The warriors three along with Sif, in all their glory, headed towards Heimdall and the bifrost. The rainbow bridge was ghostly peaceful. Too peaceful. They walked in a formation of a triangle. Hogun in the top. Sif and Volstagg were on the outer sides. Fandral protected their backs.

Sif walked on the far right side. She fell when something grabbed her ankle. Volstagg reacted immediately. "Chitauri!"

The hands of the Chitauri could not be mistaken by something else. It had hung on the end of the rainbow bridge, waiting to snatch someone's ankle. Hogun drew a sword. Sif pulled her leg away from the grip of the chitauri. She fell back and crawled as fast as she could backwards, to get as far away as possible from the beast. The chitauri climbed onto the bridge and revealed its true size.

Volstagg sniggered. "Four fantastic warriors against one beast. I like those odds!"

He had just finished that sentence when another chitauri pulled itself up from a hanging position from the bridge. Hogun paled slightly but remained collected.

Don't underestimate the enemy! Never.

"Two beasts against four warri-"

Another chitauri showed up. Now the beasts were three.

"Showtime!"

Sif, the goddess of war, strode into action. She targeted the chitauri's neck. It was however prepared and brushed her off like a fly. She picked herself forward and launched herself again. This time she had a bit more well planned attack.

Fandral crept closer another beast like a cat. His target was to confuse the beast as he moved around and teased it with his dagger. Volstagg chose another approach, to simply swing his sword with might. Not really caring where his sword hit, he shot forward.

Hogun drew a small significant three egged dagger from his pocket.

…

Down at the stable-ground, Gwen faced a new challenge. The horses seemed threatening to her. They were big and snorted constantly. Their breaths steamed in the chilly air. Her only threat was not only the horses. Loki had completely dropped the lover's act. He was finally free from her and was determined to make sure his little act gained his much longed for freedom. To be the eternal trickster was a glorious purpose.

She had nowhere to go. Loki captured her between his arms. "If you try something... I swear I'll hunt you down!" Loki warned her. The threat lingered in the air.

Gwen's back was pressed against a big coarser. She had never mounted a horse before, let along to actually ride. This was her debut. The guards were already seated in their saddles. The horses moved around, slightly of worry. It sensed her own nervousness.

"Don't be so foolish that you will take this opportunity to talk because you are out of my sight," he told her degradingly. "You stand no chance anymore. Your little illusions are harmless tricks!"

Gwen wasn't the person to simply accept insults as they washed over her. "Watch out or I'll burn your palms again!" she warned him, pointing a finger to his chest.

He rolled his eyes. "You are nothing, remember that. I wouldn't mourn your memory for too long if you left this world."

"I don't think it would be good for your newfound life of loving if you killed me." She wiggled an eyebrow. "Wouldn't that ruin your image?"

He chuckled. "I could charm a serpent to poison you by a single bite. I could, by a single flick of hand, make you slip from your horse and break your neck. The water that soothes your thirst might be deadly. Watch out!"

She gulped. "I will be out of your way. Isn't that good enough?" Gwen stared into his emerald eyes. He hid something. A new master plan, perhaps?

"I will not feel safe until you're out of my realm!"

"Watching your back, are you?"

"Get onto the horse!" he ordered and stepped back. Loki glanced quickly at Thor further away. He smiled smugly, their conversation had probably fooled Thor that it was a proclamation of love. That idiotic oaf! He sneered and casually prowled towards Thor. He didn't waste a look on Gwen as she left the palace riding the horse.

"I know it's going to be hard to be away from your lady." Thor, that idiot, had a understanding look on his face. Loki was amazed how easily he had pursued this trick. Everyone were dancing to his flute. If everything went according the plan, he would become a war hero and Odin would never have another option than to release him from his imprisonment.

Loki hummed. They walked alongside in silence. The deeper they came into the palace the more it buzzed of anticipation. Thor turned to Loki; "Do you know anything of this?" His brow was raised questioningly.

Loki shook his head and kept his gaze low, appearing quite tame. They entered the throne room once again. This was turning into a habit.

The whole court was present. The elderly with high positions remained in the foreground. The younger with less experience stood in the background, simply observing. When Thor and Loki walked in they found that one particular god had traveled far only to present in the court.

Loki groaned when he saw who it was. Balder.

Balder, the fair, the most loved god of all Asgård. He spread light all around where he walked. It was simply impossible to not adore him. His beautiful features and goodness were delightful. Loki detested him. He hated the god who had everything, everyone's love and respect, Balder had earned it though. He was so utterly good that it was distasteful, from Loki's perspective!

Balder was in the middle of a speech. "We are faced by Thanos!" Balder spoke and gained everyone's attention easily. "But I can assure you that we will not loose this battle! This is merely a test!"

The king of Asgård showed himself. He walked out of the shadows. "Balder, my dear friend, do not be blinded by the glory of war!" Odin said with an amused tone.

"My king," Balder said and fell to his knees. "I do not wish to-"

"My son," Odin said. He put a hand on Balder's shoulder. "In times of war, we're all equal. Stand up and join us."

Balder looked up. His beautiful eyes were filled with fire. "I'll do as you wish, my king."

Odin couldn't help but chuckle slightly.

Loki scowled. He clenched his fists behind his back.

Balder caught the scowling god of mischief in the masses. "Loki, my friend! How are you? I have heard so much about you lately!" His arms were opened, inviting an embrace. Balder walked towards Loki with a charming smile.

Loki weighed on his feet. He decided to answer Balder's questions with his own. "Balder, long time no see, how is your blind brother, Höder?"

Balder dropped the pace. "Well, he is just as excellent as usual. He is the best swimmer and boxer of Asgård and he's handling weapons perfectly, despite his eye sight."

"The bow too?" Loki sneered and raised a brow.

"Yes, he can even shoot an arrow through the keyhole of a door a hundred meters away!" Balder's voice was filled with pride. "He is magnificent, my brother, he can target by his hearing! Truly amazing."

"A blind archer. That sounds interesting." It would be a shame if someone tricked your dear blind brother to shoot an arrow through your heart.

"Loki, I have heard so many sad stories of you lately. I am so glad to see that you have decided to repay your dept by joining us today! You are forgiven by me." Balder truly had the ability to light up a room. People around Balder smiled towards Loki. They gave him a second chance, all because of the fact that Balder did so. Balder was so good. So untainted. It was impossible to not follow his lead. "We need to know where our allies are in times like these."

"I agree!" Thor boomed.

Balder turned to the thunder god. "Mighty Thor. My dear friend, we will be fighting alongside this time."

"No spar this time," Thor agreed and smiled.

Their attention turned to Odin. "Thanos is behind this war. He fled from the Elders of the Universe to come here and disturb our freedom. His motive is foolish and his goal is unreachable. This beast only craves power and the tesseract!" Odin gave Loki an eye of reprimand when he uttered the last word.

...

The three beasts were defeated. The warriors breathed heavily from the heavy 'work-out session'.

Hogun turned to the bearded warrior. "Volstagg your fighting technique is beyond words!"

"Do you admire me to that extent, my dear Hogun?"

"I do not admire, I am alarmed, for your technique does not appear to be neat at all!"

Fandral treated a wound in Sif's shoulder. He tied a bandage tight around the wound. "It's merely a scratch. Nothing to worry about."

"It is foolish to get wounded so early on," Hogun addressed.

"Shut it!" Sif hissed.

"Is your ego damaged, dear Sif?" Volstagg teased.

Sif scowled at him.

Fandral sensed an argument and immediately switched topic of the discussion. "We are here for a cause, not to quarrel, dear friends. Heimdall is our priority."

The sound of something that could mistaken by a midgardian elephant herd got their attention. The three warriors were known for not backing down against bad odds, but they were clearly outnumbered. Hundreds of beasts welled out of the bifrost.

"Run!"

...

Odin rode his mighty Sleipner. The eight-legged horse was his companion in war, always trusted and always brave. Loki smirked at the sight. Sleipner had been a gift to Odin many years ago. Sleipner was a result of an-, well, experiment. Loki had however never uttered a word of how he got the horse, except for the mundane 'I found him wandering around' – lie. Not one of them would understand. So he let it be. One thing that concerned him was the fact that Gwen apparently had read about the story in a midgardian book. Where did the midgardians keep their sources?

Loki was not trusted a horse. He was the only one standing, since the rest were on horsebacks. Even the lowly soldiers had their own horses. He stared into the backs of Thor and Odin and down to his hands, which were tied together by chains. Oh, the irony! He had only regained his freedom so he could get handcuffed again.

"Men and women of Asgård!" Odin's voice reached the far ends of the great army. "Asgård's safety is threatened. We all face a new enemy." The army remained calm, yet the sensation anticipation of was there. "I'll let you know that when we wake up tomorrow, there will be freedom in our realm. We will not fail!"

The army cheered.

Odin silenced them. "This day will go into the history books of the day we defeated our enemy, Thanos, a day of glory!"

The army turned around. They faced the enemy line with confidence.

Loki scanned the area with discomfort. The chains around his wrists and ankles made it hard for him to move around. The battle was soon there. "Father, will you not release me from the handcuffs?"

"This time, my son, I will do something I'll regret. I am going to twist my own word of promise, as you have done so many times before. Loki, it's time you face a fair battle." With a meaning look from Odin, Loki knew that the king had seen through his lie.

"Am I supposed to fight in chains? You just sentenced me to death!" He tried to appeal to Odin's merciful side. "Your own son-"

"Loki, you have cheated your way through life! It is time you see how your tricks affects the people on the other side. Your foolish behavior on Midgård is just one of many wrongdoings... all because you desired a throne." Odin shook his head.

"It is my birthright!"

"Your birthright was to die!" His line was harsh, he admitted it. Odin's features softened as he saw Loki flinch. "Just as we all are meant to die, you are not an exception." He stared into the eyes of the young ex-prince. With those words, Odin rode off.

Question to the readers: What do you think of the fact that Loki is fighting in chains?

A/N: Balder makes an appearance! (he's a Gary-Stue in the myths too...) Yes, he and Loki weren't the best of friends and if you read into the myths, you may find out what's bound to happen in the future... (I hinted about it in the chapter actually)

So, we are getting quite close to the end of the first act... keep on reading!