Chapter II:

Prisonbreak Level: Infiltrator

Shepard could assure to herself that what was happening to her was not a result of the "last shore leave night" hangover.

Bound in chains, suspended in the air, guns confiscated, and locked up into a place even the Asari twilight dancers wouldn't dare come, Shepard still considered herself lucky for not being dead on the spot. Still, being locked up wasn't still on the bright side. If those idiots had not provoked her using their shiny, pointed sticks, perhaps no one would even get injured.

Their attacks still stung on her whole body. She never thought that those things were REAL blades. Her left fist, when she had once attempted to punch one of them, still felt out of joint. Truth be told, the people she had fought were not human. Some of those people, especially with the ones in regal armor, had some sort of power beyond her comprehension. Had she not discovered that powerful, blue cube, she would be dead by now.


Shields down, low supply of medi-gel, thermal clips, and sticky grenades, and a broken arm, Shepard had already been doubting if she could get out of that fantasy land setting alive. She had almost consumed all her bullets in a single target, yet it rendered ineffective to them. Damn, if she had been a biotic, things would be much easier. Her tactical cloaking had barely kept her alive. She didn't know how, but it seemed that they could see her through the cloaking device—especially that black-haired amazon who they called Sif.

"Find that mortal and bring her to custody!" she heard the female warrior say.

"Come on, Shep," Shepard scolded herself as she sprinted away from the guards, "you're better than this!"

Her spirit roared within her, accusing her of cowardice. She had never ran away from a fight— kept distance, yes—but never the 'r' or 's' word. She bit her lip and opened her omni-tool: she only had a few more seconds before her cloaking shut down. Her heart hammered in her chest. Survival instincts slowly consumed her mind. Tact and diplomacy had already been long gone—only bloodshed remained.

Just as she expected, her tactical cloak had already vanished. It would be a matter of minutes before they would discover her location. She scanned her surroundings and saw a huge, ornate, double-door north-west of her location. Using her last medi-gel, Shepard hoped that she could think another strategy to outsmart her enemies.

She walked to the huge door, deliberately leaving traces of bloodstains on her way, and tried to pull it open. With all her luck, she couldn't even bulge it open.

"A mortal in Asgard?" a voice thundered around the corner, "But how can this be?"

Shepard froze in her tracks. She opened her omni-tool, tapped a few buttons, and luckily, activated her tactical cloak. Sighing in relief, she dashed to the nearest pillar and peeked a few inches out of her hiding place.

"We do not know, Thor Odinson," a voice replied, "But her appearance seems to be like of your mortal acquaintances in Midgard."

"Like who?"

"We are not certain; but she is well armed."

Two figures finally appeared in her line of sight: one was a common soldier but the other one was probably someone with great importance. His tall and muscular stature gave her the impression of arrogance in the man. His shoulder-length blonde hair and crimson red cape danced accordingly to his stiff strides. While he was waliking, Shepard spied a hammer-like metal, with a quite short handle, nestled on the belt of his silvery armor. The two figures stopped in front of the door and the one called Thor crossed his arms.

"A well-armed mortal being able to infiltrate the defenses of Asgard—can she be an operative of Nick Fury?" Thor said, "No. They had already vowed that they will bother the Tesseract no more."

"But who can this mortal be?"

"I know not. But whoever she is, we must make sure she will not get near the cube," Thor declared and pushed the huge doors open.

"Tesseract? Cube? What the hell are those guys saying?" Shepard thought as she followed the two people inside.

The room was spacious enough for her to use her sniper rifle with ease. Quickly, Shepard positioned herself behind one of the pillars, loaded her rifle, and used the scope to scan the area. The furniture in the area was scarce—except for a medium-sized cube far north from her.

"Has anyone attempted to get in here?" Thor asked.

"No one, Thunderer."

Thor nodded his head. "See to it that you guard the Tesseract well," he said, "The cube is far too dangerous for a mortal to handle."

Shepard tried to zoom-in her scope. "Is that eezo?" she mused. Then a plan suddenly came to her. Whatever the cube might be, it seemed to have a huge power contained in it—a single disruption would cause mayhem. Grinning, she reached for the knob in her rifle and turned it a few times. The inside of the sniper rifle emitted a faint blue light. With all her luck, she believed she could still win the battle.

"Thor, have you seen the mortal?" Sif called out.

"Shit!" Shepard spat and crouched behind the pillars. Behind that Sif woman was an army of almost a hundred guards blocking her only escape. She knew now that shooting the cube with disruptor ammo would do the trick.

"Why no, not yet, Sif," Thor replied, "Has the mortal escaped your sights?"

Shepard aimed her rifle at the cube. Her broken left hand made her aiming more difficult than ever. Clutching the barrel, Shepard breathed in, held her breath, and looked at the scope. Despite the noise that the two armored beings made, she could only hear her heart hammering against the walls of her chest. Beads of perspiration ran from her forehead down to her chin. Her sight was unstable; but she had to take the risk. She closed her eyes and squeezed the trigger.


The sound of her rifle firing was drowned by the noise in front of her. She tried to look up but the pain in her neck prevented her. Looking at the shadows, she could see a single figure in front of her. She tried lifting her head up slowly, but her neck ached like there was no tomorrow. Groaning, she contented herself in looking up as far as she could.

"Hail, mortal."

Shepard blinked. The voice seemed familiar. "Let me guess: you're going to present my charges, say the sentence, and send in for the executioner."

A blonde-haired man crouched to look at her hung down head. It was the man they called Thor. "I have been trying to contemplate your actions, attempting to reason with my father, Odin."

"Really? Thanks for the effort," she said with a straight face.

"It is no jest, mortal," Thor said, "I know not what kind of sorcery you have; but what you did at the cube—"

"I shot it."

"If were not for the Mjolnir's power, we have all died," Thor continued, with his blue eyes staring directly at her, "You have fortunate that the power you released was not more powerful than mine—and yet…" his voice trailed and eyes lowered.

Shepard blinked. "And yet what?"

Thor looked up at her with fury behind his blue eyes. "My father will not consider letting you go," he said sternly, "And with what you have done earlier, everyone will consider you as an accomplice of my brother, Loki."

Shepard tried to hold her laugh. "Ok, Mr. Thor, let me get this straight: I. DON'T. EVEN. KNOW. WHAT'S. GOING. ON!" she said while making emphasis on every word, "I am an accomplice of no one—if you know what I mean. I have no idea how I got here, or how I got all my equipment back while I remember only having a heavy pistol. I woke up and next thing I know, your guards are prodding my face with their sticks—which I really hate. So, if you'll just let me talk with your king—or whatever your leader is called, I can prove that I don't understand even a single shit in here."

Thor's expression saddened. "That is the main reason why they will not consider letting you go," he whispered, "Believe me mortal, I do think that you speak the truth. I too know what it feels to wake up in an unknown world and to be confused on what is going on around me."

"Ok… that's good, I guess. But why won't they let me go?"

"It is not usual for a mortal to get into Asgard," Thor explained, "The travel from Midgard to Asgard needs a more powerful magic, now that the Bifrost is destroyed. The only Asgardian I am aware of in doing such, aside from my father Odin, is my brother Loki."

Shepard couldn't find the words to say. Asgard? Midgard? Bifrost? Odin? Thor? Loki? She had once seen those names on very old stories she found on the extranet. Am I really going crazy?, she thought. "W-wait," she cleared her throat, "I don't remember drinking too much Ryncol will get me these dreams."

Loud peals of laughter came from the Asgardian. "I am now being more convinced that you are no accomplice of my brother," he said, "You are just like me when I was banished to Midgard."

Shepard rolled her eyes. "To the matter at hand," she said tartly, "So you think they won't release me because of my supposed 'conncetion' with your brother?"

"Assaulting Asgardians, destroying structures with your explosives, and resisting the gurards may still be forgiven," Thor said, "But after you have released a short surge of power out of the cube, killing almost a hundred of my people, I am afraid I cannot do anything for you."

Shepard's heart sank. "So, you can't help me?"

"I—"

The commander gritted her teeth. "So why are we still talking here? Where's the chopping board?"

"I am still pleading to my father, Odin," Thor said, "Do not lose hope."

"Thor Odinson," someone said,"Your father has summoned you."

Thor looked at her in the eye, as if to seal a promise, stood straight and went for the exit. "Before I leave mortal, may I ask for your name?"

Shepard looked up as high as she could. And why would he ask for her name? "Jane Shepard," she said.

"Ah Jane," Thor said in a quite reminiscent tone, "I have a good friend of mine back in Midgard—her name is Jane Foster."

"We have the same name… yeah sure, I get it."

"Farewell, Lady Jane Shepard: Wish that I can still plead with my father for your life."

"Yeah, sure, good luck." Shepard said in a deadpan manner as the doors closed.

"He will fail."

"What the—" Shepard jerked her head up, ignoring the pain in her neck and back, upon hearing the familiar voice, "how the hell did you even survive?"

Shepard's eyes widened as she witnessed a blue light in front of her. It slowly spun around to the ground until it formed to be a little humanoid figure. The cell was damp and cold yet she was soaking in her own sweat. Her heart beat thrice as fast and her blood boiled in her veins. Her hands involuntarily gripped the chains that held her as the figure walked towards her.

"Death is your only destiny, Shepard," the Catalyst said.

"You're supposed to be dead!" Shepard said, "I saw you get dissolved in the Crucible's beam!"

"I never die—not until there are organics who wish to gain power more than they can handle."

"That's a damn lie."

"I cannot lie. It is my only purpose—to keep everything in balance. I am only keeping your kind from destroying yourselves," the Catalyst stopped in front of her, "But your actions have made me think of that fact. I thought that through your decisions, the cycle will change—yet I was worng."

Shepard frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Your foolhardiness has cost people's lives. You wish to stop the inevitable—in your own terms. What you haven't realized is, the more you struggle, the greater damage you are causing not to your own life, but to other people's lives also."

"I'm just making sure that you and your kind will not bother us again."

"The Reapers will be eliminated through your sacrifice," the Catalyst said.

"Eliminated?" Shepard incredulously said, "By what: controlling them—just like what the Illusive Man is trying to do, combining the flesh and steel, like what Saren wanted to do, or blowing us back to the Stone Age by destroying all synthetics?"

"No cost is too great for someone who puts the mission before her allies."

The Catalyst's words punched Shepard in the face—hard. "Damn you Catalyst! It's not about me—it's about you and your bothersome pets!"

"You thought that your actions will end the cycle; but what you did will cause more sorrow."

"Not if I can help it," Shepard gritted her teeth, "I swear Catalyst, and once I get out of here I'll—"

"Silence mortal—we have enough of your noise!"

Shepard looked up at the window and saw on of the guards peeking through the window. "Well I'll shut up if you'll drag this kid away from me!"

"You are insane mortal, there is no one inside but you."

"But—" Shepard looked down but the kid was gone, "Yeah sure, I'll shut up."

"'Tis better…" the guard mumbled under his breath.

Damn, I'm seeing things again. She shook her head vigorously, ignoring the sharp pain stinging on her neck. Ever since the arrival of the Reapers, she had been seeing things that other people couldn't see. She expected that her hallucinations would end after she had defeated the Reapers. But why was it recurring? Had she failed in the Crucible? But if the Catalyst was really alive, then she had to break out and find him!

Shepard inhaled deeply and mustered all the strength she could get. She couldn't die yet—and she wouldn't throw herself at the mercy of Thor or Odin. She had a mission; and as far as her military training was concerned—she had to finish it, no matter what.

The commander scanned around for her options. No weapons except for her omniblade, which she could not possibly activate in her present condition. The chains that bound her wrists and ankles tightly coiled themselves against the mesh of her battered armor. She had to do something more cunning in order to get away from those chains. She looked at her omni-tool again. It was bound along with her wrist. She slowly turned her left wrist left and right. No response.

"Come on, damn it!" Shepard cursed as she continued to twist and turn her wrist to no avail.

She shook her head and sighed. She looked around again and spied a few strange-looking insects crawling on her chains. As she watched those tiny creatures tumbled around, her memories jogged to an old movie that she and Joker had watched over the extranet. She glanced at the guards and back at the insects. I'm just lucky Joker's not in here, or else he'll never let me hear the end of it. Shepard inhaled all the air she could get. "GUARDS! GUARDS! I NEED YOUR HELP. THESE VERMIN ARE GOING TO EAT ME ALIVE!"

Within an instant, the door swung open and two oddly-dressed men rushed inside the cell. "What is this nuisance, mortal?" one of the guards asked irritably.

"Are you blind? What the hell are these insects doing in the chain?" Shepard acted as panicked as she could, "Ack, they're already crawling in my skin! They're eating my veins out—oh god—these wounds they caused me won't heal! Take it off me! TAKE IT AWAY!"

"This is preposterous," one of the guards said, "these insects are harmless."

"HARMLESS? YOU CALL THIS HARMLESS? I'M A DAMN MORTAL FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!"

"The moral is probably correct, mortals are fallible beings," the other guard noted, "And if something unfortunate happens to the mortal—prince Thor will unleash his wrath upon us; for he said to us, 'Guard the mortal well.'."

The first guard growled. "Unchain her. We cannot remove these leeches while she was there. Worry not, she has already been weakened," he said and looked at Shepard irritably, "Better not do any of your tricks, mortal."

"I KNOW RIGHT, JUST GET ME AWAY FROM THESE THINGS!"

Soon enough, the chains left her aching wrists and ankles. Flexing her over-stressed joints, Shepard moved slowly behind the guards while the two cleared the area. She carefully studied the two metal-clad guards. It was not the type she would actually go against—not in her present condition. Change the plan, her inner survival instinct coaxed her.

Not leaving her gaze on the two guards, she forced her left arm to move and activated her omni-tool. "Thanks for listnening to me guys; those things almost killed me!" she said in a pathetic tone of helplessness.

"You are just fortunate, mortal," the grumpy guard answered as he prodded the insectoid creatures with his spear, "We shall not do it were it not for—"

Before he could finish the sentence, he heard a small click behind them. He spun around, not wanting to be caught off-guard. The prisoner was nowhere to be found. Before he could say another word, the only door swung close and sealed itself shut.


. . .


"I could have done it, Father! I could have done it! For you! For all of us!"

"No, Loki."

The scene was still seared on Loki's memory, burning his soul, his heart, his whole being. Everything he had dreamed and worked for—all for nothing. Every effort he had made to gain his father's favor could be counted as dung. The one he considered as 'father' had already denied him. All his plans had failed. His whole supposed world was all shattered. And he was there—locked up, neglected, forsaken, and forgotten.

Loki hung his head, letting the chains carry all the dead weight. He felt all the power in him seep out to the air. If he hadn't already known, Odin had probably used some enchantment that would weaken him, preventing him to use any of his skill. Curse him! he spat. He had finally realized that in the All Father's eyes, he was just a mere relic, a weapon, that would be used in due time against the Jotun. Now that he had discovered the wretched truth and rebelled against it, he was locked up in a distant part of Asgard.

"What the heck is this place?" he heard a feminine voice say, "This maze is making me sick!"

He looked up and peeped out of the small window. On the small hole, he could spy locks of red hair. He kept his gaze at the window, trying to figure out who spoke. The head finally turned and he was greeted by a pair of glowing, red eyes. Disgusting, glowing red scars etched her cracked, pale face. As he held his head up high while studying the newcomer, Loki suddenly remembered Sif's words. Was she the foolish mortal?

The mortal looked around and looked towards him. "This door's pretty huge; I hope this is the way out."

His heartbeat almost stopped when he heard a series of tiny, clicking noises at his door. Hushed, agitated mutterings followed every after a tiny, sharp click. What was she doing? He wondered. Soon enough the door swung open, revealing a lithe figure clad in a strange, pitifully battered armor.

"Ah yes, finally I'm fre—oh wait," she frowned as soon as she saw him. She turned her back on him and stopped. He continued to stare at her as she slowly looked at him, then to the wide corridor in front of them, then back at him. She furrowed her eyebrows, as if to study him, much to his irritation. He narrowed his eyes, trying to give her the impression that he didn't like what she was doing; but she merely grinned and jogged towards him.

"Well, it doesn't hurt if I piss them off by doing this," she laughed, "Besides, I need a guide—and a meatshield."

Loki's rage boiled within him. A meatshield, of all the things she could describe him—why that degrading word? He clenched his fists and made a serious eye contact on her strange glowing eyes. She looked at him as if he was just a mere item worthy of her curiosity. She smirked again and let her fingers trail on the chains which held him.

"I hope my omniblade does the trick," she said and a yellowish glow started to form on her left arm. It looked like a small blade of light hinged on her arm. With quick series of swipes, she sawed off one of the links, then another and another, until everything that held him off was removed. He felt in control of himself again as he set his foot to the ground. But his vision started to get blurry and he started to tumble.

No! he cried to himself, I will not let myself fall in front of a mortal!

But even before he lost his balance, a pair of hands grabbed his shoulders and braced him against something hard.

"Whoa there, can you even stand up? And damn, you're so cold—literally!"

He blinked and turned his head only to meet the awkward look on the mortal's face, that glowing red eyes with abnormal cirular patterns on the iris, and that warm, moisty air coming out from her. He wanted to push her away, to make her feel unwanted; but he had no strength to do so. Instead, he merely nodded his head and the mortal helped him stand.

"Sooner or later, they're gonna notice that my guards are missing," she said, "We aren't going to wait for that, are we?"

He shook his head.

She smiled. "First things first—where's the armory?"

Loki just stared at her.

"I'm pretty sure they didn't just throw my weapons away."

Loki smiled behind his muzzle and pointed outside.

"Well then, let's go."

Everything was going according to plan. Little did the mortal know that she was the one who would orchastrate his escape? He had led her into the twists and turns of Asgard; and, much to his surprise, they slipped past the guards to the armory quite easily. He noticed that she had frequently used that yellow light stuck on her left arm; and it had usually allowed her to be invisible for short periods of time.

Her weapons—as expected from Midgard—were pathetic. She couldn't just expect to defeat Asgardians with those, could she?

"Ok, I'm all set," the mortal said while tinkering with her weapons, "All I need is a way back to reality."

Reality? What did she think of Asgard—a land of dreams? What a fool….

"Ok Mr. Muzzles, where's the way out?"

MR. MUZZLES? Loki's eyebrows instantly met.

The mortal rolled her eyes. "What a touchy guy. Okay what I wanted to say is—"

"HOW COME THE MORTAL HAS ESCAPED?" a voice thundered outside the armory. In an instant, Loki knew where it came from. It was from his brother, Thor.

A panicked look was instant on the mortal's face. "Damn it, muzzles," she grabbed his wrist and dragged him, "I guess we have to run!"


. . .


Shit, shit, shit, shit….OH SHIT!

The four-letter word lingered on her mind as she and the man in black and green armor ran blindly along the corridors. Her limbs were still aching and her heart was about to burst out of exhaustion; but she had to run for her life—despite of her body's complaints. When would this nightmare end?

Following her instincts, she turned around the corner, past a huge gate, ending up in some sort of an outer space setting.

Shepard turned to her new 'friend'. "Is this the right way?" she asked.

The man looked at her hesitantly.

She groaned. "I guess we'll just have to find it ourselves."

She held the man's cold wrist and walked forward. The path seemed to be made of some crystal glass that emitted colorful rays of light. Her knees were about to break down but she forced herself to keep walking. She would probably find a shuttle, a wormhole, a portal, or something to get back to the battle. Her mission wasn't finished yet—the one behind the Reapers still lived.

"LOKI!" Thor's voice boomed behind them.

Startled, she turned around and saw Thor and the rest of the Asgardian army on their trail.

Shepard tugged the man's arm. "Okay Muzzles, where's the shuttle here?" she said while trying to keep herself calm. "Forget the shuttle, better run!" The man nodded in agreement and they dashed through the crystal bridge.

The path was longer than she expected. "Where does this thing end?" she called out to the man. Before she knew it, she skidded to the edge of nothingness. After breathing out a short curse word, she looked down and saw the void of the galaxy, waiting to swallow her alive, "Okay, so there's no shuttle…" she whispered. Shepard looked behind her and saw Thor armed with his hammer. Damn.

"LOKI! How did you escape the—Jane?" Thor said when he finally reached them.

"Sorry big guy," Shepard said, "I can't die yet."

Thor stood there with his mouth agape. "I—I—I never believed that you're with Loki," he stammered.

Shepard glanced at the black-haired man. "He's just a guide and a meatshield, don't worry—nothing personal."

"Did not I just tell you to wait for me?"

Shepard's hand balled into fists. "I can't stand there and wait while the Catalyst is taking his own sweet time in destroying galaxies!"

"The Catalyst?"

The commander shook her head. "Sorry Thor, no time to explain," she said while walking backwards, "I need to get back. I still have a score to settle."

"Lady Jane, I can help—"

Before Thor could finish the sentence, Shepard saw a black, leather drape fell on her face. The next thing she knew, she was falling down to the place no-one-knows-where. The last sound she heard was the crazed laugh of the man named Loki.


Am I dead?

Shepard felt a cool finger caress her face. Judging by the scent, it seemed as she was on a seaside. What happened after the fall? She forced her eyes open. Her heart skipped a beat upon seeing the one who touched her face, it was someone familiar—someone she missed so much; but someone she didn't want to see, yet.

"How are you feeling, Siha?"

"T-Thane?"


A/N: Oh my, this chapter got longer than I intended it to be. Really sorry! But in any case, I won't be able to write for a few days, so here's something to keep you occupied. Hehehe...

So why did I choose the Infiltrator class instead of a good ol' Solider class? Well, it's because I'm not too familiar with the playstyles of other classes (besides, Infiltrator's my fav, hehehe). Expect an Ironman-Shepard showdown (uhm, not next chapter)! More on FemShep's background next chapter.

About the pairings... I'm still on the FemShepXLoki boat, though I'm considering to have a little FemShepXSteve on the sidelines...

Special thanks to Amir-015, and HK-Revan for pointing out some loopholes on the first chapter. The comment is very much appreciated! (hugs)

For the people who reviewed and liked what they read: JamesXenoS, TheNightStoryteller, DarkOne, TarynWulf, Straight Edghe, bandgsecurtiyaw, HK-Revan, God of fate, bob, and samwaffleman... and the people who Alerted and Faved...THANK YOU VERY MUCH! (throws out Internet cookies)

So what is it now? Exciting? Boring? Love it? Hate it? Loopholes? Please let me know... And the Old Machines will reward you for your efforts. (I know it's kinda random...)