Thor: The King of Nothing.
Summary: "(An AU with Loki "surviving" Thor 2, and other major/minor changes) After saving his brother's life, Loki is unexpectedly granted a second chance- but with a catch: he will never be allowed to leave Asgard again. Now, trying to regain the trust of his father, brother, and former friends, while at the same time trying to keep his crumbling sanity and soul intact, his life has never been more difficult. But when he's forced to decide whose side he's really on when "home" is attacked by an enemy only he can stop, Loki may find that dying may have been the best thing that could have ever happened to him."
Warning: "This will be a relatively tame fanfic, with the exception of some blood, violence, angst, some language, a character death or two, and other adult situations. So, to be on the safe side, we'll be going with Rated T. I have watched both Thor movies and the Avenger's movie, but this does not mean that I am perfect and/or know absolutely everything there is to know about, and I'm bound to forget or misuse something. So, with that, please forgive me if I screw up, and just enjoy the story."
Disclaimer: "I do not own Thor. Please don't ruin my day by thinking I do."
N._.s._.S
Chapter Eleven: Woman May Care.
"As usual, there is a great woman behind every idiot."
- John Lennon.
There were no more strikes of thunder the entire while as Loki made his way back to the city, and this worried him for several reasons. The first was pretty obvious: if Thor wasn't fighting, it could mean that he was either seriously injured, or worse.
The second reason was that if Thor couldn't take down the Space Dragon by himself, then how the hell could Loki even think for a second that he had a chance?
It was no secret anymore that Loki had only won his victories by being conniving and cruel, and there was no small amount of luck involved, either- which Loki knew but would never, even if it meant his life, admit.
Even now, even after being brought back from the dead, he had his pride-
And damn the consequences of keeping it.
The Gods would surely allow him that much, wouldn't they?
He ended up having to double-back twice and taking several different paths due to the intense flames- he couldn't risk getting burned now, his body was barely holding up as it was; and he still had the dragon to deal with, regardless of if there was anyone left who would (or still could) back him up.
But how could he beat the dragon? It had already proved that his ice was no match for it. Certainly, trapping it sounded like a more viable, realistic option rather than killing it- that was probably what Thor tried (and failed) to do, after all- and besides, Loki was sure that he didn't have enough power in him left to do that much, either.
As he rounded another corner, he saw Jane standing alone near a crumbling out-post building. Her dress was torn, her hair was a mess, and she looked pretty shaken up, although she (thankfully) didn't look hurt.
She saw him and put a hand to her heart, as if he'd scared her, "How did you-?"
He didn't let her finish. "Where's Thor?"
Loki's already uneasy heartbeat rocketed into overdrive as she just wiped tears away from her startlingly dark eyes and shook her head, utterly refusing to look at him.
"He… he disappeared."
Her voice was shaking.
She was scared.
Loki couldn't seriously consider just leaving her here, could he?
What if Thor really was gone this time? His wife would certainly be lost in the wreckage and eventually killed out here by something if he left without her.
It would be even harder to live with myself.
"Come with me, then, Jane," Loki finally told her, just as the thought struck him that the others, that even Odin, had left Jane out here. Was this battle so intense that they couldn't afford to bring her along or offer some protection? "It's not safe for you here."
The normally fiery young woman just nodded.
"What happened to the others? To Odin, Heimdall, Sif, and the Warriors Three?" He asked as they went along, "Did they all head toward the castle?"
"Thor thought you were dead," She told him quietly, instead of answering his question, and Loki turned to see that she was smiling a little, "He'll be so happy to see that you're back again."
"Let's hope my brother is still able to say such a thing himself."
N._.s._.S
As they moved on, Jane quickly brought him up to speed on what had happened.
Apparently, right after throwing Loki into the abyss, the dragon had flown off, his work apparently done. It had almost escaped to wherever it had come from, but Thor had brought back to ground using the powerful strikes Loki had seen during his fight with the alien.
Then, Thor's thunder and the dragon's fire had collided, causing an explosion.
Thor had disappeared, practically into thin air, after that.
The others had left to search for him.
"Why did they leave you here?" He asked, quietly, "Even if Thor's… gone, they should have at least either taken you with them or at the very least offered you protection."
The woman before him simply shrugged.
"Lady Sif was supposed to stay, but she left after Thor disappeared."
"What?"
If that was true, Loki swore he would kill her. Leaving Thor's wife to die when she'd been ordered to protect her was unforgivable in the God of Mischief's eyes.
Especially if Thor was actually…
If he was…
Loki found he couldn't force himself to even think it, let alone say it.
"He's not gone."
The woman must have known exactly what he was thinking, and he looked over his shoulder at her, only to find that her smile had grown a little stronger.
"He'll come back when we need him most," she said, "He always does."
"He does, indeed," Loki agreed, quietly, turning back and carrying on, with the woman following closely behind, her dark eyes, formerly dark and scared, suddenly lighting back up to life again.
Thor, if you die here, I will personally drag you back down here myself.
N._.s._.S
The dragon had certainly put up a fight up to now.
Just in case they were attacked, Loki had made another staff and dagger of ice, and offered the dagger to Jane, who had taken it, but only after Loki assured her it was only if he failed to protect her.
"No need for us both to be killed now," he'd reminded her, "If it comes to that, let me assure you that you will be the one who will get out of her alive."
"Thank you."
It was the second time she had thanked him, but Loki found that answering it was still practically impossible for him. He wasn't used to being thanked, especially for odd things like this. Wasn't it his duty to Thor to protect Jane when he wasn't around to do it himself?
He was absolutely positive that Thor would do the same for him if put in the same situation.
As they approached the castle, the dragon flew overhead, and while it didn't see them, it unknowingly came close to burning them both to a crisp as flames shot right in front of them. Loki's ice didn't do much against it, shattering almost instantaneously when presented with the powerful blaze.
Loki swore as the ice melted before his eyes and pulled Jane away as the shield imploded. A small shower of scalding hot water got him in the side of the neck and he instantly fell onto one knee, scrubbing at it viciously with the palm of his hand as Jane knelt next to him, dark brown eyes wide with concern.
"Not even strong enough to hold off a small flame," he berated himself, quietly, "Damn!"
"Are you hurt?" Jane asked as he straightened up.
"I should be asking you the same-"
"But your skin, it's-"
"Burning," Loki finished for her, shortly, "Yes."
Now he had a dilemma. Hot water wasn't as terrible as, say, actual flame, but it was bad enough that it would spread if he weren't careful. He could either let it burn out the rest of his power…
Or he could reveal his Frost Giant self and save himself the pain.
… In front of Jane.
No. Not happening.
He'd just have to deal with it.
"That doesn't look too good," Jane persisted.
"It's just water."
"Your skin is practically boiling in on itself!"
"It looks worse than it actually is."
"Liar."
Loki grimaced.
N._.s._.S
Hope you liked this one!
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