I delight in all your reviews! Thank you! Also, check out my brother's cinema-quality trailer for Fallen Star on youtube! If you type in "Fallen Star Loki," you should be able to find it! It's fantastic! Promise!
For the first section, I listened to the Thor soundtrack "Ride to the Observatory," and then the "Destiny In Space Theme."
Thanks, and enjoy!
VVVV
THREE
The crowd, packed onto either side of the bridge just before the towering gold sentinels, cheered and whistled as the two steeds trotted right into their midst. Einar's bridle jingled and his hooves clattered against the weathered white stone, his strong body jogging beneath Loki and Jane as he tugged against his bit. Loki leaned just to his left, around Jane's head, watching Thor and Sif so he could keep pace.
Thousands of bright-eyed courtiers and commoners alike, all dressed in flowing, multi-colored robes, their hair bedecked with wreathes of flowers, clapped, grinned, shouted and tossed petals in the air as the royal horses passed by. The sun blazed straight overhead, enlivening every scarlet and violet and amber and sapphire to its most vivid shade, and touching everything with a sheen of glowing gold.
Loki half smiled and closed his right eye as several plump, giggling young women hurled fistfuls of rose petals at his head. Jane yelped, then laughed, bringing her hand up to protect her face as the soft bits of flower rained across them.
Thor's flashing form pulled back on his own reins as the two horses drew near the mountain-sized iron gates.
Thor glanced over at Loki as they drew up next to him and Sif. Loki met Thor's brilliant eyes, and Thor winked at him. Loki hid his smile, and lifted his head to gaze at the solid, twisted ironsmithery of the ageless gate.
He sensed the crowd close in behind them, and settle. Then, Thor's mighty voice thundered through the quiet.
"Heimdall!" he called. "Open the Asbru Bridge!"
Silence fell. Loki waited. Jane went still.
Then, the great gates heaved apart.
The crowd exploded. Billions more petals shot into the air and showered down across them, and cheers deafened them.
Memories flooded Loki's mind—memories of him and Thor, standing just here, on the threshold of their very first adventure together. Then, more vibrant images—of Nornheim and Midgard and Jotunheim and even Niffelheim—all rushing through his blood and roaring in his ears even louder than the masses. Loki winked back at Thor. His brother grinned. He remembered.
The gates clanged into place. The two horses pranced and snorted, champing at their bits. Sif wrapped her arms tight around Thor's waist and lowered her head, narrowing her eyes. Thor gripped his reins and took a deep breath.
"Hang on," Loki murmured in Jane's ear. Jane grabbed Einar's mane—
Thor let out a bellowing roar—and his stallion leaped forward.
Einar needed no other invitation. He lunged after, galloping through the gates and flashing through the light and shadow cast by the mighty sentinels.
The two horses charged forward, neck-and-neck, their thundering hooves sending flashes of light blazing up from the rainbow surface of the Asbru. In an instant, they cleared the sentinels, and the vast sky opened up before them—rolling clouds, then galaxies, nebula and glittering stars. Ahead of them stretched the gray ocean, whose near horizon frothed and foamed right where the Asbru ended. The scent of salt, and a spring gust filled Loki's lungs as his wind-swift horse strained to overtake Thor's.
Thor let out a rumbling laugh as the waves flashed by on either side of them, and the Bifrost gate rose up before them. Loki pressed closer to Jane, letting her hair banner out over his right shoulder.
Finally, the great bronze globe stood in front of them—completely new—gleaming with the golden sunlight from behind and the silver starlight from above. And, waiting for them at its door, stood three figures.
In the center, like a golden beech, stood Heimdall the gatekeeper, his ethereal eyes watching them all the while they approached. To his left, like an oak, dressed in flowing white, waited Odin All-Father, half smiling. And on Heimdall's right, as a patient chestnut, her hands folded, her blue dress and sunshine hair fluttering in the wind, Frigg cast a warm look over all of them.
Both brothers checked their horses' speed, and they pranced to a halt. Thor hopped down first, thudded to the bridge, and snatched up the reins. Sif dismounted on her own. Loki sighed at his brother, slid down, then turned to help Jane, holding his arms out to her. She slipped sideways on the saddle and took hold of his shoulders as he wrapped his hands around her waist. He lifted her slender form easily off the horse, and set her down on the bridge. She flashed a breathless grin up at him. He held her for a moment, then they all turned and stepped toward the king and queen.
Loki glanced at his brother, then knelt beside him on the glittering surface. Both of them pulled off their helmets and set them by their knees. Thor's long golden hair tumbled down—and Loki's shoulder-length, raven hair covered his collar. Jane got on her knees beside him, and Sif did the same on the other side of Thor.
Loki felt long, delicate fingers reach down and stroke the crown of his head. He smiled.
"So you are still joining your brother in his rebellion against haircuts," Frigg murmured. Loki glanced up at her, letting his smile broaden.
"I would never rebel against you, Mother," he answered quietly.
"Of course you wouldn't," she almost smirked, then stepped back and glanced at Odin.
"Loki Odinson," Odin said, stepping closer. Loki lifted his face, his smile fading.
"You have rebuilt the Bifrost of Asgard," Odin said, his voice deep and even, his gray eye fixed on Loki. "You, with your mastery of magic and your knowledge of the passages between realms, have made travel through the stars once again possible. You have done so with raw ingenuity and resourcefulness, refusing to accept help from the power of the tesseract or any other weapon in our possession. And for that…" Odin paused, holding Loki's gaze. "I am proud of you."
Loki's throat closed. He didn't move, and he couldn't see anything but his father's weather-beaten face. Then, he felt Jane squeeze his fingers hard, and Thor's smile glowed in the corner of his eye.
Odin drew himself up.
"And who do you choose to take with you on this, the first journey made possible by this new Bifrost bridge?"
Loki took a breath, and managed to find his voice.
"I choose my brother, Prince Thor Odinson—whose life I carry and who carries my life." He met Thor's gaze—and Thor's lion-like face softened and warmed. Loki gave him a quiet smile. Then, Loki turned to Jane, whose quick brown eyes watched him. He took her hand and entwined his fingers with hers. "I also choose my wife, Princess Jane Foster-Odinson, whose heart I carry and who carries my heart." He paused, running his eyes over her features. Then, he turned and met Sif's dark eyes.
"And I choose my ally, Lady Sif, who carries my trust, and whose trust I carry." He took a breath, and faced his parents again. "I would not depart this realm without them. Nor would I traverse any other if they were not by my side."
"So be it," Odin declared, straightening his shoulders. "Prince Loki: May your journey be fruitful, may your passage be swift and unhindered, and may you return in time for the feast your mother has prepared, where you will be honored before all of Asgard and its people."
Frigg leaned toward Loki, and whispered:
"He cannot wait to give you your gift."
Loki blinked, and caught his father watching their exchange with a twinkle in his eye. Loki tried not to grin.
Together, the four of them got to their feet, and Thor and Loki put their helmets back on. Odin gestured toward the Bifrost room—and nodded to Loki.
Taking another deep breath, Loki gripped Jane's hand and strode inside.
Their feet tapped on the perfect black surface. Quiet power vibrated the air. Loki glanced down at Jane as her wide eyes swept the room.
"You did this?" she gasped. "You built this?"
"The room is nothing," Thor interrupted, striding up beside them. He raised his eyebrows and pointed at her. "What matters is what it can do."
Loki shot him a look and raised a languid eyebrow.
"You don't like my décor?"
Thor glanced around and shrugged.
"Too much green."
"That's my favorite color," Jane said.
"No accounting for taste," Sif said, coming up next to Thor and giving him a sideways smile.
"No, there certainly isn't," Loki said frankly.
"Lords and ladies," Heimdall interrupted. "May I beg you to take your positions before the gate?"
"Come," Loki pulled Jane around the tall center console, which was illuminated by a shaft of overhead light, to stand in front of the gate door—the door that would open like the pupil of an eye.
Thor came to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Loki, Sif just beside him. Loki's heartbeat sped up, and he took a shaking breath.
"Here we go," Sif murmured. Loki saw Thor grin.
"Where are we headed?" Jane wondered. Loki allowed himself a small smile, but didn't look at her.
"Take care, my loves!" Frigg called.
"Are you ready?" Heimdall asked. Loki stared at the door and tried to calm his hammering pulse. If this didn't work…
"Yes," he nodded.
"Very well," Heimdall said—
And the shink of his great sword blade sliding down into place rang through the room.
Lightning leaped out of the console, dancing through the air, sliding against the walls and rippling against the floor. Jane hugged closer to Loki, taking hold of his arm with both hands. Loki took three deep breaths. Thor and Sif shifted their weight from foot to foot, as if they stood on the starting line of a race.
Then, the metal door swished effortlessly open—
And a whirling blue wormhole, violent and rushing and pulsing as a tornadic wind, dominated their view.
"Safe journey," Heimdall bid them.
And, with a hissing blast, the four of them shot out of the gate room and into the swirling blue and black oblivion.
AAAAA
Jane couldn't think, couldn't see, couldn't feel anything besides this ripping, tearing rushing blue wind that raged through her clothes and hair and beat her body. She thought Loki still held her hand, but she had to squeeze her eyes shut against the freezing air and the blinding light, so she wasn't sure. She tried to draw a breath—couldn't. Tried again. Couldn't. Panic grabbed her chest—
Boom.
Impact shuddered through her, clouds rolled all around her…
She opened her eyes.
She stood on solid ground. Sand, and settling dirt.
Jane sucked in a breath. Her eyes watered, clouding her vision, but…
This looked familiar.
The dusky gray landscape, the horizon that glowed deep pink, the sky above tinged with dark purple, and far, far overhead, in the depths of the sky…
The piercing stars of the Big Dipper.
Her hand flew to her mouth. Then, she whirled toward Loki—
To see him grinning at her.
"This…This is New Mexico!" she gasped.
He laughed.
"It seemed only fair," he answered, holding his hands out to the sides. "Since you left in such a hurry—I didn't really give you a chance to arrange anything, did I?"
She flung her arms around his neck. He caught her, and held her close. She pulled back and kissed his forehead, then his cheek, then his lips, where she pressed deep, three times.
"I will beat you to death if you don't stop that," Thor warned from somewhere behind him.
"I don't think they can help it," Sif muttered.
"They'd better learn to help it," he growled.
Loki grinned against Jane's lips, and she backed up to look at his pale, handsome face.
"Thank you," she whispered. His eyes sparkled.
"My pleasure." He set her down, her heels thudding against the dirt.
"If we are going to see Erik Selvig, we ought to get moving," Thor advised, glancing toward the soft lights on the horizon. "We don't want to bother him after he's gone to bed."
"Since when has that stopped you?" Sif wondered, sweeping past him. Thor chuckled.
"Erik?" Jane repeated, her heart leaping as her gaze darted across all their faces. "We get to see Erik?"
"That's the reason we came!" Thor said brightly.
"All right, we'll go," Loki sighed, then squinted at the horizon. "But we'll come back in the morning."
Jane frowned.
"What? Why?"
He smiled secretively, then flashed his eyebrows.
"What?" she demanded. But he turned, and strode through the dirt after his brother and Sif, his long cape fluttering, his horned helmet glinting.
"Loki, that isn't fair," she protested, hurrying after him. "You know I can't stand it when you know something I don't!"
But he didn't answer, except to laugh out loud.
AAAAA
As Jane strode down the middle of the empty main street of Puente Antiguo next to Loki, and led by Thor and Sif, she had to fight not to break into a run. Her heart beat faster as she caught sight of each familiar building, lit by the street lights.
"Look! There's Hank's Bar!" she cried, grinning as she seized Loki's hand and pointed off to her right. "Where those guys grabbed my hair and your hands turned blue—"
Thor glanced back over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow.
"Excuse me?"
"None of your business," Loki answered lightly, clasping Jane's hand and swinging it back and forth. Sif just laughed.
"And…And there's Isabella's!" Jane gasped, pulling loose of Loki and trotting around the others to hop up onto the sidewalk. She stood speechless for a moment in front of the diner, running her eyes across the gleaming new windows, straight awning, fresh paint, and hanging "Closed" sign in the door. Jane whirled and grinned at the others who had paused in the middle of the street.
"Thor!" she laughed. "Does it look the same?"
Thor studied the building for a moment, then a slow smile spread across his face.
"Yes. Yes, I believe it does." He barked out a laugh. "Except I doubt they kept the crater my mug made in the floor."
Jane laughed again, feeling light-headed, as she spun around to take in the whole of Main Street.
"It's completely restored," she said, almost to herself. "Like nothing ever happened…"
She stayed still for a second, as the night wind caught her hair and clothes, her attention caught on a blue, two-door car that stood parked next to Hank's. An ugly dent marked its door.
A car. How long had it been since she'd seen a car…?
She blinked, coming back to herself.
And whirled around.
She broke into a run, leaving the others behind—then heard their footsteps follow.
"Jane?" Sif called, but Jane didn't answer or look back. She raced down the shadowed sidewalk, the streetlamps flashing overhead, her boots pounding, her split-skirt flapping. She veered around a corner and leaped off the curb, and her feet met crunching gravel. Her heartbeat hammered in her ears as she could finally make it out against the dark sky:
The revamped service station, its pinnacle glowing with neon blue lights, its windows reflecting the dim illumination from the street—
And a softer glow coming from somewhere inside.
Jane raced across the parking, and skidded to a stop in front of the door. With shaking hands, she reached out and tugged on the cold handle—
The door gave way. She gasped. Then, she lunged inside.
"Erik?" she called. Her voice echoed in the quiet. A single fluorescent light above the counter showed her enough of the room for her to recognize it—the white, L-shaped couch with a coffee table in front of it, the eating table, the fridge, and the dozens of blinking computers crowding around the rest of the space. Everything was steeped in shadow. She clenched her hands into fists, her heart wanting to jump out of her chest.
"Erik?" she shouted again.
For half a moment, everything stood still.
Then, shuffling issued from the back room, and a familiar form wearing a high-collared sweater, jeans and boots stepped out into the half-light.
Startled gray eyes met hers, and his rugged brow furrowed tight.
"Jane?" he rasped. Tears sprang to her eyes. She beamed at him.
"Hi, Erik."
He rushed to her. She threw her arms around him and he crushed her to him.
"Oh, Jane!" he choked. "Jane, I thought you were dead!"
She laughed brokenly in his ear, and shook her head hard.
"No, no, I'm fine!" she assured him. He set her down and she took fistfuls of his sweater sleeves, breathing hard. He swept the hair out of her face, his gaze running all over her.
"I can't believe you're here!" Jane cried.
"I wanted to be here in case you came back," Erik answered. "I didn't want you to…What…What happened?" he demanded. "Where did you go? Where have you been?"
Jane sniffed, trying to control herself.
"Well, it's a long story—"
"Why didn't you contact me sooner?" he wanted to know, taking hold of her arms. "What stopped you from…" He trailed off as a shaft of light glinted off the jeweled ring on her left hand. He stared at it, his eyebrows coming together. Then, he met her eyes.
"Did you get married?"
Jane burst out laughing, covered her mouth, then shakily swiped at her eyes.
"Erik, you won't believe any of this, but…" She stopped as Sif, Thor, and finally Loki, shouldered into the lab and stood three abreast—the men imposing and broad in their armor, and about eight feet tall including the spans of their glimmering helmets—looking utterly out of place. Jane kept hold of Erik with one hand, and gestured to the others.
"Erik, this is Lady Sif—I think you met briefly…"
Erik, still frowning, nodded at Sif, who gave him a flicker of a smile and nodded back.
"And this is…Ha, well…Thor," Jane chuckled, swiping at her eyes again.
"It is a pleasure to see you again, Erik Selvig," Thor declared, grinning and stepping forward to grasp Erik's hand.
"Yah," Erik managed to nod.
"And this," Jane met Loki's waiting green eyes as he hung back in the half dark, his hands clasped in front of him. "Is Prince Loki Odinson. My husband."
Jane locked on Erik's face, certain that astonishment would flood his expression. Instead, he smiled slowly, and nodded.
"Good to see you."
"Wait," Jane started, glancing back and forth between them. "Wait you…You don't seem surprised that he's not—"
Erik's smile broadened, and he cast her a glance.
"Actually," he admitted. "I knew it the whole time."
AAAAA
Loki leaned on the doorframe, motionless. He had taken off his helmet, and it now sat on a nearby table. His gaze wandered through the room.
Minutes after their arrival, Erik had turned on all the lights, so everything in the lab now stood out bright and clear and Loki could see it. The couch—his couch—in the corner, the small kitchen, the rows of computers, the long table where Jane would sit and work on star charts, the coffee table piled with battered volumes of Tolkien and Norse myths…
Loki's heart beat unevenly as he stood, completely still, and apart. And he couldn't smile.
He stood knee-deep in memories. Memories of a late night spent laughing over a
children's book—laughing so hard he and Jane had almost hurt themselves; of tea and cream swirling in an ivory-white cup; of soft brown eyes watching his, of long black eyelashes fluttering; her smile that startled the silence; the way she absently ran her fingers through her hair as she read aloud; the gentle rise and fall of her voice as she hummed an old song while preparing supper; the way her winsome form moved effortlessly through the lab as her thoughts clearly drifted elsewhere…
But those memories lodged inside him, stark and distant.
Because he'd seen Jane's face as she looked at Isabella's. He saw her eyes go distant, as if she was watching a scene replaying...
That instant, his stride had hitched, his gaze sharpened—and something inside him had snagged.
And then she had run off into the darkness, leaving them behind…
"It wasn't our idea to fly—it was actually Tony Stark's," Jane was telling Erik, sitting down in the crook of the couch next to him, her long Asgardian skirts draping across the seat.
"Stark? You used his plane?" Erik asked. She nodded.
"He called us, gave us an idea of where the Cube might be, and told us we could use his plane. We landed in Jasper in the middle of the night—it was freezing."
"I'll bet it was."
"This is interesting—I have never heard you tell this story, Jane," Thor commented, drawing near them and sitting down on the left side of the couch. He draped his left arm across the back, somehow managing to appear completely comfortable despite his heavy dress armor.
"We stayed in a little hotel next to the airport," Jane continued. "Got up the next day and walked toward the mountains, in the snow."
Sif eased down on the far right end of the couch, where Loki had once rested his head when he slept. She tucked one leg under her, and her posture mirroring Thor's.
"Why did you walk?" Thor wanted to know, glancing back at Loki. Jane almost looked at Loki, then addressed both Thor and Erik.
"We knew that whoever had taken the Cube knew how to use magic. Loki didn't want to draw attention to us." She looked at Loki again. He returned her gaze, but just raised his eyebrows. She turned back to Erik.
"It took a couple days," she went on. "But we finally came to a big metal door in the side of the mountain."
"That's usually where the trouble starts," Sif noted, exchanging smiles with Thor. Loki shifted and crossed his arms. Jane focused on Erik.
"We went inside, and were captured, and dragged to the main room, which was filled with all sorts of technical equipment," Jane said. "Then we were introduced to the man in charge."
"And…" Erik leaned toward her. "Who was it?"
Jane's mouth twitched.
"Victor Von Doom."
Erik's eyebrows shot up.
"Doom? Really?" he cried. "He wasn't even on SHIELD's list—they were convinced it was Loki!"
Thor laughed heartily. Loki shifted again, uncomfortable.
"What happened then?" Erik pressed. Jane took a breath.
"Loki did the talking, trying to force Doom to give up the Cube. But Doom wasn't interested. He tried to make a deal. Loki refused. So…" Jane paused. Her glance flickered to Loki's for an instant.
Loki straightened, poised to pick up the narration himself. But then Jane drew up and took another breath.
"The two of them fought. Loki used an ice casket from Jotunheim to freeze Doom in place, and then he took the Cube—but the Cube's pedestal had been rigged to collapse the mountain if the Cube was taken." Jane squeezed her hands together. "We barely made it out in time—Loki transported out right as the ceiling fell down on us."
Loki mentally staggered, staring at her. Then, he pinned his gaze on Thor, waiting for his brother to blunder in and remind her of the pints of her blood that had soaked Loki's clothing as he dragged her, half dead, into the healing rooms at Asgard—
Thor frowned hard, and opened his mouth—
"Where is the Cube now?" Erik asked.
"Odin has it," Jane answered. "He's keeping it safe—which we all think is best."
Loki swallowed, his gaze returning to her as his mind spun.
She had left it out. She had left out the most important part: the fact that Doom had shot her, and Loki had saved her. It had nearly torn him in half, but he had risked everything—everything—to salvage her life.
And now that she had left it out, there was no graceful way for him to let Erik know that.
Jane paused, beamed at Erik, and scooted closer to him, taking hold of his hand. Her eyes sparkled. "And…I finally saw it."
"Saw what?" Erik wondered. Jane's voice grew quiet.
"Asgard."
Erik said nothing for a long moment.
"You did?" he finally murmured. She nodded, letting out a breathless laugh.
"Loki took me there—he can travel without a gate, you know—and I've seen all of it." Her eyebrows drew together, her voice lowering to an earnest whisper. "It's like no place you've ever seen, Erik. The palace, the gardens, the fountains, the ocean…" She laughed again, and ducked her head. "But they have this law that no mortal can stay there longer than two weeks unless they get married to an Aesir, so…I had to think of something quick." She shot a playful look at Thor. "Thor wouldn't have me—"
Thor's laughter roared through the room, and Jane and Sif joined in. Jane gestured to Loki, grinning.
"So I got Loki to marry me instead—and I got to stay."
Erik caught up her graceful left hand, studying her ring.
"It's a beautiful stone," he commented, a sadly affectionate look on his face. He met her eyes. "Congratulations, Jane."
Loki turned away, staring out the window into the dark. Thor, Jane, Erik and Sif's conversation wandered to descriptions of Asgard, the protocol of an Aesir wedding, and the rebuilding of the Asbru Gate. Loki suddenly couldn't follow it.
But then, Erik moved in his seat, and caught Loki's eye.
"Loki," he said, and motioned to him. Loki's head came around, and he gritted his teeth. So suddenly Erik thought he could use just his given name?
"Why don't you come and sit down?" Erik bid. "I haven't heard your two cents worth concerning any of this."
Loki stayed where he was, and canted his head.
"I don't see what I could add," he said coolly. "My wife has explained everything so thoroughly."
Jane sat up and frowned, but he didn't look at her.
"I'm just curious to hear your side, especially the part when Jane found out the truth about you," Erik said, chuckling. Loki's gut went tight.
"SHIELD and I have been searching the planet for you two," Erik declared. "Fury has been pretty upset about the whole thing—especially when Tony Stark confessed that he'd sent you all by yourselves to Jasper, Canada to chase after some unknown, multinational thief." Erik let out another laugh. "I swear, if he didn't have that armored suit, Fury would have killed him."
"It was none of SHIELD's business," Loki answered. "I am an Aesir and a prince of Asgard. I can take care of my own."
Erik sobered. Thor, Sif and Jane watched him, frowning, but Loki didn't move his eyes from Erik. Erik's brow furrowed.
"I didn't say that you couldn't."
Jangling cut the air. The Aesir jerked. Erik half stood up and dug in his pocket, and pulled out a cell phone.
"Hello?" he asked as soon as he'd pressed it to his ear. Then, he grinned.
"Hi, Darcy. How's that senior project coming?"
Jane sat straight up.
"Darcy?" she yelped.
Erik put his finger in his free ear and nodded.
"Yeah…Yeah, good. I'm good, too. Hey, Darcy—I've got someone who wants to talk to you. Okay, here she is."
Jane pulled the phone away from him right away. But then she had to take a moment to gather herself before she could speak.
"Darcy? Hi. It's me. It's Jane."
Silence.
Then, Jane pulled the phone away from her ear as an audible shriek issued from the phone. Sif's eyes went wide, Thor bellowed in amusement, and both Erik and Jane grinned with unbridled affection.
"Yeah, yeah, it's me," Jane said, easing the phone back to her ear. "How are you?"
Loki couldn't make out any of Darcy's words, but he could hear her babbling excitedly for several minutes—he wondered how it was possible to say that much without taking a breath. Jane, still grinning, managed to insert a word once in a while, and then, when Darcy subsided a moment to actually let her questions be answered, Jane started at the beginning again, telling the story exactly as she'd just told Erik.
And she left it out again.
Loki stopped listening. He left the doorway and moved to the far corner of the room to Jane's table, which was still covered with three star charts of the Milky Way galaxy. But his eyes wouldn't focus.
Out of the corner of his attention, he saw Erik lean back, basking in the sound of Jane and Darcy's conversation. Sif, eyebrow raised, picked up The Hobbit from the pile of books and began thumbing through its pages. Thor got to his feet, his cape rustling, and meandered through the room, studying the computer screens and the dark windows. Finally, he wandered toward Loki, and came to stand beside him. Loki stared down at the charts.
"Jane did not tell Erik or Darcy that she was hurt," Thor murmured. Loki reached out and pushed one star chart aside, pretending to look at the one beneath it.
"Hm," Loki said. "I didn't notice."
Thor took a breath, gazing back at the couch.
"Perhaps she doesn't think it matters now," Thor said. Loki's head came up. Thor turned and met his eyes, and gave him a casual smile.
"Thor…" Sif interrupted. "What is that?"
Loki glanced at her—she had gone still where she sat, her frame rigid. She stared out the front windows.
Loki and Thor turned around. A pair of headlights bounced through the dark, coming toward them.
"Um, Darcy?" Jane said quietly. "I'll have to call you back."
Loki's eyes narrowed. The form of the car flashed through a streetlight—it was a black sedan.
He moved.
He swept around the table, strode to the couch and stood in front of Jane. He felt her rise to her feet. He reached back and grabbed her forearm.
Thor strode in front of them all, and hefted Mjollnir in his right hand.
They waited.
The car halted right outside. The lights went off. The door opened, then slammed shut.
A man strode toward the front door, pulled it open, and stepped inside.
Thor's arm went limp.
"Son of Coul?"
Loki blinked.
Then, Agent Coulson, dressed as always in his sharp black suit and tie, stepped around Thor's bulk and cast a calm glance over all five of them. At last, his attention settled on Erik, and he raised his eyebrows.
"Am I too late for pizza?"
TBC
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And don't forget to look at the trailer for "Fallen Star"! Just type in "Fallen Star Loki" on youtube!
