Chapter 7

Loki awoke upside down, his cheek separated from hard metal by a layer of soft fabric. The mage cracked open swollen eyelids to try to take in his surroundings, greeted by a sea of flowing crimson - Thor's cape.. Hazy memories slowly circulated in his muddled mind - turning to throw a dagger, a sword running him through, Thor crying out, passing out as the Thor tossed him over his shoulder and began to run, blinding pain, and then everything had gone dark. Yes, it was all coming back to him. He was dying.

"Thor," Loki groaned in a small, weak voice.

"Save your strength, Brother," Thor admonished. "We are nearly there."

Hanging upside down was never a comfortable sensation, neither was the pain that came from having a battle's worth of injuries jostled. Loki stared absently at his dangling arms, a stream of red running down his gauntlet, blood dripping from his body over his fingers leaving a trail on the ground below. It was a miracle that he hadn't bled out yet.

"Get help! Please! My brother, he's dying," Thor began to scream as they approached camp.

If he didn't hurt so much, Loki might have laughed. How many times had they used Thor's 'Get Help' ruse in battle over the years? Perhaps that's why the words fell so easily and practiced from his distraught brother's lips now. Hopefully Thor remembered not to actually throw him at anyone this time.

"Thor … Loki?"

Loki turned his head toward the voice, catching a glimpse of its owners face … Sigyn. It appeared that his wife had disobeyed him and was on a battlefield of all places. He had clearly told her to stay in Asgard, not that he had actually expected her to listen.

"Thor … here." Sigyn led them into one of the tents. "Lay him on the cot," she ordered with a slight tremble in her voice.

Loki groaned as Thor not so gently heaved him off his shoulder and dropped him to the cot. Sigyn was hovering over him immediately, like a hummingbird, seidr fluttering as she assessed his condition. Exhaustion marred her beautiful features, along with the frown now etched across her face. They had only been married five years. It was really a shame - they were just getting to really know each other.

"What happened?" she asked, the question more directed to Thor, as she began to quickly remove her husband's armor.

"Rather obvious," Loki let out a breathy chuckle. "Someone put a sword through me."

"I am sorry, Brother. I saw him coming," Thor began to babble. "There were too many on you … I thought you were one of your illusions."

"Please learn to tell the difference, Thor," Loki ground out, hissing in pain as Sigyn began to probe at the now exposed wound. The warmth of her seidr began to flow through the wound to try to stop the bleeding and ease the pain. His eyes began to feel heavy. She left, and Loki could hear the sounds of bottles clicking nearby. A potion was in his future, and knowing his wife it would be quite potent. His chances were actually looking a little bit better.

"At least I got to see you end him, Thor," he rasped absently, fighting a feeling of warm delirium. Yes, he was definitely in shock. "I had a somewhat more creative fate in mind, but bludgeoning him with Mjolnir worked too."

Loki turned his head toward Sigyn as she returned to kneel beside him. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears as she tenderly stroked her fingers down his cheek.

"I'm sorry … I should have been more careful."

"Hush," Sigyn whispered softly, placing a finger to his lips to silence him. "I will not be made a widow so easily."

"I am glad you are here with me … even if I don't like that you defied me."

"Maybe if you give me a child, I will have reason to stay home," she teased. He should have been alarmed that she had begun to tie his hands to the cot with rope as she spoke to him, but his mind was too relaxed to care, probably a spell she was able to slip by and cast on him in his weakened state.

"Thor, I need you to hold him down," Sigyn said as she reached out and wrapped her arms around Loki's shoulders. In her hands she had a potion bottle and a leather strap. Thor gently pushed down on his body. "I love you," Sigyn whispered into his ear as she poured the potion into his throat. It was the first time he had ever heard those words from her lips, completely catching him off guard as emotion bubbled up within him. He didn't have a chance to question why she placed the bit of leather in his mouth. Suddenly, his body began to glow and he felt like someone had set him on fire. He cried out in agony from the powerful potion, biting down hard before once again passing out.

Battlefields were all the same in some respects, even the one erupting in the belly of the mortals flying fortress - disorientation, chaos, and pain. Sigyn stumbled through the smoke-hazed corridor, harsh claxons and flashing lights screaming out a warning. Every so often the vessel would pitch, nearly knocking her off her feet as it reminded her she was falling from the sky. Thanos did not plan to stay here – he had a way to get Loki off the vessel. She had to get there before he had a chance to flee.

"Help."

If not for her augmented hearing, the goddess would not have picked up the weak cry of distress. She stopped, torn. Loki was in one direction, a wounded ally nearby – a mortal, who would likely die in a few years as a soldier anyhow. Still, she couldn't ignore one in need. Sigyn glanced down the corridor back toward where the glass prison was located. What chance did she have against Thanos without Thor at her side? The mad titan would undoubtedly try to kill her, might succeed, and Loki could lose his will to fight. Nari's face came to mind and the young goddess shuddered at the thought of him being alone, no mother or father. No … facing Thanos was the job of a warrior, and she was a healer.

"Hurry, Thor," she whispered.

Sigyn's attention returned to the pile of debris and the small weak voice that had drawn her attention. "Someone is trapped," she called out to two men who were running past her. They seemed to freeze, gauging whether she was friend or foe. There was little time for hesitancy. "Help me," she commanded.

Working together, they quickly freed the young woman trapped beneath. Sigyn placed a hand on her head, frowning at the state of injuries. Mortals were so fragile. A gentle push of healing energy stopped a life threatening bleed, stabilizing her enough to move. Sigyn pulled a piece of metal, flat enough to use as a stretcher.

"Help me move her." The three got in position around the young woman and lifted her in unison onto the makeshift stretcher. "Where do you take your wounded?"

Sigyn followed the two soldiers through the maze of corridors until they found a large open room where more mortals were lying on the floor in various states of injury. A tall slender woman with short-cropped brown hair was barking orders to an outnumbered group of what had to be healers. She turned, dark eyes meeting Sigyn. "You can't be in here …"

Suddenly two men dressed in black charged into the room weapons drawn. As the weapons discharged, Sigyn tossed up a magical shield in time to block the projectiles. She dropped the shield briefly, allowing her allies to return fire, before raising it to protect them again. It was a technique she had observed Loki use once on the battlefield to protect archers. Realizing they would make no progress, they fled, the two soldiers who had escorted her in pursuit.

"Peace," Sigyn called out. "I am a fellow healer. How can I help?"

"Jump in anywhere," the woman said.

Sigyn began to look over the area, deciding where she could best fit in when she felt the amulet around her neck begin to warm.

"I'll be back shortly," she called to young healer before she at once transported to Thor.

"No!"

Sigyn materialized just in time to see Loki leaving his glass cell, only it was an illusion. She didn't have time to warn Thor. The god rushed through the image of her husband into the glass prison that used to hold him.

"Are you ever not going to fall for that?" Thanos taunted in Loki's stolen voice.

Thor slammed Mjolnir against the glass cell. The glass cracked slightly, but he mainly succeeded in jostling the glass prison. Seeing that Thor did not break out, Thanos smiled with an maliciousness toward Thor that looked out of place on Loki.

"Thor, God of Thunder. Do you want to know how much your brother begs me to spare your life right now?" Thanos chuckled. "The humans think you immortal. Should we test that?"

Sigyn had just taken a step toward Loki, when Thor's eyes met hers, a stern reprimand to stay hidden lurking in their depths. Suddenly, an energy blast shot from down the corridor, dropping the guard standing next to Thanos.

"Move away please," a voice commanded. Thanos stepped back, raising hands slightly. "You like this? We started working on the prototype after you sent the destroyer. Even I don't know what it does. Do you want to find out?"

Using the distraction, Sigyn made her way to the control panel to open the glass prison. She saw the flicker – too late, and heard a gasp as Thanos used her husband to impale the agent through his chest.

"No!" Thor cried out.

Thanos turned, delight lighting up Loki's features as he caught sight of her. "Wife! You have decided to come stand at my side."

Sigyn cast out with her seidr as she stepped backward, making sure he didn't show up behind her. Loki's illusions were near perfect; the imposter's were sloppy. As he passed the control panel, Thanos stopped and gave Thor one last grin before hitting the button that would drop the glass prison. After closing the hatch, he stalked toward Sigyn. She quickly calculated the possibilities. Thor was on his own. There was not enough time to transport into the prison and back to the ship. It would be difficult even for Loki.

"You're going to lose." The agent continued to speak despite his fleeting life force.

"Am I?" the titan turned and hissed.

"It's in your nature," the man stated. Sigyn's respect was growing for him by the moment. It seemed her husband agreed because she felt a touch of Loki's seidr on him, a message to save him if she got to him in time.

"Your heroes are scattered and your floating fortress falls from the sky. Soon, after I kill his wife, I will have control of one of the greatest mage's in the Nine Realms...where is my disadvantage?"

"You are not willing to be here in person leading this," the agent replied. "You lack conviction."

"I don't think …"

A shot fired from the agent's weapon, blowing her husband's form through the wall. Sigyn cringed – it had to hurt his already weak body, but it gave her a chance. She ran forward, crouching down next to the fallen agent. Thanos still did not move. Yes, Loki's energy had stabilized him a bit. She hated to think of what it had cost her husband. As Thanos stirred and began to get up, Sigyn teleported her and the agent back the medical center.

"Agent Coulson," someone said in surprise, weapons trained on the pair as they materialized in the medical center. The healer from earlier moved to pull Sigyn away, but she batted the hands away.

"He is beyond your care," Sigyn said sternly. "Let me work."

Sigyn channeled healing energy into the weak, mortal body, sealing off the most dangerous hemorrhages. Once he was stable, she summoned two potions from a pocket dimension.

"Pour this in the wound," she commanded the healer who was now kneeling at her side.

Without comment or protest, she uncapped the vial and began to pour it into the wound.

"Hold him steady," Sigyn warned. "This one will burn." The goddess opened the other vial and poured it directly into the agent's mouth. Coulson grimaced as she placed part of her cloak between his teeth. He then cried out as a golden light overtook his body. Sigyn closed her eyes, hands on his chest as she poured seidr in to him, whispering a complex healing spell. Mortal bodies were so frail and it was taking everything she had learned in her career to fight for him. Something wet began to drip from her nose – blood, a sign of magical strain. As the last words of her incantation left her lips, Sigyn felt darkness close in around her. The last thing she was aware of before she passed out was the slight warming of the amulet around her neck. It made her smile. Thor had survived. He would find Loki.