Chapter Two: Where the hell am I?

POV Lady Astrid

"I think I'm dead," I thought to myself, and tried to think of what dangerous thing I could've done to get killed...but I couldn't remember.

"Ow...ow..." I muttered; I hurt all over and trying to move just made it worse. "Might as well open your eyes, Astrid," I told myself. So, I opened my eyes.

"WHAT IN THE NINE REALMS?!" I yelled.

"Ah, good, I see you're up," a man in a white coat said as he walked over to me, clasping a clip-board in one hand. His glasses sat on top of his head, and his tie was crooked.

I was really puzzled now. Who was he? And, more importantly, where was I?

"Yes...um...where am I!?" I asked.

"You're on Earth. Ah,...Midgard," he told me, jotting something down on the clip-board.

'Midgard...how the hell did I end up on Midgard?!'

I remembered where I was from. I was from Asgard...but there were bits that were black, and I could tell they were important...but I couldn't remember.

"Hmm...something tells me I did not intend to end up here...but, at least I'm not dead!" I chuckled, and the man started to chuckle too.

"What is your name?" I asked.

"I'm Bruce. Bruce Banner," he told me.

"Hello, Dr. Banner," I said, seeing a small, white rectangle pinned to his shirt that read, 'Dr. Bruce Banner.'

"So, is she dangerous!?" another man called from...elsewhere. I looked around, but could not locate the speaker.

"Not that I can see! Come on in Steve!" Bruce said, looking at me, with an apologetic look.

I chuckled. Dr. Banner returned my grin.

The doors opened, and the speaker entered. Dr. Banner had called him "Steve," but he wore no small white rectangle, so I supposed I must wait for the man to introduce himself. Steve smiled, and walked over to me.

"Hello, Ma'am," he said. I cringed. "Ma'am" just didn't sound right; I shook my head.

"Miss?" he tried.

"...Nope," I admitted. Steve sighed. "You know, this would be a lot easier if I knew your name," he laughed.

"Female person?" another man asked as he walked in, grasping a cup of hot coffee. His hair was messy, and he had rings under his eyes as if he hadn't been sleeping. The manic look in those eyes made it clear that he was quite fond of the caffeinated drink he held, and that he'd already ingested a good deal of it.

I inhaled deeply through my nose, and the smell of the coffee gave me goosebumps. I started to laugh.

"Still not right!" I said, smirking, and grabbed his coffee.

"HEY!" he said, swiping at me, trying to get it back. "Hello, Tony," Bruce greeted the newcomer with a wry smile.

I took a sip, and the warm liquid soothed my strangely sore throat. Now all the men in the room were thinking.

"OK...this might sound weird but, - 'Lady'?" Tony asked, staring at the coffee still.

"Lady" ...now, THAT sounded Right. A voice echoed in my head...and it repeated, 'Lady,' but it wasn't my voice...

"Yes!" I said.

"Really!?" he asked.

"Yep!" I laughed.

"Alright! Now that we have your title, may we have your name?" Steve asked.

I smiled. "Astrid, " I said. "That's a beautiful name," he said. "Thank you, Steve."

"Is she awake?!" A woman yelled as she ran into the room, her crimson hair messed up as if she'd been running. When she saw me she smiled.

"I guess she is! I'm glad to see that you're finally awake," she said by way of greeting.

I smiled. "Yeah...me too!"

"I'm Natasha Romanov," she told me, and extended her hand. We shook, and again I affirmed my name: "Astrid," I told her.

A few more minutes of conversation passed, and two more people joined the group. They were introduced to me as "Hawkeye", and "Thor". Upon hearing the latter name, and seeing the silver armor and red cape, I felt a strange prickling in the back of my brain - this was another thing I SHOULD remember, but...damnit, I couldn't. Not yet.

"Okay. Now let's ask the question that's on all of our minds. We know WHO you are - but WHAT are you?" Steve asked.

"She is Jotun," a silky voice with a core of steel said from the doorway. All our heads snapped up and turned to towards the voice.

"Uh...yeesss, but - only half." I said slowly, shaking my head. HOW did I know that, and By Yggdrasil, What Was a Jotun? The feeling that I should be able to own this knowledge and yet could not was starting to hurt.

"LOKI?!" everyone yelled. "Loki..." I thought. The name sounded familiar but, I couldn't Remember. Wait - It was his voice I had heard in my head! When my eyes fell on him, something clicked, and I felt connected to him...As though I knew him, and had for a long, long time.

He was beautiful. His long black hair was like the night sky, and it rested on his shoulders, framing his face perfectly. His green eyes were like emeralds, set in a finely-boned face the color of new parchment. The contrasts were striking, but - I realized, that was Loki: a study in contrast.

"LOKI!" Thor yelled in an angry voice, running over to him, and pinning him to the wall.

"NO!" I yelled, and ran to Loki. I quickly pulled him away from Thor. I felt all eyes on me. I realized now that Thor was an Asgardian. They were very strong, so pulling someone away from one wasn't easy, but Loki had said I was a Jotun, yes? I still wasn't clear on what that entailed, but it seemed to include strength to rival an Asgardian - and surpass most on Midgard, if I remembered correctly.

"Well, hello to you, too," Loki said, as he guarded me behind his back, a slightly shocked tone to his voice.

Thor glowered at Loki, and stomped out of the room. I sighed in relief.

"What are YOU doing here?!" Tony asked, sounding as shocked as everyone else looked. Loki smirked, and turned to face him. "Well. I would say that I have changed my ways, but that is very trite - so instead, I will ask for your forgiveness, and say that I am very sorry for what I did on my last visit to New York," Loki explained.

Tony smiled. "Well! I believe Reindeer games!" he said, and patted Loki on the shoulder. Loki looked at Tony's hand on his shoulder, and he sighed heavily. "Thank you, Anthony," he said, a mischievous smirk forming. Tony's face turned to complete annoyance.

"Sorry doesn't cut it for the lives you took," Clint growled, stepping closer to Loki, balling his hands into fists. "Clint, come on, you need some air," Miss Romanov said, taking his arm and pulling him out of the room. "I'm sure Loki must have a good explanation, and we'll hear it - once you've calmed down!"

Soon, Loki turned to me, after speaking to the rest of the people in the room.

"You have questions," he said. "How did you know I was a Jotun?" I demanded. He smiled and took my hand. "Because," he started, and put his lips to my ear, "I am, too." He finished, his cold breath making my ear tingle. I smiled. He pulled away slowly, and touched my face. His hand was very cold, but it didn't bother me.

"So, what is a Jotun?" Tony asked. I smiled and turned to face him. "It means 'Frost Giant'," I explained. The look on his face was Priceless.

That night I wracked my brain to find the memories of Loki, that I knew were in there. "Come on...come on!" I said, and started to hit my forehead. I knew I had met him before - I had known him before - but I Just. Couldn't. Remember. It felt as though I was searching through the dark corners of my mind without a map, and getting lost with my flashlight flickering.

And then, it was like seeing the proverbial Light at the end of the Tunnel. I was getting more and more tired while I ran to it, yet I knew I couldn't give up - this might be my only chance at finding my memories of Loki.

I finally reached the light, and was engulfed by it. I was now in my memory.

I was cold - which was strange, as I wasn't ever cold. The room I was in was dark; it had barrels in the corners, and shelves stacked with food. My nose tingled with the smells of different spices. I was alone...and scared. It came to me that this was the feeling you get when you know you're about to die.

I rocked back and forth, trying to keep calm. "where is he?" I thought. Soon, I heard footsteps and hid my face in my hands. "Astrid?" he called...LOKI called..."THERE you are!" I said, the anger and relief fighting with each other. "Are you alright? Were you harmed?" he asked, and ran to me. "No, I am fine." I said, as he helped me up. "Is Asgard safe? Is the attack over? What-"
"Shhh," Loki pressed one finger gently to my lips, stilling further questions. "Yes, Yes, and No more questions until after you rest, and eat. Understood?" I nodded mutely. Now that I was not about to die, I discovered that I was actually quite hungry. The kitchen staff was admirable, already readying the evening meal - no attack, no invaders would delay the Evening Meal. Woe unto them that tried!

Loki and I needed to clean up before heading to the Dining Hall proper; it would not do for those of our standing ('our standing?' my memory tickled again) to appear at Meal bedraggled and dusty.

"Now," he began, in a jesting manner - but trailed off, waiting...for what? "What?" I asked, leaning away from him. He smiled and laughed. "Now you owe me one!" I was flummoxed. "WHY!?" "I just saved you from untold horrors, did I not?!" he laughed. "Um, excuse me, I was completely - " He cut me off with a look. A look that I realized I knew very well; I had even named it. The "You know I'm right, You just don't want to admit it," look.

"Fine! I owe you one. NEVER TELL THOR. " Loki waited. "...Thank you," I finished, and hugged him, hiding my face in his shoulder. We had known each other since we were children, and would cause all sorts of mischief together.

Soon, the memories started to get fuzzy, like bad reception on a Midgardian Television. 'How in the WORLD do I know that?!' And, just like that, I was in the dark again - the blinding light, just a flickering candle.

I was back to reality, and I didn't want to be. I wanted to be lost in my memory...

I started to cry. I wanted the memory - the reality - where I knew Loki.

"Astrid?" Loki asked, walking into the doorway and stopping. I looked up at him through tear flooded eyes and even through the tears, ...he was clear. Was I awake, really awake now?

"Are you alright?" he asked, worry filling his voice. I shook my head negatively. "n...no." I choked out. He walked over to me and sat down on my bed, pulling me onto his lap. "What's wrong?" he asked.

I shook my head. "I...I was just...thinking," I said, absent absent-mindedly curling up and holding onto his shirt.

"What about?" he asked.

"I suppose I should tell you..." I said, the tears subsiding.

"I'm listening." he said, wiping a tear from my cheek.

"The second I saw you, I felt like I'd met you before - and I was trying to remember, just now - and - and I remembered...something. Not sure what. "

"Then why are you crying?" he asked, puzzled. "Was it that bad?"

"Because...because I didn't want the memory to end," I said, my eyes tearing up again.

"Iknow how you feel," he said.

"How?" I asked.

"Because I had the same memory."

My eyes widened as I stared at him.

"So...so you felt the same way when you met me?" I asked, my voice hopeful.

"Yes," he said, a smile starting on his face.

I smiled and closed my eyes. I felt my face moving slowly closer to his. I felt the warmth of his face inches away from mine...

"HELLO!" Tony said.

I sighed heavily and opened my eyes. Loki's green eyes smiled back at me.

We both turned and glared at Tony, who was lounging in the doorframe with a martini in his hand. He looked puzzled, and cocked his head to the side.

"TONY!" Pepper called as she ran down the hall, her high-heeled shoes sounding like horses galloping down the hallway. When she got to Tony, she looked into the room. Her eyes widened upon seeing me sitting on Loki's lap, and she spun around and stomped her foot at Tony.

"Oh, GOD, Tony!" she yelled, grabbing his arm and pulling him back down the hallway with her. "What?! What'd I do?!" he asked. I laughed, got up and walked to the door to listen to the aftermath of Tony and Pepper. "Just think, Tony! THINK about it!" Pepper said, waiting for him to figure it out.

There was a long pause.

"Oh. OH. OH! That DOG!" Tony said, laughing.

I turned to Loki, and found my best friend.

"You're BLUSHING!" I roared with laughter.

"I AM NOT!" he yelled.

"ARE TOO!" I retorted.

"I AM NOT BLUSHING!" he said.

I folded my arms and used His look on him.

He sighed.

"Oh, Odin," he swore under his breath, defeated. I laughed evilly.

"A Norse God, blushing. Now THAT is something I never thought I'd see!"