A/N: Wow, an update less than a month after the last one? It's a miracle, I know.

Very exciting things happen in this chapter! We're done sight-seeing in Asgard; it's time for the real plot. I have to admit, I didn't think it would take more than four chapters for this adventure, but I can never really predict what my characters want to do.

Also, once this little adventure is over, I will be posting a sort of prequel chapter, of Loki picking up Darcy and Jane right before he went to get Peter. I am planning on a Tasertricks pairing here, but the main focus will still be Loki and Peter's friendship and their adventures.


The trees were beautiful. There were three of them, planted close to each other, and they had slender silver trunks and long, graceful branches. The leaves were all shimmering gold, and scattered throughout were golden flowers, too, that fluttered and shimmered in the slight breeze that wafted through the garden.

"Mellyrn," MJ said reverently, when she saw them.

"A what now?" Peter asked. MJ stared at them, completely scandalized.

"The trees that grow in Lothlorien? Lord of the Rings?"

"I don't remember them looking like that in the movie," said Ned, and Peter nodded in agreement.

"Ugh," said MJ, smacking her own forehead with her hand. "Never mind."

It was just as well that they had stopped talking; the group had all stopped by the trees. The branches in the middle, Peter could see now, were intertwined closely, and in the very center, a single golden apple hung.

"There's only one?" Peter asked Loki, who had stayed next to them.

"Yes," Loki said. "The apple takes a decade to grow, and the trees will only grow one at a time."

"Huh," said Peter. That was kinda weird, but they were magic Asgardian trees, after all.

They all watched as Dr. Foster stepped forward by herself to pluck the apple from the trees. Peter, to his alarm, felt his Spidey sense going off. It was a low buzz at first, but then as she got closer to the apple, and reached up with one hand to take it, his senses spiked.

Without thinking, Peter darted through the assembled people, and rushed for Dr. Foster. She hadn't seen him pushing through the crowd and was nearly touching the apple when he broke past Thor and the Warriors Three.

"Don't!" Peter shouted, still charging forward, and Dr. Foster paused when she heard him, but it was too late. Her finger brushed the apple, just as Peter grabbed her around the waist, and then a cascade of golden leaves fell around them.

When the leaves had cleared, they were gone.


There was a moment, as the leaves were clearing, that Loki convinced himself he was seeing things.

The Little Spider wasn't gone – no, he couldn't be. But the leaves fell to the ground, and the verdict was the same: Peter and Jane were gone.

"Jane!" Thor cried, running around beneath the trees frantically. Peter's two friends looked slightly less concerned at his disappearance, and in fact, the girl was merely shaking her head and muttering angrily about 'idiot teenager boys'. Stark was trying to scan the trees with a gauntlet that had formed around his hand.

"Loki!" Thor shouted, running up to him. "You can find her, can't you? There are workings you can cast, yes?"

Loki thought quickly. "Maybe," he admitted. Thor took that as a yes and threw his arms around him tightly.

"Thor! Thor, get off," Loki protested. "When I said maybe, I meant it!"

Thor pulled back, confusion on his face, and also on the select few of the wedding party that had come out with them and were now standing silently, watching their exchange.

"The Idunn trees are semi-sentient," Loki explained. "I suspect that if they have transported Jane and Peter somewhere that they do not wish us to find, we will not find them."

"So, what, you expect us to sit around and wait for these trees to bring them back?" It was Stark that had spoken, his eyes flashing with steely anger. Loki wanted to say yes, because any other course of action would most likely be fruitless, but he made the mistake of glancing at Thor, who was looking at him pleadingly, eyes filling with tears.

"No," Loki sighed in resignation. "There is something I can do now."

Thor lit up with hopefulness. "Yes? What is it, brother? What do you require? I will have it brought immediately."

Loki waved a hand dismissively. "Nothing at all, Thor. I will merely be communing with the trees."

Stark, and most of the other guests standing around, were still eyeing him distrustfully, but he could see some measure of respect there, as he strode to the center of the trees, and sat, cross-legged, on the leaf-strewn ground.

"Do not disturb me," Loki warned them, since they all looked likely to do so if they thought he was taking too long. They all backed off a step, except for Thor, who seemed to have appointed himself as his guard. Loki took a deep breath to center himself, and then he closed his eyes, and reached outwards with his seidr.

It was very difficult to speak with semi-sentient beings. Words could not be used when speaking to them, as they did not exactly understand or use language in the same way. Instead, communication was entirely based in imagery and feelings, making it difficult to frame any questions, and tricky to interpret any answers.

The Idunn trees were no different.

When he had used the remaining Infinity stones to build New Asgard, he had not wished to risk meddling in things he did not understand. The Idunn trees, therefore, were fundamentally exactly the same as they had been in Asgard. He had spoken with those trees before, when he was first learning to 'speak' with his seidr. Loki distinctly remembered the condescending amusement coming from them at his fumbling attempt.

These trees, however, did not know him. They were young and new, and he had gotten much better at weaving stories with his seidr, and when he finally opened his eyes again to face his brother and Stark, he felt confident in his interpretation of what the Idunn trees had told him.

"Well?" Stark asked, too impatient to wait on Loki to speak first. He grimaced.

"It is not bad news," Loki hedged. "But they are beyond our reach." Thor's face fell, but Stark's eyes only narrowed.

"Explain."

"The trees test those whom would take an apple," Loki told them. "When they have passed the test, they will be returned."

"Jane will not fail," Thor said confidently, although Loki could tell he was still concerned for his new bride.

"They will pass, I am sure," Loki said. "Now we can only wait."

Nobody seemed particularly happy with that answer, but they all at least accepted it, and settled around in various positions around the Idunn trees to wait.


"Thought you said we didn't need to worry," said Darcy, seating herself next to him on the edge of the fountain.

It had been several hours, and the sky was now lit with the myriad colors of the setting sun. The strange light made the Idunn trees glow and appear more beautiful than they had in the afternoon. Loki wished he could hate them for it.

"I didn't say that," he muttered at last, in response to Darcy.

"No, you didn't," she said. "You just said they would pass. But you're still worried, aren't you?"

Loki stared at her, and then went back to watching the trees without a word. All was quiet in the garden for long minutes.

"What kind of test is it?"

"One of character," Loki responded, clearing his throat. "The trees test the purity of one's heart."

Darcy snorted. "Well, that'll be no problem for Jane. She's a goody-two-shoes."

"I am unfamiliar with that expression," Loki admitted, "but if any person is truly good in their heart, it is the Little Spider."

"See? They'll be just fine," she said. "Anything your friend can do, mine can do too." She half-sang it, with a little laugh that told Loki it was some kind of joke that he didn't get, but he appreciated the sentiment.

The silence fell again, more companionably now, as they awaited the return of both of their friends.


*Darcy's sort-of quoting, a few lines from a song in a delightful musical called 'Annie Get Your Gun'. I highly recommend listening to it, but it will get stuck in your head for days!