Author's Note: Sorry this took so long. I couldn't think what to write but it is done. Thank you for being so understanding. Also I've had issues with the FanFiction webpage.
Disclaimer: Spoiler alert, if you haven't seen Thor yet about half of this chapter was taken right out of the movie dialogue (I just put my own spin to it, slightly).
Ice, Jotun, and An Untimely Ending
Heimdall said, "All is ready. You may pass."
"Couldn't you just leave the bridge open for us," Volstagg asked.
Heimdall shook his head, "To keep this bridge open would unleash the full power of the Bifrost and destroy Jotunheim with you upon it."
"Ah. Never mind, then," Volstagg said quickly. Loki logged that information away for later and looked back the way they had come. Thor started toward the Bifrost then turned back to them and grinned.
"Come on. Don't be bashful." They stepped onto the bridge and were gone. They landed on a snowy cliff and squinted in the harsh glare of the snow. Volstagg slipped and started falling backwards. Thor quickly reached out and grabbed him by the belt.
"Come on, big fella. Up...!" Thor pulled him back onto the ice Loki reached out and dragged the two of them further away from the drop.
"This belt! This belt is now my lucky belt! I will never remove it! Even when bathing," Volstagg exclaimed. Loki snorted.
"You bathe," Fandral asked as they turned around and stared out at the frozen wasteland before them. The whole planet was a massive flattened ring of jagged ice, which was slowly breaking apart. Huge chunks of ice broke away from the outer edges of the land to float away. In the distance they saw the ruins of a Jotun city.
"We shouldn't be here," Hogun said.
"Too late now," Thor replied.
"Actually, it's not. We could turn right around, hop back to Asgard, share a mug by the fire. Could be nice," Fandral argued looking around. Thor ignored him and started to head off.
Loki looked around, anxiously. "Perhaps we should wait," he agreed. Thor turned back to look at him.
"For what?"
"To survey the enemy. To gauge their strengths and weaknesses from a distance," Loki said out loud. To wait for father, he added in his mind.
"I'm liking that. Gauging, surveying. Particularly the distance part," Volstagg said quickly, the others nodded.
"We know all we must. It's time to act," Thor said as he headed onward. Reluctantly, they followed.
"He's just got to swing his hammer," Sif muttered in annoyance as they trudged behind Thor across the frozen wasteland. They shielded themselves from the howling wind and cold with their cloaks as Loki looked around them once again. Volstagg shivered once again as Thor turned back to them.
"It feels good, doesn't it? To be together again, adventuring on another world," Thor bellowed to be heard over the wind.
"Adventuring? Is that what we're doing," Fandral asked.
"Well, what would you call it," Thor queried.
"Freezing," Fandral replied back.
"Starving," Volstagg said forlornly.
"Whining," Lady Sif said pointedly.
"How about a song to lift our spirits," Thor offered.
They groaned in union. "No, not that," Hogun said, voice muffled by his scarf.
"Please don't make us sing again," Lady Sif said.
Fandral nodded, agreeing with her. "If I have to listen to Volstagg's singing voice one more time, I'll fall on my own sword!"
Sif looked at him calculating. "Well, now I'm on board." She and Thor shared a grin as they reached the edge of the city.
Loki looked at the ancient structures of jade and ice that were melting and crumbling around them.
"Where are they," Lady Sif asked as she looked around.
"Hiding. As cowards always do," Thor replied. Watching a bunch of fools freeze, Loki thought as Thor led them onwards towards the central plaza. Loki reluctantly followed.
As they reached the plaza, they sensed something in the shadows. They all reached for the hilts of their weapons as the sentry called to them.
"What is your business here, Asgardian," the sentry asked his voice sounding like ice cracking.
"I speak only to your King. Not to his foot soldiers," Thor said. Loki rolled his eyes hand wrapped around a knife hilt.
"Then speak," a voice rang out in the plaza. Thor turned towards the voice his eyes resting on the balcony of the temple, where Laufey sat, veiled in the shadows.
"I am Laufey, King of this Realm," King Laufey stated eyes narrowed at them.
"And I am," Thor was interrupted by Laufey continuing his speech.
"We know who you are, Odinson. Why have you brought the stench of your blood into my world?"
"I demand answers," Thor said as Laufey stood sizing up Thor.
"You 'demand'," Laufey asked. He seemed amused at Thor's antics.
"How did your people get into Asgard," Thor asked.
"My men in Asgard," Laufey asked, puzzled. "I'd say the House of Odin is full of traitors." He tossed a green garment at their feet.
Fandral who was closer picked up the slightly blood stained garment and looked at it. "Hey Loki, isn't this tunic, the one that was accidentally hit by your spell."
"Give me that," Loki snapped reaching for it. It was the same one he had dressed Kiore in, bloody. Loki gave a stiff nod but Thor was already speaking as he slipped the tunic into his belt.
"Do not dishonor my father's name with your lies. Your men tried to steal the casket," Thor shot back.
"Your father is a murderer and a thief. He stole what was ours, and left our world in ruins. We have the right to reclaim the Casket," Laufey snarled back.
Not when you'd use it to make war against other Realms," Thor said while Laufey laughed, cold and mocking.
"And why have you come here? To make peace? You long for battle. You crave it. I see you for what you are, Thor Odinson. Nothing but a boy, trying to prove himself a man."
"This boy has grown tired of your mockery." Thor took a step towards Laufey but the other Jotuns stepped in front of Thor, blocking his path to their king. The Jotuns stood eight feet tall, terrifying with blue-skinned that radiated coldness.
Loki moved quickly next to his brother and quietly tried to reason with him, "Thor, stop and think. Look around you. We are outnumbered."
"Know your place, brother," Thor snarled and Loki wants to curse him, knock him unconscious, have The Warriors Three drag him back to Asgard and what in the nine realms was taking their father so long to get here.
"You should listen to his counsel. You know not what your actions would unleash," Laufey says as he steps out of the shadows now on the ground. "But I do. Go now, while I still allow it."
While Thor simmered, Loki spoke up, "We will accept your most gracious offer, Your Majesty." Loki keeps his eyes on the Jotun king while the others look at Thor imploringly. Thor continues to stare Laufey down for a moment then relents.
He turned to leave and they all breathed a sigh of relief and started to follow him, when a Frost Giant nearby muttered under his breath. "Run back home, little princess."
Thor stopped in his tracks and Loki went white. "Damn!" Loki moved away from the group as Thor in one quick move, pulled Mjolnir out and swung it, knocking the Jotun clear across the plaza. The others reluctantly drew their weapons gathering in a circle around Thor.
Volstagg looks around at the angry Jotuns approaching them and gives them a fake, nervous grin, "Silly hammer! Has a mind of its own!" his smile falters as ice forms on the Jotuns' bodies, creating armor around them and extending off the ends of their arms like swords.
"I'm really hoping that's just decorative," Fandral said watching the Jotuns approach. Thor left his circle of friends and swings at another Frost Giant. His friends form another circle around him trying to separate him from the Jotuns, as he whirled his hammer around once and caught it with a cocky grin.
"Next," Thor called as Fandral called to Volstagg and Hogun.
"Well? What move, do you think," Fandral asked his eyes never leaving their enemies.
"I say we use "The Norn's Revenge," Volstagg said.
"At this close range? I think 'The Alfheim Lunge' is a better move," Fandral countered.
"Maybe if they were three feet tall! No! How about 'The Randy Valkyrie'," Volstagg says disgusted.
"Shut up!" Hogun rolled his eyes at their bantering but didn't say anything else when they quieted.
Thor took out another Jotun and hell broke out. As Lady Sif took out another Jotun, Loki backed away from an approaching Jotun.
Loki slipped behind an ice sculpture and calls up one of his clones to take his place. He allows the Jotun to back the clone to the edge of a deep crevasse and swipe at him with an ice blade. He smirked as the Jotun's arm passes right through the clone leaving the giant standing there, confused. Loki walked out from behind a structure and shoved the giant into the crevasse. Loki snapped his fingers and the clone dissipated into nothingness. "Pathetic," he remarked as he watched the Jotun fall.
Then he turned back to the battle just as two more Jotuns come at him from either side. Casually he let two of his daggers fly felling both Giants at once, even as he hears Thor yelling, "Come on!"
Glancing around Loki spied Fandral being slung over Volstagg's shoulder. The warriors start to leave and Loki slips after them. Suddenly they hear a foreboding crack in the ice below their feet.
"That can't be good," Loki said as he caught up with them.
"Yes, it could! Might be an early spring," Volstagg said hopefully.
"Volstagg, this is Jotunheim. There never is any spring here," Loki said in exasperation, as they look down. They see shadowy figures moving in the ice, as dozens of Jotun warriors woke up beneath the surface to join the battle. Loki turned to his brother, who was battling a group of Jotun.
"Thor, we must go," Loki shouted to be heard, he noticed that Thor is without his hammer, and is fighting bare handed.
"Then go," Thor calls back not even looking at them.
"There are too many of them," Lady Sif yells.
"I can stop them," Thor says, they hesitate for a moment as the new Jotuns break through the ice all around them.
"Thor," Lady Sif cried out desperately, but Thor ignored her to continue fighting.
"Run," Volstagg yells. They all start to run for the Bifrost site when the ice starts cracking again and there is the sound of thunder in the distance. "What's Thor done?"
"Likely killed us all," Loki snapped even as they are surrounded you an icy cold fog that had sprung out of nowhere. They slowed grouping together as the swirling mist quickly engulfed them, leaving them unable to see.
Hogun took a step back, the ice cracked beneath him and he stilled immediately. Suddenly Thor is standing next to them, having flown into their midst using Mjolnir's powers. "Loki, we have to see," he said as he landed. Loki raised his arms and concentrated, making the mist disappear.
As they see the Jotuns surrounding them Volstagg whimpered to Loki, "Actually, could you bring the mists back, please?"
As the Jotun moved in for the kill, they hear the deafening roar as a hole in the sky opens up, and the Bifrost touches down. Out of the maelstrom came the sound of hooves and Odin came riding up astride Sleipnir, his eight-legged steed. He was clad in battle armor with Gungnir in his hand. The Jotun part as he thundered into their ranks reining in Sleipnir before Laufey.
"Laufey. End this," Odin commanded once they were far enough away that no one could overhear their conversation.
"Your boy sought this out," Laufey remarked.
"You're right. These are the actions of a boy. Treat them as such. You and I can stop this before there's further bloodshed," Odin offers.
"We are beyond diplomacy now, Allfather. He'll get what he came for, war and death," Laufey says. Odin just looked at him grimly.
"So be it," Odin said at those words Laufey swung his ice blade at Odin. Odin retreated quickly and brought his spear down upon the ice. Laufey and the nearest Jotuns went falling backwards in a following wave as the ice cracked beneath their feet. The other Frost Giants turned tail and ran.
"Now! We'll finish them together," he says delighted.
"Silence," Odin bites out as he raised his spear again. The Bifrost enveloped them and yanked them off the ground and up through the hole. Heimdall stood at the Observatory controls when they arrived. Odin pulled Heimdall's sword from the control panel and threw it to him as Heimdall backed away.
"Why did you bring us back," Thor asked confused.
"Do you realize what you've done? What you've started," Odin practically shouted at his oldest son.
"I was protecting my home," Thor replied.
"You cannot protect your friends. How can you hope to protect a kingdom," Odin said calming a little as he turned to the others. "Get him to the healing room," he ordered looking at Fandral. Sif, Volstagg, and Hogun hurried to help Fandral out of the room, and to get away from their angry king.
"There won't be a kingdom to protect if you're afraid to act," Thor continues. Loki nervously backs away as Odin stares at Thor.
"Whatever the cost, the world must know that the new King of Asgard will not be held in contempt."
"That's pride and vanity that talks! Not leadership! Have you forgotten everything I've taught you? What of a warrior's patience, cunning," Odin argues.
"While you wait and be patient, the Nine Realms laugh at us! The old ways are done. You'd stand giving speeches while Asgard falls!"
"You're a vain, greedy, cruel boy!"
"And you are an old man and a fool!" The building became deathly quiet at Thor's words, even Odin fell quiet. When Odin spoke again, there was something terrifying beneath the calmness of his words.
"A fool, yes! I was a fool to think you were ready."
Loki took a step toward his father imploringly, "Father." Odin just turned and gave Loki a look which stopped him in his tracks.
"Thor Odinson... You have disobeyed the express command of your King. Through your arrogance and stupidity, you have opened these peaceful Realms and innocent lives to the horrors of war." Odin plunged Gungnir into the Observatory's control panel. The Bifrost energy built along with Odin's rage and the Bifrost opened at the end of the platform, creating a portal behind Thor. Odin turned angrily to Thor.
"You are unworthy of this Realm," he ripped a disc off Thor's chest. "...unworthy of your title..." he ripped away Thor's cloak. "...unworthy of the loved ones you've betrayed. I hereby take from you your powers." At that point Odin extended his hand toward Thor and Mjolnir went flying from Thor's grasp and into Odin's hand.
"In the name of my father...and of his father before...I cast you out!" Odin shoved Mjolnir at Thor and with a crack of thunder he is hurled backwards into the open Bifrost and disappeared in the vortex, without his armor. Odin held Mjolnir in his hand, then closed his eyes, lost in contemplation, and whispered something.
Loki watched as runes appeared on the side of the hammer, as if carved into its smooth surface. The runes lingered for a moment then disappeared from sight. Suddenly, Odin turned and hurled the hammer into the Bifrost right after Thor.
"Loki get to the healing rooms," Odin ordered as the Bifrost closed.
"Yes father," Loki said quickly retreating, leaving his father alone.
Sif, Loki, and the Warriors three, sat before a central fire watching as Hogun reached into the flames, pulled out some healing stones. As he carefully placed the stones over their wounds they began to glow. He crushed them into a powder and their injuries heal as the glowing powder touched their wounds.
Fandral winced in pain as Hogun healed his gaping wounds, while Volstagg looked at the skin on his arm that was still blackened from the touch of the Jotuns. Loki watched them talk as he is the only one of them mostly uninjured, haven kept his distance during the fight.
"We should never have let him go," Volstagg was saying.
"There was no stopping him," Sif replied, poking at the fire.
"At least he's only banished, not dead. Which is what we'd all be if that guard hadn't told Odin where we'd gone," Fandral said, sounding a lot more cheerful that he no longer had a hole him.
"How did the guard even know," Volstagg asked.
"I told him," Loki said.
"What," Fandral asked.
"I told him to go to Odin after we'd left, though he should be flogged for taking so long," Loki snapped.
Volstagg scratched his head, "You told the guard?"
Loki glared at them, "I saved our lives! And Thor's, I had no idea Father would banish him for what he did."
"Loki, you're the only one who can help Thor now. You must go to the Allfather and convince him to change his mind," Sif said.
"And if I do, then what? I love Thor more dearly than any of you, but you know what he is. He's arrogant. He's reckless. He's dangerous. You saw how he was today. Is that what Asgard needs from its King," Loki asked not expecting an answer he left the room.
Once out of sight he drew his ruined tunic out of his belt and cradled it. Kiore was gone, dead in Jotunheim, he assumed. If not by the Joutn's hands then by the supposed biting cold of the realm. He had seen what the Joutn's touch had done to Volstagg's arm, and held no such hope that a baby could survive that temperature.
His feet took him towards the Vault. He entered it and saw the Casket of Ancient Winters sitting on its stand. He walked over to it slowly, reached out and picked it up off its pedestal. It wasn't cold, he watched as a blueness spread from his hands and up his arms. The latticework behind the Casket started to separate a sign that the Destroyer was roused as a fire started to glow within its black metal armor, as it rattled to life. Loki ignored it as the blueness spread further before consuming his whole body.
There are footsteps approaching him and Loki turns to see Odin burst into the room, "Stop!" Odin eyed Loki with dismay and Loki calmly turns back around to look at the object in his hands.
"Am I cursed," he asked, looking at his blue skin.
"No. Put the Casket down," Odin ordered. Loki obeyed setting the Casket upon its pedestal, watching as his body returned to its normal form and color.
He stared over at his father. "What am I?"
"You're my son."
"What more than that," Loki asked when Odin does not answer Loki realized the truth. "The Casket wasn't the only thing you took from Jotunheim that day, was it?"
Odin looked him in the eye, unable to deny anything, "No. In the aftermath of the battle, I went into the Temple, and I found a baby. Small for a giant's offspring, abandoned, suffering, left to die. Laufey's son."
Loki reeled back at the revelation. "Laufey's son? Why? You were knee-deep in Jotun blood. Why would you take me?"
"You were an innocent child," Odin reasoned.
Loki shook his head, "You took me for a purpose, what was it?" When Odin did not answer he yelled, "Tell me!"
"I thought we could unite our kingdoms one day, bring about an alliance, bring about a permanent peace. Through you, but those plans no longer matter."
Loki's eyes dropped, "So I am no more than another stolen relic, locked up here until you might have use of me." That explained his children, why they were never allowed to remain with him.
"Why do you twist my words?"
"You could have told me what I was from the beginning. Why didn't you?"
"You are my son. My blood. I wanted only to protect you from the truth."
"Because I am the monster parents tell their children about at night?"
"Don't..." Odin was interrupted as Loki spoke again.
"It all makes sense now. Why you favored Thor all these years."
"Listen..."
"Because no matter how much you claim to 'love' me, you could never have a Frost Giant sitting on the Throne of Asgard!" Loki could care less about the throne, his children had been taken because his so called father had never cared for him.
"Listen to me," Odin ordered. Loki just strode away towards the exit, he needed to be alone.
"Loki!" He could hear Odin start to walk toward him, when fell back against a wall, his face contorted in a scream. He collapsed to the stone floor.
Loki, spun around shocked and hurried over to him. He took Odin into his arms, called out. "Guards!" He held Odin till the guards had clattered down the stairs and carried Odin towards his bedroom. Loki followed behind them worriedly.