Chapter 1.
Loki walked toward the Throne in chains, his face calm and uncaring as he looked up at the stern face of Odin. The Old King curled his fist, angered by the small smirk on the prisoner's lips. He paused briefly, glancing at Frigga and chuckled. There was no way out of this trial for him, and he knew it. His defiance knowing no boundaries then, the stolen treasure that now stood in the halls he thought himself born into. The lies etched in the masonry around him, and the painful truths revealed written in a trail of blood.
"Hello Mother. Have I made you proud?" Loki sneered, not caring if she felt pain and watched her pick nervously at her hands.
"Don't make this worse for yourself Loki." Frigga replied and he snorted in mock humor. He felt a prod at his back, and laughed at the chains that bound him. Her lies were the worst of all, bearing the title of Mother when all she did was wear a false crown in his mind. She could have told him, broken the vow of silence she took when she was given him by Odin. She could at any time have taught him not to hate the Jotun, but instead allowed him to see a part of himself as the enemy.
"Define worse." He said and Odin called for their attention and Frigga's eyes filled with sadness.
"I will speak with the Prisoner." Odin commanded and he was prodded on, the chains rattling behind him and he stood before the Throne. He swung one leg out, bringing the shackles around his ankles together in a mock salute. The clang of metal on metal amusing him, and he grinned up at his false Father.
"Loki, where ever you go, there is chaos, pain, misery..." Odin started and Loki cut him off and laughed harshly.
"Can we move this along? I believe I have an appointment with the executioner." Loki laughed and Odin frowned at the defiance. "It is not that I enjoy our little conversations... It is that.. well... I don't."
"I have tried to be lenient on you because of Frigga, she begged me to spare you and you have left me no choice." Odin said and Loki felt his stomach sink, but his face betrayed nothing, he was ready for death and welcomed it with open arms. "For your crimes, I banish you. I strip you of your magic, and give you a Mortal Life. Only one thing will undo this curse, and it is to perform one unselfish act as you live on Midgard among those you sought to enslave, do this and I shall welcome you back and restore you."
Loki felt nothing but rage, his fists clenching and Odin waved his hand. His body jerked forward and he screamed as his very powers were ripped from his core, his lifespan shortening and he gasped as the magic swirled about him and he fell shaking to his knees. The shackles vanished and he ran forward, the Guards holding him back and he screamed in rage. He was nothing without his power, a shadow of himself and no longer caring if he died. He screamed again, pointing a finger at the old man and struggled.
"You lied to me all those years! You could have said something, but you continued your charade! Teaching me that I was to hate what I truly was, teaching Thor to kill all those like me! I hope you rot on your empty throne Odin, for Ragnarok will come and I will be all that is left to tell the tales of your deceit!" He screamed, his muscles straining against the stronger men who held him back. The pulled at his arms and he raged on, Frigga covering her mouth in shock and a tear falling from her eye.
"Take him to the Bifrost, and ensure he falls somewhere a piteous Mortal may find His rotten carcass. Should he survive." Odin said, and Loki struggled against the men. His strength sapped, and he felt so weak against the men holding him back. He was at a loss, his screams echoing as Frigga looked on at her son with more tears in her eyes.
"Look one last time, for you may never see her again." Odin said and Loki looked back at her. His hair flipped about his face, and he raged on.
"I would cry tears of blood at what you have done to me! Did you even search? Or were you so blind, caring only for Thor?" He shouted at her and she shook her head. She opened her hands and he spit at her, the guards shoving him back.
He was thrown into a cart outside the Palace walls, his hands circling the bars of it and he watched the shining city fade into oblivion, vowing revenge as Odin palmed a crystalline stone in his hand. Inside it was locked Loki's powers, his immortality, and he hoped one day to give it back to him.
If only the Fallen God learned the wrongs he had committed.
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Elizabeth Baker sat in the Doctor's office, the sound of the ferry horn in the distance the only sound as she looked at the MRI's of her brain. The mass was the size of a marble, and was inoperable at best. She rubbed her eyes, doing her best not to sob as the clouds rolled across the Seattle skyline and threatened to dump buckets on them. She shook her head, her blonde hair falling in waves down her back as she picked at the cuff of her green sweater.
"Are... are you sure? It can't be treated by radiation or anything else?" She asked and her pale blue eyes filled with tears. "It is so damn small really, how can it give me such bad headaches?"
"Ms. Baker, I really am sorry to give you this news, but we can't treat it without doing further damage." Doctor Singh said, his Olive complexion looking pale as she slipped off the examination table and walked to the window. She wore her nice black skirt, this should have been a good day. Maybe stress caused her headaches, not a tumor.
She was only twenty four.
Too young to die, she was supposed to get married, have kids, a car or a dog. Not a damn brain tumor.
"You could still have five to six years, this is not necessarily a death sentence Miss. Baker. And medical technology makes advancements every day to improve the chances of patients." He said and she looked back at him. The first drops of rain started hitting the window and she nodded silently. He scratched out a prescription, handing it to her and she took it in a shaking hand.
She was too damn young to die.
"Thank you Doctor Singh." She said and he shook her other hand. She looked at his dark brown eyes, seeing them water a bit behind the gold, wire framed glasses and he blinked back the tears. He was a compassionate man, and he was showing it fully.
"Make another appointment with my secretary, one month. We will see then how your headaches are, and if you are experiencing any more symptoms." He said and she gave him a weak smile.
"I will." She replied, walking down the hall and stopping at the restroom to throw up. Five years could be all she had, and now she saw every second on the clock as a tick closer to her death. She washed her face and lost two minutes composing herself, studying her healthy cheeks and full lips. Two minutes lost to adjust the hair clip in her blonde hair, that she would not get back.
She had to make every moment count, not let anything become trivial in her last five years. She had to do something that would be her legacy, some good that would change a life for the better.
She had five years to make her life count for something.
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Loki was dragged from the cart, his strength failing him as he struggled against the hands that dragged him to the gate and threw him to the ground. He screamed, glaring at Heimdall as the dark skinned man activated the bifrost and promised that he would have revenge on the man.
Hatred surged through him, and he then felt as if someone ripped the air from his lungs. He felt the familiar drag around his middle, and was pulled backwards into the blinding light and he fell through the galaxy. He shouted, his body connecting with something very hard and he struggled to breathe. His ribs ached, and he tried to get to his feet and his left leg gave up under him.
Darkness.
Stars.
Pain.
It shot up his leg and into his spine, the limb unable to support his weight and he screamed. He was on Earth, and the people here would most likely kill him if they found him. It was night, so he had that on his side and he needed to find cover. He crawled then, his fingers scraping in the mud and making way toward a field of fragrant flowers to his right and away from approaching light to the left. His mind went into panic, and he crawled on. Leaving a bracer in the center of his landing spot and hid between rows of low plants by lying on his stomach.
He watched the light get closer, and he saw a figure bend down to pick up the fallen piece of armor with a shaking hand. The frame of it was thin, with the distinct swell of breasts and hips that only women had. The light she carried shone on it so she could make out the patterns and she looked around. In the distance, a coyote howled and he saw her sweater and skirt in the darkness.
Green, and black.
She turned circles, shining the light around and she stopped. The beam directly on him and he froze, the pain making him shiver and she took a cautious step forward. She held out the piece of gold metal and he saw it shake as she tried to hand it to him, his eyes fixing on her and she swallowed hard. She took another step forward and he held his hand up to block some of the light from his face. His concern now that she would use his own bracer to crush his skull and end his life.
"Are you... are you that guy from New York?" She asked, her voice soft and he nodded. Part of him accepted his fate, the other part regretting that he would never have his revenge on Odin or his kin.
"Yes. Please... Don't scream." He said, his voice shaking as spots filled his vision and he started to black out. She led with the armor in her hand, it shaking and he held up his hands to show her they were empty. She set his bracer down next to him and she backed away, her hands shaking and she stood silently. He closed one hand on it, and he blinked a moment as he tried to clear his head.
What was she doing? Was she going to call the authorities and have them lock him in a cage to study him? Would she run away for her life and leave him?
"What do you want here?" She asked and he blinked at the question. She only stood over him, taking small steps toward him and he looked back up at her. Was she soft minded? Why did she not run?
"Are you hurt?" She asked him, and he looked at the girl and nodded. He felt sick, and he lay the side of his face in the mud and he looked up at the flowering plant next to him. The last thought on his mind before losing consciousness was the name of the flower.
Lavender.