Disclaimer: we do not own any portion of this Marvel universe, and for that you may all be grateful.

A/N This is our first fan-fiction (and yes, we are two people, I am not simply employing the royal 'we') so we would appreciate any reviews, advice, or constructive criticism that you can spare. Thank you, and enjoy.

~Of brothers and Bi-frosts ~

~o~o~o~ In the Halls of the Odin Rest~o~o~o~

'Today is a good day to drink, I guess every day is a good day to drink on Asgard… but hey, what's one more tankard?' Odin took another swig and chuckled that some people thought of Thor as the irresponsible one. That is just one more perk to being king. He could just fall into the "Odin Nap" or whatever they call it nowadays, wait for them to close the door, and then call Heimdall in to talk some sports (Vikings rock) and slam some of that Niflheim mead that Frigga thought he couldn't find.

There was but one problem with being king, and that was a problem Thor had given him, (for once the good one broke something.) Now that the Bifrost was down, how exactly could he race the other kings to random realms?

Well, there is always the chance that some heroic hero would fix it. Of course once he started asking around there were hundreds of Asgardians bouncing up and down (literally in some cases) to fix it, but very few had the skill or knowledge to build a bilgesnipe trap, much less a trans-dimensional portal.

So of course, he had to haul Loki up to fix it.

Some folks thought that giving Loki control of potentially the most powerful tendril of Yggdrasil gifted to the Aesir was a bad idea since Loki still hadn't buried the hatchet after falling off the dumb thing, but Odin just had Heimdall watch the trickster so no biggie. Seriously, who is a better guy to watch a psychopathic con man then the man who sees all? (That last bit frankly creeped him out and made him wonder just what-all the golden-eyed watchman really saw. Does he try finding Santa or something? Maybe he found Bigfoot by now… or the abominable snowman? Or maybe the…?)

Whoops, there it went again, you would not believe how hard it is to retain a train of thought when mildly intoxicated… (code for totally wasted) but the bridge has been fixed, and now he might be able to use it, even though it COULD be dangerous; Frigga wanted him to send a probe through it, but hey, that's not very fun! So it is a good thing he had an elite squad of super strong goons to try it out… time to call out the Warriors Three…. and Sif? Nah, Sif can sit back and chill with Thor.

~o~o~o~Meanwhile, in the Halls of Feasting~o~o~o~

"Hey, Volstagg, I bet I can eat more legs of lamb then you can!" taunted a thin, but extremely dangerous looking young man, who was armed with a sword, a bow, and more daggers than any one being had any right to possess.

"I could beat you with my mouth sewn shut! No, that's not right... that would really hurt, and i wouldn't be able to eat... Ah,Man! now my head hurts, I just want me a tankard of mead.. Tankard of mead… tankard of mead… I like mead, and I like tankards… whoa... Why are there five of you Hogun? Give that back! Where are you taking- I need that!? HOOOOGUUUUN?!

Standing off to a side, flanked by two reluctantly sober guards, Loki chuckled. 'Oh how fun it is to watch a fat man run.' he mused, as Volstagg charged by (charging might be a stretch, more like wobbling). But perhaps such physical exertion is warranted, he is being goaded after all... by a tankard of mead and some roast boar. 'Man, Hogun has wheels. The thought made him smirk, I wish I could run that fast, might have helped me get out of the room when Sif found out her hair was dyed…' the look on her face had been priceless. He had considered going for something a little more "adventurous" than black, but if he had gone with pink he probably would be dead right now. Loki smirked, life was good. Well... when he wasn't plunging through the void. But he had the feeling that today was going to be one of those really-super-epic-amazing-hilarious days. Either that or Odin would be drunk when time for the speech about his "wonderful rainbow bridge" had to commence. 'Yeah, that would be pretty good too…'

~o~o~o~Not in the Halls of Feasting~o~o~o~

Frigga was just having a bad day, first of all, one of the guards had cheesed her off, and she had had to throw him into the dungeon (the guy had said she had anger problems, but hey, it's stressful being queen, and he doesn't have to balance in these stupid shoes all day...) Then of course Odin had gone into his "Odinsleep" like the whole population the nine realms didn't know what THAT was all about. It isn't realm hopping, people; you could hear laughter coming from in there all day long, and Heimdall was always gone from his post for exactly as long as the Odinsleep lasted.

On top of all that, Volstagg and Hogun must have drunk half of the mead in Asgard. Seriously, hundreds of Asgardians were going to be at the feast tonight and at this rate they would have to ration the alcohol! And that was before Fandral and Thor showed up, but hey, she can't judge. Her pastime donning a glamour and throwing eggs at anyone who dares walk past her door. Of course, she had been anticipating a particular means of stress relief, stealing Eir's cat and using it as a test subject of the Bifrost, but then, of course, Odin decided that sentient test subjects where necessary…

Why did I marry him? Yes, he is the king, and if I didn't marry him, he would have sold Asgard for as many alcoholic beverages as he could get his hands on, but was it worth it… Frigga paused to consider the question, before she shook herself from her reverie and continued her preparations for the grand speech. Frigga snorted, 'grand'? Last time this happened Odin needed his personal guard to keep him on his feet. Once he even banished Thor because "He took the last leg of lamb."

I guess I should bless the lands of Asgard with my presence, hmmm, should I bring eggs or not? Perhaps egging the king would reflect poorly on my queenly dignity. Maybe later. Perhaps just one, hidden on the throne, so when Odin sits down he will get a squishy surprise…

~o~o~o~Three hours later~o~o~o~

Odin had awoken and was throwing his party, half of the population was present, and things could get very dangerous very fast, "I bet three-quarters of the people here, including the children, are armed" commented Sif.

"Well, you are probably right, but hey, that's what makes these things fun!" Thor replied with a worryingly excited smirk.

Loki facepalm, mentally groaning. What is the point of this drunken small talk? It's just stupid; next thing you know they are going to say something like 'look at how nice the weather is!' as if the whole weather system isn't controlled up here.

"Isn't the weather nice this time of the year?" asked Sif.

"Um, what's with my brother?"

Sif turned, and saw Loki trying to stab himself with a spoon. "I don't know," she shrugged, "I usually just try to zone him out."

Thor looked at her questioningly, "That is kind of harsh you know, yet wiser, perhaps, than attempting to understand him." Suddenly they heard a crash, a couple screamed expletives and an "I'M FREEEE."

Thor and Sif spun around in time to see several palace guards surrounding a green blur of motion. There were several blurred kicks, a well-placed illusion and Loki was out the window.

"Somebody should take care of that…"

"Yes, they should…" Sif agreed before turning back to her food.

Thor gave the window one more worried look before shrugging it off; either Loki had a few too many drinks, or he was just having one of his "Hate small talk" rage fits.

Down below, on one of the many fragrant garden paths that wound around the feasting hall, Hogun was just enjoying his evening walk when "splat", Loki landed RIGHT in front of him.

He was grinning.

Hogun stared frantically at the grinning megalomaniac, 'Should I stop him or just try to blend in and run for my life? Wait, is he armed? Nope, that's just a spoon, never mind. '

"What are you looking at? I have seen a LOT of your fights end worse than this!" Loki broke the silence with a grin, right before the guards appeared and dragged him away.

"Well, that was weird," he muttered. But he had long ago learned not to expect any level of sanity from this demented realm, so with one last shake of his head he continued to prepare his mind for the coming ceremony.

~o~o~o~Significantly later~o~o~o~

Fandral swaggered confidently past the rows of assembled Asgardians. This was so cool. The All-Father was letting the Warriors Three be the first to try out the "new and improved" Bifrost. It was going to be totally epic! It would probably not going to be a grand and exhilarating adventure to thrill the ladies with upon his return, but that could be fixed with a bit of doctoring. It would be fairly tame in reality; Loki said it would be.

He paused in his step and considered that last thought. Yeah, Loki, trustworthy, he had had too much to drink.

Ah, well, it would be a grand honor none the less, assuming Loki was not serious about that threat to just send them to the plains of Muspelheim and close the gate. Nah, Loki had been angry at the time, he wouldn't really...would he?

Fandral shuddered, this was not the time to be having second thoughts, the All-father's speech was about to commence. He and his fellow warriors came to a stop at the foot of the bridge where the ceremony was to be held before the brave warriors were to be sent to their doom- adventure. Fandral shook all lingering thoughts of dread from his mind as he clapped his fist over his heart and knelt before the All-Father.

The warrior three lifted their heads to gaze respectfully at the All-Father. He must have been woken from the Odin sleep, Fandral thought reverently. The aged man's eyes were bleary and there was dampness over his head. Frigga must have had to use all of her arts to wake him from so deep a slumber just for this occasion, Fandral thought wonderingly. He suddenly realized how important this mission was as he glanced over at the dignified queen standing in her place beside the throne. He could see one of her hands gently supporting her aged lord, and her face was set in grim determination. He felt suddenly inspired by new-found resolve.

"My loyal vassals," Odin began, addressing the three armored men kneeling at his feet, he seemed to pause as Frigga whispered something in his ear. "I bid you rise, for today, you are not my servants," he paused for dramatic effect as Frigga leaned close and whispered something else. "You are my friends."

The crowd cheered appreciatively as the warriors stood and Fandral winked at one particularly feminine corner of the crowd. He turned back to the proceedings, but saw several swooning figures out of the corner of his eye.

As the cheering faded Frigga leaned toward her husband's ear one more, doubtless to offer encouragement as the Odin sleep beckoned, and Odin held up a hand and spoke again, "Though this bridge has been repaired by the criminal Loki..." Here Frigga seemed to shift her weight and Odin flinched and rubbed his ankle, before continuing. "It shall bring many realms to justice through the..." Odin paused again and Frigga whispered in his ear. "Through the valiance and vigilance of Asgardian strength."

Fandral noted a stir near the steps to the dais and saw Thor hopping on one foot and glaring daggers at a well secured, and strangely battered Loki. The dude looked like he was thrown from a top story window. Wonder what that was all about.

The king had started to branch his speech off about how the bridge would lessen the need for alcohol tariffs and trade with Niflheim would flourish, when Frigga whispered in his ear and he finally concluded "Now, it is with great honor, that I send these brave men through our new gate, that we may once again rule the universe!" He started laughing maniacally and one or two people clapped hesitantly before Frigga accidently stepped on his now discolored foot and gestured for the procession to move down the bridge.

As Fandral strutted down the bridge to his grand adventure, he chanced a glance back and saw Loki waving after him with a positively evil grin on his narrow face.