Monster Among Us
By: Darkest Ember
Chapter 1: Thinking Of You
It had been five days since she last saw Thor. Five days since an army of ill-intentioned dark elves invaded and destroyed a good chunk of London.
The thrill of fighting alongside Thor pumped blood excitedly through Jane Foster's veins. Of course she never considered herself to be a warrior, especially not when compared to Asgardians like Sif, but she was certainly no damsel in distress, not anymore.
She was willing to sacrifice her own life to save Thor once she saw the ship falling toward his motionless body, despite knowing that her small form would hardly prevent any damage. She was ready to die beside him rather than endure another day without him in her life.
To be honest, she was quite proud of herself for keeping it together thus far. In Thor's prior absence, her mind raced with uncertainties. After all, there were so many things wrong with their…relationship. First, there was the glaringly obvious difference between them – he was a near-immortal god destined to rule the Nine Realms; she was a mortal human with an extensive understanding of astrophysics.
It sounded crazy, even more so as the months passed, but Jane believed that there was truly something between her and Thor. Defining that feeling as 'love' might've been a bit strong, but she couldn't deny the spark…the chemistry.
She thought that he felt the same, but with each fleeting month without him, the doubt increased. Maybe it was just in her head. If he felt something for her, wouldn't he have returned?
But he did return. And despite the constant threats of imminent invasion or death, she loved being a part of his world.
Just remember, she thought, he does care about you. Now that there aren't any intergalactic threats and the Bifrost has been restored, what excuse could he possibly have?
Loki's fingers twitched as he clutched the armrests of the golden throne he'd so dearly sought. Every detail of his brilliant siege – from faking his death in front of Thor to locking Odin away – had gone according to plan.
Once he had taken care of the real Odin, he settled himself into character with borderline glee. Sure, it was fun to impersonate Odin at first…to perfectly mimic his mannerisms…to see how people addressed him with reverence and the slightest hint of fear.
But it would never be enjoyable so long as he wore the skin of the man he despised. That was the part of the plan that still required some scheming.
After all, only a fool would think that the people of Asgard, nay, the inhabitants of the Nine Realms, would welcome the idea of Loki as king. He was responsible for the death of a disturbing amount of lives, Aesir, human and creature alike.
Even though he got what he wanted, Loki felt bored and dissatisfied. The most thrill he had thus far was hearing Thor surrender his rights to the throne. But ever since then, he's been trapped inside his own illusion, appearing as Odin.
The reflection of a bright, rainbow-colored light drew Loki from his thoughts. It didn't take long to determine that the source of light came from the Bifrost. A scowl formed on the wrinkled face he wore.
Heimdall maintained his rigid stance and expansive gaze, even as Loki approached him from behind.
"Who has left at this hour?" he demanded.
"Thor has gone to Midgard to retrieve Lady Jane. Surely he would have told you?"
"I don't believe he has," Loki replied, feigning an exhausted sigh. "After our previous discussions, I had hoped that he would try to forget the woman. She does not belong here."
"Perhaps," Heimdall said, inclining his head. "But I suspect that with the renewed balance in the realms and his lack of royal responsibilities, he deserves a moment of happiness, even if it is with the mortal."
Not wishing to continue the façade of "concerned father," Loki agreed with Heimdall's response. Had Heimdall turned around to properly bid the king a good night, he would've seen the truly wicked smile that had crawled across Loki's lips.
He may have to hide his true self from the Nine Realms, but there was one person he could reveal himself to. Jane Foster will be in for a treat.
Jane breathed a sigh of relief as she felt her heavy eyelids obediently close and her consciousness start to give way to a rushing wave of sleep. But instead of drifting off into dreams filled with pleasant thoughts, her mind seemed to be stuck on Loki.
She replayed their introduction…
She recognized him the moment she saw him standing at the end of the hallway. That raven-colored hair…emerald and gold armor. It had been plastered across her TV screen even weeks after Thor and the Avengers had swooped in to save the day.
"I'm Loki. Perhaps you've heard of me –," he started to say in a polite, though smug tone. SLAP. Before she could control herself, Jane was possessed with all those feelings of fear, sadness, loneliness, betrayal, and it manifested in the form of a surprisingly strong hit.
His head snapped to the side. She was unsure whether that was from the force behind her punch or his surprise, but regardless, she couldn't help be feel proud of herself. Given the fact that he was clearly some sort of psychopath, she expected him to retaliate, but instead he looked at her and laughed.
"I like her," he said, grinning at Thor.
Thor, who was also surprised and impressed with Jane's actions, turned to address Volstagg and Sif, relaying any other last minute details of their treasonous plan. Jane would've happily scooted closer to Thor and pretend to understand what was going on, but Loki was blocking her path.
His eyes hadn't left her since she hit him, and that smug grin was still stretched across his thin lips. She silently groaned, realizing that she was trapped with him. Stubbornly, she crossed her arms over her chest and mumbled, "You know you deserve a lot worse than that." She nodded to the pink imprint that had appeared on his well-structured cheekbone.
"Tell me, Miss Foster," he said, "Should Thor's foolish plan succeed, will you issue more punishments to me?"
"I've already taken down a few police officers and a handful of Asgardian soldiers," she replied, the corners of her mouth tugging upwards. "I wouldn't test me."
"While we both know that this was purely the result of the Aether running through your veins, I must commend you. With something so ancient and powerful inside of you, it's quite amazing that you're still alive."
She remembered how horrified she felt when Thor and Loki carried out their plan to deceive Malekith…
Jane knew that it was supposed to be a ruse, but it all felt so real. The anger on Loki's face when he plunged his dagger into Thor's abdomen…you couldn't fake that intensity.
She chased after them, nearly tumbling over herself as she scrambled down the mountain just in time to see Loki kick Thor down to the ground. Thor desperately reached for his hammer, which was starting to fly down toward them, but Loki was one step ahead. He brought his dagger down on Thor's wrist without the slightest flicker of hesitation.
A scream of protest had slipped past Jane's lips as she watched the blood pour out of the remaining stump of Thor's forearm. The real, non-illusion terror that seized in her chest only tightened when Loki's wild eyes settled on her. Although she had been half unconscious during the ride into Svartalfheim, she got the basic gist of their plan. And knew that she was going to have to play a small role.
Suddenly, she didn't feel so willing to play along. She stole a quick glance at Thor, who was groaning and clutching his arm. A small, dark puddle of blood had already soaked the dry ground. Tears lined the corner of her eyes as Loki towered above her. He pulled her up and held her unnecessarily close to his chest as he dragged her closer to the dark elf.
Without so much as a whispered warning, he tossed her back to the ground in front of Malekith's feet. The way his voice quivered with rage when he said he wanted to watch Asgard burn sent spasms of fear rolling across her skin. It affected her far more than staring into Malekith's glacial eyes.
She relived his protection after the ruse was revealed…
That cruel desire for death and destruction left his eyes, which were now clouded with concern. Concern for her. A mortal in love with his brother.
She didn't have nearly enough time to properly analyze the situation. Thor shot a bolt of lightning into the materialized Aether, which caused it to explode into millions of tiny shards. Before she could even think to scream or shield herself, Loki descended upon her, completely protecting her with his own body.
In that briefest of moments – that second separating the potential of living or dying – Jane saw everything in his eyes. She saw the vengeance, regret, loneliness, betrayal…longing. Long gone was her image of him as a crazed, jealous lunatic. In its place was this beautifully broken soul, too ashamed to reach out for acceptance and forgiveness, despite desperately needing it.
And then there was the moment he died…
Jane gasped aloud as she bolted upright in her bed. The haunting image of Loki's ashen skin and lifeless body burned into her eyes and remained in place until she finally managed to blink it away.
Yes, he was deranged. Yes, he was a murderer. But in the short time she spent around him, Jane knew that there was more to Loki than that. Even he didn't deserve to die in that terrible place.
She was jolted out of her sorrowful thoughts by a loud clap of thunder. The white lightning was so bright it lit up the entire room. Jane was no meteorologist, but she was pretty sure that thunderstorms didn't usually do that.
It would seem that Darcy, Ian, and Erik seemed to share her skepticism, because they were already standing out in the living room, peering out the large window.
Darcy was the first to notice that Jane had joined them. "I think a certain friend of yours might be saying hello," she said with a suggestive wink.
The silhouette of a person appeared in the next flash of lightning.
"Uh, guys," Ian murmured, pointing to the window, "I think he's decided to greet us in person."
Three inquisitive gazes followed his finger. Jane's face lit up with excitement as she stumbled through the dark apartment to reach the porch door. Although a gust of wind and rain hit her in the face, she stepped out in the uninviting weather and saw a glimpse of red between the raindrops.
She didn't have to fight the weather much longer. The rain vanished instantly, and the night became still. An indescribable feeling of relief and joy exploded inside of her as she ran into his awaiting arms.
Thankfully, he wasn't wearing his usual amount of armor, thus making it much easier for her to wrap her arms almost all the way around his torso. "You came back!"
Thor held her a moment longer before pulling away with a confused expression. "Of course I came back, Jane. Now that the Nine Realms are safe, nothing can keep me from you."
Well, after seeing Thor: The Dark World FOUR times, I couldn't resist writing a fic that picked up where the film left off. I already have half the second chapter written and will be working on the next chapter of my other Lokane story (The Devil Within) shortly!
Leave a comment and let me know what you think so far :)
XoXo Amber
