Chapter 10: Persuading The Stone
Loki P.O.V.
Loki was walking down the palace hallways. His chains clinked merrily, the ugly sound bouncing pleasantly off the gilded walls. The irony of a discordant noise in such an elegant hall was so much like the irony of raising a monster in such a beautiful palace, that it made his teeth ache.
Someone coughed, reminding him of his shadowing "guards", the Avengers. It would behoove him to be wary around them, for though they would be reuniting them with his children, they were still his enemies. He was aware of this, and aware that he would see his father soon, and his body thrummed on a humming knife-edge. And … he would - might - see his … mother. She was the only one who still held claims on his love and kinship, for the sole reason of her many years of love, and devotion, and comfort. Pity she would want nothing to do with him now.
Drawn from his musings by a startled gasp, his head snapped around to meet the eyes of … Lady Sif. He smirked at her in gloating show of teeth, and made sure she saw his preening. She clenched her jaw in anger, and her eyes narrowed; Loki thought she looked rather like a toad readying itself to ribbit. Amusing. She started forward, only to see Thor and his band of Midgardians trailing behind him. Perhaps they were good for something, after all. She bowed, but looked murderous. His smile's wattage increased, and her face darkened. As they passed through the halls, more and more people came out. Loki raised his chin a notch more, and stood tall through the sickly whispers winding their way into his ears.
"... Monster..."
"... Murderer..."
"... Shouldn't be let out of his cage..."
The whispers did little to dissuade him, indeed, he reveled in them. So this is what they thought of him. Good. He had worked hard to live up to both his fathers and his birthright. He was a monster. This was how they should see him. So, full of this knowledge, the inexplicable freedom of this choice, and a strange flicker of hurt, he found himself in the Great Hall, face to face with his creator. Odin Allfather. Loki said nothing, his smile razor-sharp, and walked to the bottom of the stairs, banging one ankle cuff against the other. The noise reverberated around the walls, reminding him of the earlier irony. He laughed and relaxed his stance.
"I really don't see what all the fuss is about." His voice glided smoothly into the cracks of the silence.
"Do you not truly feel the gravity of the situation? Wherever you and your kin go, there is war, ruin, and death." Odin glared two eyes' worth with his single one.
"And there is not with you and your pet gods?" Loki quirked an eyebrow, sparing a glance at Thor.
"We are not gods. We are born, we live, we die, just like humans do." Odin looked disgusted that he, Odin Allfather and King of the Realm Eternal, was akin to mere mortals.
"Give or take five thousand years." The sarcasm was evident.
"Loki, please." He inhaled sharply as a familiar soft voice rang out. "Don't make this worse." She looked even more radiant than the last time he saw her, only now she was distraught and entreating.
"Hello, mother. Have I made you proud?" He ignored the twinge of guilt that ached when he was deliberately cruel to his mother.
"Enough." Odin's eyebrow slammed down, as did Gungnir. "Enough of the misdirection. Be silent, else I will to curb your tongue myself."
Loki spread his hands as much as he could with the chains and mock-bowed to the king – not his king though, never.
"Now, mortals. What kind of bargain have you struck with Loki?" Odin turned to face Rogers, completely ignoring the one he had once called son.
Loki seethed on the inside, as he watched how Odin had not changed. He was still the arrogant, ignorant, foolish prat that had let him fall from the Bifrost. His mother cautiously stepped closer, but uncertainly remained by her husband's side, glancing from her sons to her husband to the mortals.
Rogers cleared his throat and stepped forward. "We have agreed that Loki will travel with us to Midgard to help defeat Doctor Doom, heal Tony, and rescue Natasha."
Odin's eye narrowed, always suspicious. "And what does he gain in return?" Loki wanted to snort at how everyone always thinks that he has an ulterior motive for every action. Well, he does, but not this time. No, this time is much too precious to miss.
Rogers shifted his weight from foot to foot and cleared his throat again, temporarily dropping his eyes. From embarrassment or anger, it was unknown. "We, uh, have agreed that we, uh, will get his children back for him. He will be coming with us to get them, and -"
Odin shot to his feet, and his glare intensified to the point that his magic was rising around him. Loki felt his own magic struggle against the restraints in response, and curbed his pained wince from the pain it caused. "I will not allow such a thing to happen! Those … monsters were punished and detained in just cause, and I will not -"
"Children?" Frigga's tremulous, shaky whisper cut through her husband's blustering.
Loki turned to see Frigga staring at him, eyes wide and brimming with tears, her hands pressed to her chest and mouth.
"Oh, Loki. Children? And I never knew …"
"No, mother." His voice grew softer, and any rage he might have felt at that, was dispelled by the sheer pain her sympathy showed. "No one knew other than Odin and I, and their mothers' memories were taken by Odin as well. Not only did he steal me from a temple in Jotunheim, my birthright, and my childhood, but he stole my children and their childhoods as well." Loki felt the flicker of hurt burst into a well of despair and rage.
"Oh, my son." Frigga rushed forward and embraced him. He blinked, and accepted the embrace hesitantly. "I am so sorry." It felt right to be in her arms again, like a child, and his cold heart ached with warm agony at the feeling. But it wasn't right, she wasn't his mother. But she had raised him as best she could.
She was warm, and faintly smelled of flowers and perfumes. It was the scent that had comforted him when he ran to her for comfort as a child, and the scent that had always been there to love him. A wash of gratitude swelled over him, and he hugged his mother tighter.
"It's all right, mother. You never knew." He comforted her in a ragged whisper, feeling his throat close from all the emotions welling forth in his chest.
"But he did." She withdrew from him, eyes flaming with a mother's righteous anger, and turned it to her husband. "Odin! How could you do this to our son? How could you take his children and our grandchildren away?" She was a sight to behold, worthy of the title of Valkyrie, and every inch the warrior queen she was, and Loki didn't envy the one her wrath was directed toward.
Odin, somehow, stood strong through the onslaught. "What I did, was in defense of the Nine Realms. The … children were monsters. They are fated to kill Thor and I, and to destroy Yggdrasil during Ragnarok." Loki felt himself go rigid from rage. To hear his children being spoken of so callously, and because of a myth, was incensing to him.
"Ragnarok?" Frigga's eyes narrowed dangerously. "That is a children's story! You know it exists not! It is a myth left over from the last Yggdrasil. Yes, the realms do renew, but my son is not the precursor of such a thing!"
"They are monsters nonetheless." Odin remained unfazed, standing tall like a righteous leader should, and preaching fanatical nonsense like a madman should.
Something in Loki snapped, sending forth a wave of fury and indignation. "How dare you call my children monsters! They were perfect until you took them away and forced them into bestial forms! My daughter almost died because of you, and it was only through my quick thinking that I saved her! Now, Odin Allfather, let my children come home, or I will cause the legend of Ragnarok to become real, and bring a reckoning so great all Yggdrasils will shudder in fear of me! You have a debt to me many times over, and I intend to make you pay it." He was growling at the end, and was aware that he was pacing angrily, and that his hands were trembling with suppressed magic that rose around him like a cloud.
"Is that true?" It mattered not who spoke, as he was drowning in emotions. His veins roared, and his blood was ice. The emotions he had contained for centuries were breaking all barriers, and the torrent overwhelmed him.
He closed his eyes, and the memories of his loved ones slipped harshly by, like a howling gale scratching with nails of ice. "He owes me. He owes me for taking me from my home as a babe, for taking my birthright as a prince of Jotunheim, for filling my head with lies that I was born to be a king, for taking away my birthright as a prince of Asgard. He owes my children for taking away their parents, for culling their childhoods, for denying them their birthrights as heirs to the throne of Asgard, for entrapping them in unnatural forms away from their family. So, yes. I would say he is indebted to me and mine." He spat the last sentence as if it was a dagger he could throw right into his own heart.
"I owe you nothing!" Odin was on his feet, glowing with kingly status and outrage.
"Odin!" Frigga shouted, scandalized, just as Loki, trembling in wrathful vengeance, roared. "You owe me everything!"
"SHUT UP!"
Loki snapped his mouth shut, as his storm was shocked into silence, and stared at the good doctor, who was breathing hard and clenching his fists. Remembering the pain of being thrown around like a doll at the hands of the green beast, wisely decided to not interfere any further.
"Look, I know you guys are gods or whatever, and you're older than me, yadda, yadda, yadda. But the fighting has got to stop. It's not healthy, and it's making me irritated. Odin, you clearly messed up bigtime with Loki and his kids, and you get an all-around asshole title, too. Loki, you seriously stepped in it when you tried to take over my planet, but I do realize that you had reasons, but, seriously? You're not helping anything, least of all your kids. So, please, just shut up and deal with this like normal people."
The doctor finished, and rubbed the back of his neck and his face before slumping his stance and waving a hand. Barton whistled, and Banner sheepishly smiled.
"Atta boy, Bruce." Barton grinned.
"Well, you know. Nobody likes me when I'm angry." The statement had a hint of warning forebodance that made Loki shiver a little.
"He's right, though. Now you can sit here and shout at each other, and not listen to anyone, or you can communicate your thoughts and needs like the civilized people you claim to be." Rogers stepped up like the leader he was and took command of the situation.
Loki found himself nodding approvingly. These Midgardians had a way with words, although rough and crude, was not unlike his own. Still, he detested being treated like a disobedient child.
"Very well. I can if he can." He threw a cold, unfeeling smirk to Odin, and sauntered forward, making sure to annoy him as much as possible.
As always, the Allfather ignored him, and spoke as if the mortals were more important to him than his wayward son. "I will not speak of the conditions listed. The children are monsters, and I will not have them released."
Barton sighed and swaggered up to face Odin. "Look, your highness, or whatever the title is. I know you hate the bastard, maybe as much as I do. I get it. But, you know, you did give us your word that you would let him and Thor help us, and that would be all the aid we get. So, now, you're kinda going back on your word. And what does that say about your ability to be a king, huh? And, also, there is kinda the problem of the Frost Giants. What happens if they get off their frozen rock and take over Midgard, and form alliances with some of the other realms? Peace would be shattered, your realm would be at war, and it would all be your fault. All because you couldn't let your son and grandkids reunite. So, you pick." The agent held up his hands, and rocked back on his heels, exuding confidence in waves.
Oh, that Agent Barton. His way with words was almost akin to that of Loki's himself. His respect for the other rose a few notches, not just from his word mastery, but from the sheer audacity of challenging the Allfather. Perhaps the agent had learned it from Romanoff. He chuckled quietly; the look on Odin's face was delicious. Odin looked as if a dead fish was shoved under his nose. Frigga drew closer to Loki, without a glance to her husband.
Loki, seeing that Odin would need one last shove off the edge, silently stepped across the room, making sure to keep his chains from clinking. He circled the throne as he talked, reveling in the smooth twining of his words in the air. "Think about it, Allfather. If my children are free, then you need not worry about them escaping and turning their wrath upon you. If you aid in freeing them, they will be indebted to you, and will not act against your interests. And in the matter of the Midgardians, just think of the damage the Jotuns can do if they are free to wreak havoc across the realms. Yggdrasil would collapse, and your golden realm would fall with you upon it. But if the Jotuns are diverted now, they will flee back to their ice caves, and be a defeated people. The rest of the realms would be ever so grateful to Asgard for helping to contain the threat, and would surely give recompense in gratitude." Each word was chosen to attain the desired affect, and even the cadence of each syllable was carefully pitched as if to tame a wild bilgesnipe. It was working; the greed in Odin's eye was palpable, continuing the parallels to a bilgesnipe.
"Perhaps … I was too hasty. I will allow you to help the Midgardians, and take back your children. But, they must never set foot in Asgard again, or seek to disrupt the peace or Asgard. After this is accomplished, you must return to your cell on Asgard, unless I or mine give you other orders." Odin stood tall, a regal king of Asgard, and delivered his conditions with all the pomp of addressing a crowd on favorable laws.
Loki felt a wave of hatred for the old man. The only thing to move him was greed. Not love, not family, not decency, not innocence. It was laughable that he had craved his love for so long. And Odin's color was gold; his halls were light. And yet, his heart was cold and dark as the dungeons of Helheim. But he showed none of this.
"Accepted." His smile was predatory. "Now, I would like to be released from these chains, if you would." He offered his bound hands mockingly, making eye contact with the old fool. Blue met with green, and he made sure to show every inch of his disdain and pleasure at besting Odin.
"Allow me, my son." Another pair of eyes with a different blue shone with warmth, as Frigga unlocked his chains with a spark of her own magic.
He rubbed his wrists, and felt his magic rush back into him with all the force of a dammed river. It curled in every fiber of his being, warming him with familiarity, and assuring his strength.
It was good to be back.
Loki stood straight-backed, eyeing the room, and glorying in the feeling of power and rightness. These were his enemies, but perhaps, he could find a way to coexist with them, at least for now. They wouldn't trust him, and he didn't trust them. But he did trust their morality. This would be an … interesting arrangement while it lasted, and he fully intended to enjoy himself. He grinned at his saviors, and folded his hands behind his back, facing all of them.
"So, when do we start?"
His smirk was wide, promising mischief and wonderful chaos to come. It was more than a little insane, but all is fair in love and war, and this is a war. And as the god of chaos, he would be amused at playing the mortals like his pawns. Because war is a chessboard, and he has not lost a game since he first learned how to play.
Okay. Time to apologize. I have no real excuse for not posting, other than the fact that I'm kinda losing inspiration for this. But, never fear, I will finish this. Even if it takes me a year. But I hope it doesn't, for my sake and you guys. Can I just take a second to appreciate all my favers and followers for this fic? You guys are awesome and stick with me as I fumble and stumble my way through this. So, thanks for your support!
I'm really bad at dialogue, and I feel that this chapter dragged and repeated a lot. But I had to find a way to get all the Loki feels into it, and find a way to make Odin look like a douche, as well as find something that would make dick-Odin change his mind. So, sorry for the dialogue-heavy-ness for the last two chapters. Also, if you see any quotes, they might be out of order; it's been a while since I saw the movie.
Since I hate Odin so much, if you fav/follow this story/me, review, or vote, you get to sit Odin down, rant to him, punch him, cuss him out, and generally make him see the folly of his ways. Then, you get to stare at Loki in full regalia from Avengers holding an Australian Shepard puppy. Cue Awwing!