Six Asgardians felt their breath leave their lungs in a sudden whoosh as they were hit with the frigid atmosphere of Jotunheim. Each of them slowly rose to their feet and squinted their eyes in an attempt to penetrate the darkness that surrounded them. Through the violent flurries of snow, they could make out frozen walls towering over them menacingly, jagged lengths of ice threatening to impale them at the slightest vibration. Loki suppressed a shudder. They shouldn't be here. It was his fault, and he knew it. What had he been thinking? He had never wanted the throne. What had changed?
"If you had been heir to the throne in the first place, Eyra would always have been yours," that treacherous voice reminded him. "Don't start doubting yourself now. You've come too far. You must avenge her. Becoming king is the only way to do so."
Loki gave a violent shake of his head as he wordlessly followed his brother further into the frozen realm. This was not the time to be arguing with the voice in his head. He felt a sudden sense of clarity. He found that he couldn't remember most of the last several weeks. It was as though he had awoken from a deep slumber. He had vague memories of frost giants and Thor's coronation going awry...that had been his doing. Loki's eyes widened as the memories came flooding back. That wasn't him. What was happening?
A cold voice jolted him from his panicked thoughts. "You've come a long way to die, Asgardians."
Loki' breath caught in his throat as he looked up at the massive being who had spoken. King Laufey's red eyes were eerily calm as he surveyed the group before him. Thor stepped forward proudly.
"I am Thor Odinson."
"We know who you are," Laufey sneered.
"How did your people get in to Asgard?" Thor demanded. Loki noticed his grip tightening around Mjölnir and swallowed, willing his brother not to do anything rash.
There was a moment of tense silence as Laufey seemed to debate how to answer this question. "The house of Odin," he began, the corners of his mouth turning upward ever so slightly, "is full of traitors."
Loki felt a large pit of guilt form in his stomach. It was him. He was the traitor who had led the Frost Giants into his own realm. How could he have done such a thing? What would Eyra say if she could see the man he was becoming?
Thor stormed closer to Laufey's throne, seething. "Do not dishonor my father's name with your lies!"
In an instant, Laufey was on his feet, his eyes hardening as he glared furiously at the oldest son of Odin. "Your father is a murderer and a thief!" He snarled. "And why have you come here? To make peace?" The king gave a harsh laugh. "You long for battle. You crave it." His voice took on a scornful tone. "You're nothing but a boy trying to prove himself a man." Loki and the others shifted closer together as they noticed several more Frost Giants closing in on them and looking more than ready for a fight as their arms became sharp weapons of ice.
"Well, this boy," Thor shouted, "has grown tired of your mockery!"
Loki stepped forward, his heart pounding. "Thor," he warned, a slight tremor in his voice revealing the terror he was feeling. "Stop. Think. Look around you. We're outnumbered-"
"Know your place, Brother," Thor hissed, shrugging away from the younger prince's touch. Loki closed his eyes and swallowed hard as Laufey strode toward them.
"You know not what your actions would unleash," the king threatened, a haunted look appearing in his eyes. "I do. Go. Now. While I still allow it."
When Thor made no move, Loki took a deep breath and stepped in front of him. Damned if they would all end up dead because of Loki's own actions. He had to do something to fix this. "We will accept," he gave the Frost Giant his best attempt at a grateful smile. "Your most gracious offer." Grabbing Thor's upper arm, he whispered desperately, "Come on, Brother."
Thor gave one last reluctant look at Laufey before turning to follow his brother back to Asgard. Loki was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when Laufey spoke again, his voice mocking.
"Run back home, little princess."
Loki froze in his steps. "Damn."
As everyone could have predicted, Thor spun around and swung Mjölnir at the king. There was a sickening crack as the hammer connected with the giant's lower jaw, sending him flying backwards and into a wall. They all made to cover their heads as shards of stone and ice rained down on them. Thor grinned, continuing to swing his hammer.
"Next?" He taunted. And all hell broke loose.
The Frost giants converged on them, and they each whipped out their weapons. Loki immediately began flinging discs of magic at their adversaries, managing to shatter several of their frozen arms before they reached them. He could hear the sounds of Sif and Fandral fighting closest to him, but he had lost sight and sound of Hogun, Volstagg, and Thor. He continued to grapple with the Frost Giants surrounding him, his speed and agility his biggest advantage against the larger beings.
"At least make it a challenge for me!" Thor's voice suddenly roared from several yards away. Loki wanted to scream in frustration.
"You idiot!" He shouted furiously. "Stop provoking them! You're going to get us all killed!"
His cry came too late as countless more Giants came at them from all side. One leapt down from above and slammed down three feet from Loki, sending him flying into a rock. His mouth opened to let out a yelp of pain as his chest collided solidly with the hard stone, but all that came out was a strangled wheeze as all the air was knocked out of his lungs. He was sure he had cracked at least one rib. Now was not the time to dwell on that, however. Pushing the pain to the back of his mind, he flipped over onto his back to see the same Frost Giant advancing toward him with a triumphant smirk on his face. Loki frantically tried to muster the strength to perform some sort of spell but to no avail. Closing his eyes, he prepared for the final blow when he heard a cry and a loud crash. He opened his eyes just in time to see Fandral finish off the beast and turn to him with a hand extended. Loki took it and allowed himself to be pulled up, giving the warrior a nod of gratitude. The two split off once again to take on the massive hoard of creatures attacking them.
Loki ducked behind a pillar and cast a projection of himself out in the open near the edge of a cliff. The Frost Giants noticed and ran toward him, ready to attack. His illusion backed away from them, a look of fear on his face as he became backed up against the drop off. The giants dove at him and, in doing so, flew off of the cliff, crashing the whole way down. Loki gave a satisfied smirk and deleted his projection, moving on with the rest of the battle.
He found Volstagg and was fighting side-by-side with him when suddenly the most boisterous of the Warriors Three gave a loud cry. Loki spun around and sent a blast at the giant who had grabbed the bearded man's arm. The Frost Giant toppled to the ground, and Loki caught a glimpse of Volstagg's now very frost-bitten forearm.
"Don't let them touch you!" Volstagg called out with a grimace. Loki nodded and pulled out his twin knives as three giants approached him. The first two he did away with easily, but as he ran to attack the third, the monster caught him hard by the arm. Loki's chain-mail armor crumbled and fell away from his forearm, but what happened next shocked him. As the giant's hand came in contact with his skin, he did not feel a burning or freezing sensation at all. Instead, the same shade of blue as the Frost Giant's skin simply spread down his arm and into his hands and fingers. He stared at it with wide eyes before looking back up at the ice giant who was gazing at him in surprise. With a grunt of rage, Loki drove his knife into the giant's heart and then looked back down at his arm.
The blue faded, and Loki felt his heart rate escalate. "No..." he murmured, looking around him frantically. This couldn't mean what he thought it did. It just couldn't. He heard the voice in his head give a cruel laugh.
"No wonder you've never fit in. Just think of it this way! You haven't actually betrayed your people. Just the people who have lied to you your entire life!"
"SHUT UP!" Loki roared as he drove his knife through another giant. Sif, who was fighting nearby, gave him a strange look but said nothing.
A strangled cry was heard, and Loki whipped around to see Fandral impaled through the chest on a sharp ridge of ice. He immediately fired a shot at the Frost Giant responsible, who crumpled to the ground upon impact. Hogun and Volstagg rushed forward to lift their friend off of the ice blade that had been shot through him.
"Thor!" Sif shouted, but the Thunder God made as though he had not heard her. Loki let out a growl of frustration.
"We must go!" He hollered, continuing to fight off the giants.
Thor seemed far too pleased with the outcome of this trip 'looking for answers.' "Then go!" He bellowed before throwing Mjölnir, sending the hammer through a line of Frost Giants. It knocked into most of them before flying back to Thor's hand.
There was a sudden cracking noise, and each of the Asgardians froze, slowly turning to see a huge ice beast emerging from a corner. Loki felt his heart drop as the creature leered at him hungrily.
"RUN!" Volstagg roared, lifting the injured Fandral onto his back. Loki, Hogun, and Sif all followed, but Thor continued to swing his hammer around, admittedly making short work of many of the Frost Giants. Loki turned back, determined to retrieve his brother, but the ice monster let out a roar, and he quickly retreated again, realizing there was no way to get back to Thor.
The beast continued to bound after the party, causing pillars of ice to come crashing down around them. They sprinted frantically toward the point of the bifrost when there was a flash of lightning behind them. Loki turned to see the ground collapsing underneath many of the giants, the hole widening quickly. They continued to run, but Fandral gave a painfully satisfied laugh as the sinkhole swallowed the ice monster pursuing them.
The ground continued to crack underneath them, but they easily dodged any obstacle that appeared. "Heimdall!" Volstagg cried as they reached the spot they had arrived on. "Open the bridge!"
Just then, a huge claw shot up out of the ground. With a roar, the ice beast pulled itself up in front of them. All they could do was stare in horror as the monster advanced on them. It reared up onto its hind legs, opened its wide, gaping mouth, and paused as it stared at something behind them. From out of nowhere, Thor flew into the monster's mouth and out through the back of its throat. The best crumpled to the ground and slowly slid off of the cliff behind it. Thor landed in front of them with a triumphant smirk on his face. That quickly faltered, however, as he took in the sight of the hundreds of Frost Giants that now surrounded them. The six friends stared around them, quite sure there was no way out of this.
Suddenly, there was a loud crack in the sky as the bifrost opened and Odin appeared on his six-legged steed. The Frost Giants scattered backward, staring at the All-Father with something akin to fear in their eyes.
"Father!" Thor exulted. "We'll finish them together!"
"Silence," Odin hissed at him. Thor's face dropped in confusion and hurt.
Laufey rose up the the All-Father's level on a length of ice. "All-Father," he smirked. "You look weary."
"Laufey," Odin sighed. "End this now."
"Your boy sought this out," Laufey growled.
Odin nodded. "They were the actions of a boy. Treat them as such. You and I can end this here and now before there is further bloodshed."
"We are beyond diplomacy now," Laufey swore. "Your boy will get what he came for. War." He looked at Loki and his companions. "And death."
"So be it," Odin conceded, and with that, the bifrost opened, and they were pulled back to Asgard.
"Do the Frost Giants still live?"
Alicia looked up from unpacking her bags. "Hello?"
No one answered. Her brow furrowed. Where had that voice come from? She walked around her bed and out into the medical center she was currently staying in. She had never studied medicine, but a few years back she had met a doctor, Brett, who did a lot of work with Doctor's Without Borders. He welcomed her as an assistant any time that they happened to be in the same country. Currently, they were in Nepal, where their main focus was treating girls who had been rescued from various brothels in the area.
With a sigh, Alicia turned back into her room. She wasn't unused to hearing voices every now and again. She assumed that it had something to do with the powers that she had. They sometimes manifested themselves in strange ways. She pushed those thoughts out of her head and sat down on her bed with a sigh. She was worried about Tony. He had been upset that she had to miss his birthday party, but when she told him it had something to do with her past, he had relented. She stared at her phone, fighting the urge to call him. She missed him terribly, but she honored her promise to Natasha and Coulson that she would remain isolated until they had further answers.
Alicia laid back on her bed and was pondering her current situation when she heard another voice.
"When I'm king, I'll hunt the monsters down and slay them all!"
Alicia blinked. What in the world was she hearing?
Suddenly, she was hit with a huge wave of both physical and emotional agony. She cried out and clutched at her torso, feeling sharp stabs of pain at her ribs. She felt a kind of despair she had never come close to feeling in her life.
'What is happening?' she sobbed to herself just before the world went black.
A/N: Another chapter up! Any guesses as to what is going on with Alicia? Loki? I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I should have another one up soon enough!
RedLilly31: I am alive! So sorry to keep you waiting! Thank you so much for sticking with me even with my major delays! I'm so glad that you enjoyed All of Me! I hope In this Life continues to hold up to your expectations!