Bound

Alright! Here is the next chapter. This one was taking me a little longer than expected and I almost didn't have Loki and Sophie meet in this one. But I promised that I would have them meet up, and they certainly have.

Bubin: Thank you for my first follow!

Am4444: Woohoo for the favorite! I hope the rest of the story is just as satisfying to you

Dragoncat: Thank you so much for the review and follow! Here is an even longer chapter for you and I hope that it continues to entertain you ;)


As Loki drifted out of the dark pathway and into the void plain, a familiar numbness took hold of him. He would not show fear. He would not show hesitancy. To Thanos, emotions like that were weak and weakness was something that Thanos would not tolerate from Loki, certainly not after his failure on Midgard.

Loki had shed his illusion. He knew that he wouldn't have to worry about holding the illusion over the body in the cell for long. They burned their dead prisoners in their cells not long after discovering them. Striding forward with purposeful steps, Loki came to meet the hulking figure of Thanos. His sickly purple skin and his piercing icy gaze made Loki sneer up at him. Thanos leaned down from his great seat and grinned with malice.

"Welcome home, puny god." Loki's hands balled tightly into fists as he fought off the attack on his pride. The chitauri that were scuttling around the rocks cackled at his humiliation. Loki reached out with his newly restored power and brought down a massive boulder on to the nearest chitauri which crushed its legs. Its agonizing scream was cut short when its head was snapped at a disjointed angle, causing it to go limp. Thanos let out an amused laugh as the other chitauri hissed and growled at Loki, dragging away their fallen companion. A cold grin spread across his face as he reveled once again in his powers. Turning back to Thanos, Loki slowly approached him with a guarded expression.

"I am here. What is it you desire of me?" Loki asked with a hint of disdain. Thanos loomed over the god of mischief.

"Do not forget that it is by my power you stand before me now. Nevertheless, you are instrumental in my future plans." Thanos stood up from his seated position and came to stand next to Loki urging him in the direction of a new dark pathway. "You have felt it, have you not?"

"The waning of Yggdrasil? Yes, I have heard about the turmoil that the Nine Realms are currently suffering." Replied Loki nonchalantly. Thanos and Loki stepped through the dark pathway. Stars and space swirled around them briefly before they both arrived on a mountainous plain. The air was stifling and noxious gas clung to the ground of volcanic rock. Loki unconsciously brought a hand to his nose in an attempt to block out the putrid smell of sulphur and iron. They stood before the dark maw of a cave. Thanos led the way and Loki followed hesitantly, wondering if Thanos was leading him into a trap. Extending his hand out in front of him, a small but light of energy emitted once again from his palm.

"The Midgardians may have taken the physical tesseract, but I still hold a piece of its power. How do you think the Chitauri scepter gained its energy?" Thanos said answering Loki's silent question. Despite the overwhelming heat from outside the cave, as they traveled further and further down into the chasm, the air became cold. Loki became lost in his thoughts and hadn't noticed that Thanos had suddenly stopped until he almost ran into him. And then he saw it, a massive wolf lying on the ground breathing heavily, its gray and black fur matted and mangy. As the light from the tesseract energy revealed the creature, its eyes turned to Thanos and then to Loki. When the wolf saw him it attempted to leap forward and snap at him with its enormous jaws. Loki jerked back instinctively. It panted and snarled at the intruders and it strained at its bonds, blood and saliva dripping from its lips. Wrapped around one of his back legs was a single red ribbon which was bound to a boulder keeping the giant wolf in place. Loki stood in front of the legendary wolf fulling comprehending the implications of Thanos' ultimate plan, and it shook him to the core. He understood his role in Thanos' plan.

"It is time," Thanos said, "Fenrir." The beast thrashed wildly with anticipation before approaching Loki, his snout a meter away from Loki's ridged body. Fenrir breathed heavily on him, the smell of his putrid breath was revolting.

"Ragnarök approaches." The deep and ancient voice of the wolf shook the walls, "The fate of the gods is at hand and you shall bring it about."


Sophie and Jane sat in the living room sipping on glasses of "after dinner" wine. Sten had contented himself on Jane's lap and Sophie stroked Jarl's head as he lay beside her on the couch. Sophie's dad had already gone to bed. She had taken Jane to the car shop before dinner to check up on Jane's car and received the disappointing news that the car would be in for repairs for at least a week. Sophie and her dad had graciously invited Jane to stay with them and she reluctantly accepted.

"I would've been fine staying in a hotel. I feel that I'm imposing on you guys." Jane said apologetically for the third time. Sophie rolled her eyes.

"I couldn't possibly let you leave. Besides, Sten likes you far too much." Sophie chuckled and Jane smiled as the small terrier yawned contently in her lap.

"I suppose if it's alright with you and your dad. Perhaps your property would be a good place to begin some of my testing."

"Go right ahead, we have plenty of space." Sophie took a sip of her wine. "By the way, what brought you out here to this place in the middle of nowhere? If you're driving to LA you're pretty far from the I-5." Jane set down her glass and shifted her position in the arm chair. Reluctance shone in her eyes briefly before seeming to come to a decision.

"I'm looking for someone, or rather, a way to get to him. I have been using my equipment to measure molecular disturbances between different realms and I have followed them here. I believe that there is a strong possibility that this area is where a strong connection between realms may happen very soon." Sophie stared at Jane who was biting her lip waiting for her reaction. Taking a bigger gulp of wine, Sophie set down her own glass and leaned forward toward Jane.

"So," she paused gathering her thoughts, "if a pathway to one of these . . . 'realms' opens up, who do you expect to find?" Jane twisted her hands together nervously, praying that she wasn't as crazy as she knew she sounded.

"Someone who is very dear to me." she said softly, "I wasn't sure if it was possible to see him again until a few months ago when I saw him on TV in New York fighting off the attack." Sophie's mind raced as she attempted to connect the dots. Suddenly, it clicked in her mind.

"Oh my god!" she gasped, "Thor?! He's your boyfriend?" Jane looked down sheepishly and smiled. Sophie leaned back against the couch in shock for a moment and then laughing she asked, "So how on Earth did you meet a god?"

"Well, he's not a god, per se—"

"Wait, he's an alien?" Sophie asked confused.

"Well, in the technical sense being that he is not from this planet. He comes from a realm known as Asgard and Midgard is what he refers to Earth as. We met right before the New Mexico event, but at that time he was just about as mortal as you or me." Jane continued to explain the events of the New Mexico incident. "The last time I held him was before he left back to Asgard to confront his brother, Loki. I had no idea what happened to him or why he never returned to me, but I knew he was okay and this was confirmed when I saw him with the Avengers in New York." The entire time, Sophie had been listening with intense interest.

"And now you are searching for a way to get back to him now that his brother has been stopped?"

"Yes, I'm not just going to stand around waiting for him to return. I'm not that kind of person." Jane had slid Sten off her lap and was beginning to walk around the living room.

"Man, that sounds so amazing. You have the ability to go out and pursue your desires with a clear focus." said Sophie as she poured herself another glass of wine, "I wish I had that much clarity about my future."

"Everyone at your age feels the same way." Said Jane, smiling back at Sophie, "You'll soon know what path you are meant to take." She had stopped in front of a picture of Gunner in his military uniform a silver amulet hung round the picture. Sophie came to stand beside Jane.

"My brother, Gunner." She said, answering Jane's thoughts, "He has been serving in the military for four years now." Jane held the amulet between her fingers. It was shaped like and upside down "T" with scrollwork along the surface. Jane noticed that despite its size, it was still fairly heavy.

"What's this?"

Sophie smirked. "It's a family heirloom passed down through the generations to the eldest child. Ironically, that amulet is 'Thor's hammer,' Mjolnir. The amulet is supposed to be a symbol of power and protection as well as a reminder of our heritage." Jane's eyes widened as she observed the piece of jewelry.

"So, then are you descended from Asgardians?" The laugh that came from Sophie was a little too loud and she quickly checked herself in order to not wake her dad or embarrass Jane.

"No, not at all. My family comes from Sweden. My grandparents came to the States after they had just married."

"Oh, I see." Jane replied with interest.

The two girls chatted some more while they finished their wine. Eventually, the wine made their minds and bodies heavy and they both agreed that it was time to go to bed. Sophie put Jane in the guest room, which was Gunner's old room, and Sophie crawled into her own bed after setting her alarm to wake her up early to head out to the groves once again. After a few moments of lying in darkness, the heaviness of sleep took her.


Far off on the edge of Yggdrasil, Loki was perched on a rock sharpening one of his daggers with a whetstone. He was deep in thought. His mind was racing with alternatives, outcomes, and options. With Thor occupied in the various realms keeping the peace and the Asgardians believing him to be dead, he was free to move about unhindered. Even Heimdall's gaze was directed towards the ever surmounting chaos within the Nine Realms.

Observing his freshly sharpened blade with satisfaction, he sheathed it and began to work on the sister dagger. His mind once again turned towards Fenrir and his words, "Ragnarök approaches." As a child, Loki and Thor had been told stories of Ragnarök by an elderly palace guard seeking to scare them.

"Out there beyond the branches of Yggdrasil, the giant beast Fenrir lies deep in a cave. When he was free to wreak havoc in the Nine Realms, he brought death and destruction in his wake." said the guard in a crackling voice. Loki sat in a corner with a book only half interested in what the guard was saying while Thor listened to the old man, hanging on his every world. The guard continued his story with a dramatic flair, "It was also said that this creature would bring about the Ragnarök." Thor gasped, Loki rolled his eyes and flipped the page in his book, "The Asgardians knew this and feared what may come to pass and decided to subdue the creature. But Fenrir was wise enough to know that the Asgardians wished to restrain him. When they approached him and presented him with chains, they said it was a test of his might. They challenged the great wolf and said that if he was truly strong, he could easily break the chain. So Fenrir accepted the challenge and broke the chain with ease. The Asgardians came to him a second time with a stronger chain and challenged him again, and once again he broke the chain." Despite himself, Loki slowly found that he was listening to the guard with keen interest. Thor hadn't even taken his eyes from him. "For the third challenge, the Asgardians sought the help of the dwarves' fine craftsmanship skills. They crafted a restraint that they claimed was unbreakable and they handed over a single red ribbon to the Asgardians. When Fenrir saw this he became skeptical and challenged the Asgardians in turn. One of them must place their hand into his jaws and if the restraint was unbreakable," the guard pause and drew in a drag from his pipe that he was smoking, both Loki and Thor waited with anticipation to hear the rest of the story, "he would exact payment. The only one brave enough to face Fenrir's fangs was Tyr, a brave warrior. The creature once again allowed himself to be retrained, but when he found that no matter how much he strained and fought against the fine ribbon, he could not break free. In his anger, he ripped the hand of Tyr and devoured it whole!" He said dramatically to the two boys who listened eagerly to his tale. "Now the great beast waits in his dark prison until the day of Ragnarök, when he will devour the sun and moon and exact his revenge upon the Nine Realms."

"Surely," Thor pipped up haughtily, "a weak and petty ribbon would not be capable of holding back a creature of such strength like Fenrir. I think that you are making this up." The boy crossed his arms doubtingly at the guard who just laughed and petted the pretty golden locks of the boy.

"Weakness is a type of strength in itself." replied the guard. Thor looked at him confused. Loki then spoke up.

"If the ribbon is truly unbreakable, how then will he be freed to begin Ragnarök?" The guard looked up from Thor and coldness entered his eyes.

"The creature will be freed by the spilling of mortal blood." Scrutinizing him one last time, the elderly guard stood up and informed the two boys that they had better go find their mother before they get into trouble. Loki suddenly decided that he did not like that guard and that his story must have been false, a cheap means of getting a scare out of the two boys. Thor, however, devoured the story hook, line, and sinker.

"When Fenrir is released, I shall defeat him without losing my hand unlike the foolish Tyr!" Thor scoffed. Loki snorted disapprovingly.

"You will believe anything you hear, brother. Do not be such a dolt and take to heart everything that guard said." Loki received a slight push from Thor which he returned and soon the brothers were throwing punches at each other until Frigga found the two and came over to break them up.

Loki's mind came back to the present as he polished his blade with an oiled cloth. The curved blade glinted with silver light. Setting the dagger down in his lap, he considered what he had to do. After the destruction of Yggdrasil, Thanos had said that he would grant the god of mischief his own throne, but Loki knew that he would still be bond to obey Thanos, which meant that he would truly have no power of his own.

In order to bring about Ragnarök, Thanos had charged Loki with the ultimate sacrifice that would release the beast Fenrir and bring down his wrath upon the Nine Realms. He thought about his exchange with Thanos after they had exited the cave.

"Truly, it is only a small task." Thanos said, his voice dark with humor, "After the thousands of lives that you took on Midgard, what is one more pathetic mortal life?"

"Why do you need me for this task, surely you can do this yourself." Loki replied bluntly.

"Alas," he feigned disappointment, "it is not by my blade which would bring about Ragnarök, but rather the blade of the god of lies and mischief." Loki was still hesitant and Thanos goaded some more. "I am offering you a throne of power greater than that of the tiny realm of Midgard, a throne that you were meant to rule from. All of your life you have been looked down upon by the Asgardians. Odin was never a father to you and Thor was the golden child, even in exile. The power of the Nine Realms is distributed to those who are too weak to wield it. I simply seek to rebalance the power to those who are more worthy. But this is only possible with your aid." Thanos rested a heavy hand on Loki's shoulder which made the god feel small and powerless. He desperately sought power and validation for his ability to rule. If one life was going to grant him this, so be it. In fact, he knew exactly what life was most forfeit.

Standing up from the stone face that he was perched on, Loki used his power to search for the individual that he had seen through the eyes of the Destroyer. A small woman who had been with Thor and for whom he had a deep attachment to would be the sacrifice. Thor would be made to suffer by Loki's hands in the way that only he could provide, and revenge would be sweet. For all of the times that he was overshadowed and humiliated by the brute, he would personally show him his weakness and just how unfit he was to take the throne of Asgard. It didn't take long for him to find the woman on Midgard, and when he saw her, a sinister smile spread across his lips. Overcoming his trepidation for the events to come, Loki found a path that would lead him straight to the woman of Thor and walked into the void.


Jane woke up to the sound of screaming. She bolted straight up in her bed and rushed into Sophie's room. Sophie was already up with the light on.

"Sophie! Are you okay? I heard screaming." Sophie reached over and took Jane's hand reassuringly.

"It's alright, my dad suffers from night terrors," she explained, "I'm so sorry that he woke you."

"Oh," Jane breathed slightly relieved but still worried, "will he be okay? Do you need to check on him?" Sophie shook her head.

"I'm afraid that there is nothing I can do to help him, I've already tried many times." She said quietly. Helpless and powerless, Jane nodded with sympathy. Looking over at the clock, Jane noticed that it was almost four in the morning.

"What are you doing up at this hour? Have you been up this entire time?" Jane asked Sophie as she realized that Sophie had to have been up before her dad's night terrors.

"No, I woke up about ten minutes ago. Bad dreams." replied Sophie in a matter-of-fact tone. She patted Jane's hand and told her, "You should go back to bed, sleep in as long as you like." Sophie smile tiredly at Jane. Reluctantly, she headed back to her room and as soon as her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep.

Sophie, on the other hand, could not fall back to sleep. She rubbed her aching hand, still burning from that same dream she had again that night. With a sigh of frustration, Sophie threw off her covers and walked down the hall towards the kitchen. When she passed her dad's room, she heard faint, muffled weeping from the man inside. Her throat constricted as she longed to go in there and comfort him, but she knew that he would just push her away. Stepping back from the door, she continued down the dark hall and into the kitchen. She flicked on the lights and poured herself a glass of water from the sink. The dark brown chocolate lab tiredly walked into the kitchen and looked up at Sophie. She sank to the floor and pulled her knees to her chest, resisting the urge to let her tears flow. Jarl came up to her and licked her hand before settling down on the floor next to her with a huff. Sophie smiled and gently scratched behind Jarl's ear which made him yawn contently.

"Oh Jarl, sometimes I think that you and Sten take better care of us than we do." Sophie sat on the floor with the dog's head next to her leg until the dull light of morning began to brighten up the house, dozing off in a light sleep only a few times.

Jane didn't wake up until about nine in the morning herself. After waking up to the screams of Ralph, Jane's own sleep was riddled with bad dreams filled with images of the Destroyer, the invasion of New York, and Thor's lifeless body. Shaking off sleep, Jane took a shower and got dressed. She walked into the kitchen and discovered a note which read:

Out working in the groves with my dad. Help yourself to whatever you find. Be back soon.

Jane decided that this was the best time to work on more of her research. She grabbed an orange from the fruit bowl and quickly went outside to start setting up her equipment. The weather was dense with fog so thick she could barely make out anything twenty feet ahead of her. There was also a chill to the air and the moistness clung to her cheeks. Jane quickly set up her instruments in the field and began writing calculations in her notebook. The equipment, she noticed, seemed to respond strongly in this area. Beaming with happiness, Jane realized just how close she was in reaching a possible area where the Bifrost could possibly touch Earth.

Two hours had passed and as she was deep in her calculations, Jane hadn't noticed a small section of the sky beginning to clear and until a bright light started to pour through the opening. Jane's paperwork fell to the ground as she witnessed the event before her. A figure began to emerge from the column of light and Jane eagerly rushed to meet him when suddenly, a dagger came to her throat.


Sophie was just pulling into the driveway of her home with Jarl panting happily in the seat next to her. She was covered in mud from digging up some irrigation that day and was anticipating changing into some clean warm cloths. Sophie parked her truck and let Jarl out of the cab. She grabbed the shovels that were in the bed of her truck and began heading to the tool shack to put them away. Her dad had come with her out to the groves but left Sophie to take care of some business and to have coffee with his friends.

Carrying the shovels through the thick fog, Sophie noticed that Jarl was acting strangely. He began sniffing the ground and barking wildly in the direction of back field. Knowing Jarl's habits, Sophie became cautious and walked back to her pickup. Opening the center console, she grabbed a small taser.

"Jarl, watch." Sophie commanded in a low voice as she slipped the device into her back pocket. She still carried a shovel with her as Jarl led her to the back field. As she moved quietly onto the field, she noticed two figures emerge from the fog, one small and petite and the other much taller and had the lean figure of a man. As she got closer, she noticed that the man had his back towards her. His hair was as dark as oil and slightly wavy as it reached his broad shoulders. He wore a long forest green and black tunic which struck Sophie as an odd appearance. She heard him speaking in a low, smooth tone. Jane's frightened and uneven voice contrasted against his.

"What are you doing here?"

"That, Miss. Foster, is truly none of your concern." Replied the silky voice as he pressed his dagger gently against the skin of her throat. Jarl had started to move closer to the figure but Sophie held out a hand.

"You should be in prison back in Asgard, that's where your brother took you."

"And yet here I am, however, you misunderstand my motivations, Miss. Foster." Jane's voice hardened as she tried to fight back the shakiness in her voice.

"Somehow, I doubt that." Sophie came in closer, taking her opportunity while the man had his back to her, and raised the shovel to swing at the trespasser's head.

"Either way, you are coming with—" Sophie swung the shovel with all her might but right before it connected with the man's head, his hand shot out grabbed the handle of the shovel. Jane and Sophie both gasped and Jarl began to madly bark at the man.

"Do you think that I did not know that you and that mutt were not behind me all this time?" He roughly wrenched the shovel from Sophie's hand and threw it out of her grasp. He turned to face her and Sophie looked angrily into his cold green eyes. He frame was a lean build but Sophie didn't doubt the power in his muscles after he had deflected her attack so easily. Sophie was just about to set Jarl on him when, faster than she could blink, she was sent hurtling backwards. The wind rushed out of her in a whoosh as she hit the ground. Jarl immediately jumped at her attacker and latched onto his arm. With a cry of pain he attempted to kick out the legs of the dog and shake him off. This gave Sophie just enough time to get to her feet and pull the taser from her back pocket. Jane caught up in the confusion rushed away from the skirmish and grabbed the shovel from the ground. With a fierce shout, Sophie rushed the man and as her body collided with his she dug the taser into his side. The man fell to the ground from the combined force and before he could recover from the shock of what happened, Jane rushed over with the shovel and knocked him out cold.

Both of the girls fell to the ground and panted heavily, both feeling as if they had just run a marathon. Jarl was still growling and barking at the unconscious man but Sophie told him in a stern voice to heel. As she recovered, Sophie looked over at Jane and asked,

"What on Earth happened? Who was that?" A moment passed before Jane had recovered her breath and spoke to Sophie in a very serious tone.

"Loki, Thor's brother."


Mwahahaha! I will leave it there, for now! Where is this all going? The story is really writing itself at this point and I feel like I'm just transcribing it for you guys. Leave me some reviews and let me know what you think! I'm going to attempt to upload at least once a week. =)