Valkyrie said, "I believe we have heard enough."
She nodded to Wonder Woman, who took the Lasso off of Loki and placed it back on a clip on her belt.
"Well," Loki breathed, "now that thats out of the way, can we proceed, every second the Casket is left open Fimbulwinter continues to spread to every corner of Midgard."
"Loki said that the Casket was hidden somewhere in there," Twilight stated, pointing to the entrance of Garden of Heroes.
"Then we must not waste anymore time," Wonder Woman proclaimed, "we must enter the garden and locate the Casket."
Everyone nodded.
"Be on your guard," Loki added, "Circe may already be onto us, I'm pretty sure finding the Casket will not be easy."
With that, everyone, once again, split into teams and entered the garden.
As they began to search, Loki noticed Wonder Woman giving him side eye glances.
"Something bothering you, princess?" he asked.
Wonder Woman waited until the two were alone, before replying.
"Let me make something clear," she said, her tone suddenly turning stern, "if you try anything, then I will take you down."
Loki looked angry for a moment. After all he had done to prove himself, Wonder Woman still didn't trust him. Then, he took a deep breath and let his anger go.
When he spoke his voice was professional, calm, "it may surprise you, Princess Diana," he said, "the truth is I don't enjoy hurting people."
Wonder Woman stopped in her tracks, surprised at what she had just heard.
"I do it, because" Loki continued, "I have to, because I've had to, because it's part of the illusion, it's part of the cruel elaborate trick conjured by the weak to inspire fear."
"Loki," Wonder Woman said, but Loki held up his hand preventing her from continuing.
"Anyway," he said, "I believe we have a relic to find."
Without another word, Loki joined the others as they searched for the Casket.
After a few hours, the heroes located the Casket, at the base of a statue of Achilles.
"That was easy," Squirrel Girl stated.
"Too easy," Ms. Marvel added.
"Don't say that!" Rainbow Dash cried, "you know when someone says that was too easy, something happens!"
"We can worry about that later," Wonder Woman said, "right now, we must close the Casket and put an end to Fimbulwinter for Themyscira and the world."
The others nodded and with surprisingly little effort, closed the Casket.
The snow storms began to subside and the creatures spawned from the snow began to dissipate.
"Well," Stinger said, "what do we do now?"
"First," Donna Troy replied, "we need to get the Casket as far from Circe as possible."
"I'll handle that," Loki suggested, "if you'll allow me."
Wonder Woman nodded to Donna who handed the Casket to Loki, who prepared to cast a teleportation spell on the Casket.
But before he could execute the spell, there was the sound of marble grinding against marble.
Everyone turned to see the statue of Achilles, break free of its plinth and start stomping towards them.