Loki spent the short walk to the temporary structure in a haze of suppressed rage. His usually smooth transitions from one Realm to another had been far less subtle this time. It had taken all of his concentration to do so. He'd been shaking far too much for his usual movements to have their necessary smoothness.
Mjolnir's presence pulsed against his senses like a beacon. Even so, she felt oddly muted. No matter. Wherever Mjolnir was, Thor was sure to be nearby. And when Loki found him, he would strangle his brother. Former brother. For all that they'd attempted to maintain their brotherhood after the revelation of his true origins, this surely put an end to it. How could it not?
He could still see the blood, black against the ice. Smell the stench of it. The sight of the broken bodies just lying there in the snow, crushed to death by the same hammer pressing against his senses now. A few bore stab wounds, but so many, far too many, had just been crushed to death. And his dam's burning stare as they informed him of the dozens more lost to the falling ice as the very ground beneath them crumbled. That stare that asked "these are the creatures you would claim kinship with, who just slaughtered so many of us?"
Ever had Loki been pulled between two worlds, ever struggled to maintain a bridge between Jotunheim and Asgard, for love of Frigga and Thor. No more, no more. He could not bear it.
He approached the compound from the front. He was not interested in hiding from mortals, and these in particular would be useful in helping him find Thor if they didn't already know. All of his previous plans and machinations for interacting with Midgard had crumbled into dust, the long anticipated mischief drying up like ash in his mouth and dying. Even the badly concealed alarm on their faces did nothing to lift his spirits.
He stopped before the gates, blatantly ignoring the weapons pointed at him. Instead, he trained his attention on the blandly attired man who was clearly in charge.
"I am Prince Loki of Jotunheim. I have come with a grave warning for your Realm."
Thor never looked up from the ground as they led him into a small, brightly lit room. He paid no attention as they handcuffed him. He didn't bother to try and break them, even as flimsy as they looked. He was not sure he could, anymore.
He could no longer lift Mjolnir. Was this what father had meant by not being worthy anymore? He had been so angry before, the betrayal and bloodlust still pounding like a beast under his skin that he had not listened as well as he should have when father had proclaimed his sentence. Was he truly exiled? Left to fend for himself, away from his friends, his family. Without his strength and power. Was he doomed to spend life as a mortal? What could he possibly do on Midgard to prove himself worthy? There were no beasts here to fight, no enemies to slay.
For the first time in his life, he was truly alone.
He clenched his fists, a spark of anger piercing the numbness that had descended upon him. None of this would have happened if it had not been for Loki. The traitor. How could he? To sneak into Asgard like a thief in the night just to disrupt his coronation! Thor had thought... he had known they were not as close as they had been, that Loki would not have been allowed to attend (if he had even wanted to). The thought stung, even though Thor knew it to be true. But to act so cowardly?
Loki had not even dared to show his face on Jotunheim. Did not even bother to face the charges Thor had brought before them. Still, there was no point in his anger anymore. His father had made it clear that nothing would come of this, even though Thor had personally heard him blame Loki. Though it had been said quietly enough Thor was sure he had not been meant to hear. It had still been a blow, especially after he had first urged caution. The Frost Giants no longer deserved any consideration from him.
A sudden commotion stirred him from his thoughts. There was shouting and the sound of pounding feet. That voice…
"What do you mean you already have him in custody?!"
The door didn't so much open as break into frozen splinters. Loki stood in the doorway, breathing heavily, teeth bared. The crackling ice around his feet and hands, the blazing red of his eyes and his horns made him look like a demon from Hel. Thor had almost not recognized him. Loki usually wore his Aesir form whenever Thor saw him away from Jotunheim.
"You!" Loki snarled and strode forward. The agents behind him were stopped by a shimmering wall, green ripples glowing whenever they hit it. Both of them ignored the agents' shouting.
Thor had no time to do anything but brace himself before Loki grabbed him, chair and all and slammed him against the wall. The chair splintered and Thor was left being awkwardly held up, broken bits of the chair pressed against his back and the wall. The air around them was furiously cold, the temperature dropping with every second. Still, he was not burned.
The shock of the impact finally spurred him to speak.
"So the coward finally shows himself!"
"Coward?! Have care how you speak, Odinson. One would think you would face me with your accusations yourself rather than invading my home and slaughtering my people!"
Thor scoffed. His people. As though Loki had forgotten all that had tied him to Asgard. No, instead it was all about the people who had cast him away and then wanted him back just to spite their father.
"You mean like you? Sneaking into Asgard to steal the Casket, to prevent me from becoming king? All your talk of brotherhood and now you show your true colors!" He yelled back, his own anger, subdued by the realization of his exile, now blazing once more.
"I was on Alfheim!" Loki roared, a blast of cold washing over Thor. Loki threw him to the ground and leaned over him, one bare foot pressing against his chest. Winded, Thor could only wheeze. One long lock of black hair fell over Loki's shoulder. Thor could see a braid among the strands. It was Thor's braid, twin to the one hidden in Thor's own hair against his nape. Loki leaned close, his own face directly over Thor's. He was so close Thor could feel the icy sting of his breath.
"I don't know who put the thought in your head that I would do anything to stop your coronation, Thor, but I would be glad it was stopped had it not been for the deaths that resulted," Loki said, voice low and deadly. Thor was not afraid Loki would kill him. Had Loki meant to do that, he would be dead. Loki did not suffer overmuch from needing to talk with those he meant to kill. But his voice still made Thor shiver, even as his own anger and betrayal grew.
"One insult, Odinson! One insult was enough for you to break parley and murder 139 of my people. What a grand king you would have made. A fitting legacy for Odin Worldbreaker."
Thor opened his mouth to speak, but Loki's weight made him gasp for breath instead. A vicious glint of satisfaction shone in Loki's eyes.
"Had Odin not made you mortal, had Odin not exiled you and left you here to rot, I would have killed you here and now."
Loki pulled his foot away and Thor could only wheeze and turn to his side. He gasped for breath, his anger knocked out of him. Something fell against his face and Thor heard Loki's footsteps fade as he left the room. It took him a long moment to settle his breathing and open his eyes.
On the floor beside him was Loki's braid, cut strands gleaming in the glaring light.
Loki glared at the quiescent hammer. There was a geas upon it, a powerful one. Seems even Odin was pissed off enough at what Thor had done to finally place some boundaries upon him. Too little, too late in Loki's opinion.
His hand itched and Loki had to clench it to stop from reaching for the hammer. Let Odin have his petty games; Loki wanted no part in them. Not since he was a child and cast away from the Golden Realm. Besides, knowing Odin, he would have put in some ridiculous hidden clause meant solely for him to trigger and die a painful death. Loki would not make it so easy for Odin to get rid of the embarrassing reminder of his "mercy".
Except the crackling frisson against his mind told him otherwise. Mjolnir was aware of him and wanted to talk. Well, as much as a hammer could.
Loki focused on what he could sense from Mjolnir and had to hold back a laugh. Worthiness. What a joke, especially if Odin decided what made someone worthy. It was a wonder Thor's previous rampage throughout the compound hadn't deemed him so already. Mjolnir hummed and Loki grinned. He stepped up to the hammer and lightly traced the binding. It was powerful work, but sloppy, overspilling with needlessly expended energy. Much of Odin's work was thus.
Loki began to hum, matching Mjolnir's pitch. The lights around them flickered and distant thunder rumbled. Lightning crackled against his fingertips as he traced the binding over and over. His very bones began to resonate with the power suppressed in the hammer.
Worthiness. A noble goal. You choose, you choose, he bade the hammer with every heartbeat, the hum thudding through his chest like a storm. A bolt of lightning hit Mjolnir, making the binding glow and spark.
Quiet descended and the lights regained their steady glow. Feeling extraordinarily pleased with himself, Loki stepped away. He was breathing heavily and simultaneously exhausted and filled with a nervous energy. This day had been entirely too long.
"We'd appreciate it if you stopped making the power go out. It's hell on the electronics," Coulson said. Loki turned to face him. The agent was standing several feet away in the plastic doorway that lead to the open area where Mjolnir had fallen.
"My apologies. I was correcting a mistake."
Coulson's eyebrow rose, but he didn't comment further. Loki was not in the mood to volunteer more information than he already had. In his anger, he had not bothered to hide from the agents and so he now had to deal with them. Not his finest moment. Though this entire day was not his finest moment.
His dam would tear him a new one if they knew he had actually come to Midgard. Well, presumably they knew by now. Loki was not looking forward to returning to Jotunheim with nothing to show for it but threatening the Odinson. He was a little surprised Odin himself hadn't already descended down onto Midgard or Jotunheim to "protect the mortals from the ferocious Frost Giants".
"I'm sure you'll appreciate we have a lot of questions, Your Highness," Coulson's voice drew him from his brooding thoughts. Despite what had to be unusual circumstances for him, he gave off a very good impression of collectedness. The others in the compound were not nearly so unruffled. Loki had noticed all the double takes and twitchy fingers reaching for their weapons (as well as the more intent suggestive glances). He was also aware of the archer positioned above, ready to act should he prove hostile.
Loki drew himself up, forcefully putting his own worries aside. Now was the time to deal with the diplomatic mess he had gotten himself into.
"And I will answer all I can. The urgency has gone out of it, however. The Odinson has been muzzled by his father. His arrival here to Midgard was in punishment, an exile."
"That was him muzzled?" Despite himself, Coulson could not quite hide how impressed he was. Loki held back the snarl that wanted to appear on his face. Thor did not deserve their admiration.
Instead, he let a humorless smile cross his lips.
"Let me put it this way, Agent Coulson. On my Realm, I would be considered a runt. With his full strength and Mjolnir," he gestured to the hammer, "he killed over a hundred of my people in a few minutes."
A petty part of him was satisfied at the small flinch Coulson gave at the reminder of Thor's body count.
"What is he capable of without his full strength?"
Loki shrugged. He tried not to show his irritation at still speaking of his bro- of the Odinson. He suspected he failed.
"I imagine not much more than other highly combat trained mortals. What you need to consider is what his father will do."
Coulson grimaced. The news that Odin, someone most Midgardians considered a myth, considered himself ruler of Nine Realms - Midgard included - had not gone over well.
"I thought he was in exile," it was a weak rebuttal. Coulson's defeated shrug at Loki's dubious expression revealed he knew just how much.
"All that means is that Odin cannot directly and officially interfere. I need not remind you of the many ways that can be worked around."
"And I'm guessing daddy dearest wouldn't be too happy if anything happened to his son?"
Loki threw back his head and laughed. It sounded slightly hysterical to his ears, never a good sign. He had never heard Odin referred to quite like that. Even on Jotunheim, where no one respected the Allfather, they never stooped to that level of irreverence out loud. After all, Heimdall was always watching.
"My apologies," Loki said once he caught his breath," And no, he would not be happy."
Especially after he'd been denied his spare. The bitter thought curdled some of his amusement.
"But as long as you do not deliberately harm him because he is Odin's son, there is nothing Odin can do. Personally, I recommend your deepest and darkest cell."
Coulson's face flickered with something Loki did not have enough time to name. He was about to respond when another agent ran up to them. He gave a shaky nod of the head to Loki, almost radiating fear. Loki grinned and was gratified when the fool jumped and turned fully to Coulson. It seemed a Jotun's longer canines made their smiles unsettling to Midgardians as well.
"Sir, we have another visitor. Says he's here for ah, Donald Blake. He actually has a pretty good fake driver's license with our guests' face on it. Took our techs about a minute to discover it was a fake."
Coulson seemed mildly impressed to Loki. Still, this particular twist made something in his gut churn. Thor had not been on Midgard long, had he already found people to ally with? Did they know who he truly was? Coulson gave Loki a long look.
"I'd appreciate it if you stayed out of sight for now, your Highness. It seems like it's show time."
Loki watched from the shadows as the old man before them nervously talked to the agents. He had introduced himself as Erik Selvig, something that made Loki pay more attention than he normally would have. Had he come across something he was looking for on Midgard without even trying? His heart sped up and he inched closer.
Ymir's blood, Selvig was a horrible liar. It would be amusing in any other circumstance.
"Donald Blake?" Coulson said, voice as bland and calm as ever, "I thought he said his name was Thor?"
Thor had never actually gotten around to telling them his name, if Loki recalled correctly. Coulson had mentioned that the man they had in custody had not spoken a word to them. As much as it irked him to know they had been listening to their conversation, Loki knew it was only reasonable. He would have done the same had something similar happened on Jotunheim.
"It's a nickname! From when he was still wrestling. Shame about the steroids."
Loki rolled his eyes. Thor would need better allies if he wished to escape this time. Coulson asked about Thor's supposed medical profession and Loki perked up when Selvig mentioned their research. What were the odds of Thor dropping down in the middle of a group of astrophysicists? Odin was certainly not shy about stacking the cards in Thor's favor.
"You have a very dangerous man on your team, Dr. Selvig," Coulson said. Loki bit back a snarl. If they only knew how dangerous. Why was Coulson still persisting with this farce?
"Troubled, not dangerous. He was...distraught…"
Selvig trailed off, eyes wide. Coulson spun around and sighed when he saw that Loki had tired of hiding and was approaching the two of them.
"You would not be defending him if you knew what he was capable of, Dr. Selvig," Loki said, drawing up to his full height. He was a good foot or two taller than most of the mortals here, which gratified a petty part of him that had spent most of his life surrounded by people much taller than him.
"Good god," Selvig breathed, eyes alight in both wonder and fear, "You're a Jotun!"
Selvig paused and rubbed at his face.
"This can't be real, I'm going mad. So it's true. All his rambling," he paused, eyes widening, "You're who Jane saw come through!"
Loki narrowed his eyes. Someone had seen him come through? And he hadn't noticed. He was losing his touch. Though considering his fury on his arrival, it was no wonder he had failed to notice a mortal woman.
"This would be Dr. Foster?"
Coulson's intent expression made Selvig falter. He seemed to remember just where he was and visibly swallowed.
"She just drove him out here, she wasn't involved in whatever Thor did here on his own. She didn't know what he was going to do."
Admirable. Selvig was clearly frightened by these people, but still defended his colleague. Though if the normal populace was so wary of SHIELD, perhaps it would not be wise to tie himself to them completely. Loki had no wish to alienate the people of Midgard. Not now that he was finally here and might be granted permission to stay.
"What he did was assault my entire security detachment. Two have broken ribs and one had to be transported to the hospital with a broken jaw. Speaking of, one of the doctors Thor injured when he first arrived has a mild concussion."
Selvig blanched. Coulson glanced at Loki with a small frown before continuing.
"So unless you have further objections, I'm inclined to think Thor Odinson," Selvig blanched even further at the full name, "will remain in SHIELD custody pending any criminal charges we care to bring, including trespassing on government property along with the aggravated assault."
"And him?" Selvig gestured Loki's way, "Are you keeping him prisoner too? You can't just lock people up and hide them away -"
Loki felt oddly touched by Selvig's defence of him, however unnecessary. He had recognized him as a Jotun and still spoke for him. Did Midgard bear no grudges for the war? It had been a long time for them, but clearly some of them at least still knew enough to recognize a Jotun on sight. Coulson and his other agents had not seemed to, though Loki could not be certain considering that reticence was their standard procedure.
At Coulson's exasperated look, Loki merely grinned. It would be impolitic to say that the only authority SHIELD had over him was what he gave them. The smart thing would be to play nice until he got a better overview of the political landscape of the Realm.
"Prince Loki Laufeyjarson is not a prisoner of SHIELD," Coulson said, studiously ignoring the way Selvig startled at the name, "He arrived here to warn us about Thor's presence and to further diplomatic relations between our...Realms."
Loki's grin widened at Selvig's dubious expression. Selvig clearly knew something of him, though how was a mystery to Loki. Any response he was inclined to give was stopped by a strange sound filling the air. Loki looked up, tensing. It sounded like some sort of engine, but none he had ever heard before.
"Speaking of diplomacy," Coulson said, also looking up as a flying vehicle appeared heading directly for the compound, "here comes the director."
Frigga sighed and slumped back on the throne. Just for a moment. She closed her eyes, breathing deeply. It was unseemly for the queen to act such, but she had long ago sent everyone out of the room, but for her guards. And they weren't facing her. She could afford a moment of weakness they couldn't see.
Heimdall had alerted her to the events on Midgard once he had noticed the presence of Jotunheim's prince in the Realm. He had been ready to send a full contingent of Einherjar down to keep Thor safe. It was only Frigga's grip on Gungnir and her firm orders that stopped him. Thor was exiled. They could not help him.
They had watched the initial confrontation and Frigga had smiled, even as her heart broke at the resolution. Her trust in Loki had not been misplaced and she cursed the little sliver of doubt that the long years away from him had given her. Had Loki truly cared nothing for Thor, he would have killed him then, alone and defenseless, without the protection of Asgard and the Allfather.
It might have started a war when Odin awoke, regardless of the exile, but she doubted Laufey would have cared. He would have leapt at the opportunity to steal a child from Odin like his own had been. (Like hers had been. But no, hers had just been returned.) It had taken an age for Frigga to forgive Odin that and not a day went by when she did not think of Loki.
And once again, Odin had taken her child from her, without thought and without care. And then he had the nerve, the absolute gall to fall into the Odinsleep while she yelled at him for it. The strain of banishing his only heir had left her holding the throne, absolutely livid, but still unable to bring her son (one of her sons) back to her. Her first act as regent could not be to undo Odin's last as king. Even if that had not been an issue, now that the deed had already been done, she could admit there had been some merit to it. She had hoped becoming king would have curbed Thor's worst impulses. She had not realized how fragile his hold on those actually was, especially with what he knew of his brother and Jotunheim.
The rest of Asgard had not taken kindly to the revelation that one of their princes was actually Jotun. The revelation had almost cost Odin the throne, especially with how vicious the Jotnar were about demanding Loki back. Had Thor taken Asgard's hate to heart? Had she misjudged how much he missed his brother?
Things would have been so much different had Laufey never found out about Loki. None of this would have ever happened and her family would have been whole and hale. Thor would not have been so reckless with a little brother to care for, her husband would not have grown so cold she could barely recognize him, Loki would not have been pulled between two worlds.
She sighed again. It was too late for regrets. She stood up from the throne and gripped Gungnir. She had work to do. First she would have to have a long talk with Heimdall and Thor's friends. It wouldn't do for them to get any ideas into their heads, especially now when they were on the brink of war with Jotunheim. She could not allow that to happen.
Frigga left the throne room, her guards trailing behind.
