Soooo my lovelies, this marks the end of Thor, but not the end of the story. Stay tuned for more adventures... the next few chapters will be sort of "filler chapters" because I want to fill in at least some bits and pieces of the one year span until The Avengers begins.
And I'll drop a piece of candy too, just for you... the filler chapters will focus not just on Kara but on one more character. I'm hoping it's going to be a pleasant surprise ;)
Now enjoy, darlings~ :D
P.S. Every Thor/The Avengers/Thor: The Dark World character belongs to the wonderful Marvel. I own nothing, except my OCs :)
Entry #10
"Would you like to see the bridge we spoke of?"
"Uh... sure..."
oOo
Location: The Royal Palace / the Bifrost observatory, Asgard
Date: July 06 / 07, 2011
"Welcome to Asgard."
At Loki's greeting, Laufey's lips curled into a trace of smile; so it seemed the boy was indeed intending to keep his word and let them kill Odin now, while he was in his most vulnerable state. A traitor... but Laufey was willing to trust the Trickster, for the chance to not only be rid of his enemy, but to also regain the casket which Loki had promised to return afterwards.
Motioning one of the other Jötuns to follow him, he left the Bifrost building with Loki whilst the other two giants posted themselves as guards at the entrance, at both sides of Heimdall, whom the young prince had frozen solid earlier. By the time they had reached Odin's chambers, Loki had left them; for his plan to work he couldn't be seen anywhere near them inside the palace.
"It is said that you can still see and hear what transpires around you." Laufey now said, perched onto the bed above Odin, once he had discarded Frigga to the floor after she had killed his companion. "I hope it's true so that you may know... your death came at the hand of Laufey."
Raising his hand in which he had conjured an icy dagger, he suddenly shouted in pain when a blast of energy hit him straight in the back, throwing him across the room. Looking up to see his attacker, the Jötun finally realized his mistake when he sighted Loki pointing Gungnir at him.
By then Thor and the others had just arrived back to Asgard, with Heimdall having managed to break free of his icy prison and kill the two Jötuns on the bridge.
"Get him to the healing room! Leave my brother to me..."
Taking off into the air, he launched at full speed toward the palace; he had no idea what he would find upon arriving there, nor how he would be able to fix things if Loki insisted on fighting. The promise he had made to Kara before leaving – that he would not kill Loki – was still present in his mind, as was the painful and concerned expression on her face. Oh, his brother was such a fool, to have the love and care of a wonderful woman and to so easily discard that... and for what? For a throne?
Meanwhile in Odin's chamber Frigga now watched with concern as Loki stepped into the room, in between her and the fallen Jötun.
"And your death came by the son of Odin." he said.
Before Laufey could utter a word, the young prince again fired the weapon, disintegrating the Jötun king.
"Loki... you saved him." Frigga said with a relieved smile, running into his arms.
"I swear to you, mother that they will pay for what they have done today."
It was in that moment that Thor finally arrived at his father's bedchamber, stopping in the doorway.
"Loki!" he called out.
Watching him in surprise, Frigga then rushed to embrace him.
"Thor! I knew you'd return to us." she smiled.
Her humor faded away, however, when she sighted the stern look on his face as he watched his younger brother.
"Why don't you tell her? How you sent the Destroyer to kill our friends... to kill me?"
"What?"
"Why, it must have been enforcing father's last command." Loki replied as they now stood at either side of the bed.
"You're a talented liar, brother, always have been."
"It's good to have you back. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to destroy Jötunheim."
With that retort the younger prince again fired Gungnir, blasting Thor through the wall. Rushing past Frigga with no intention of stopping to explain anything, he practically ran to the stables from where he retrieved a stallion to ride out to the Bifrost. His only concern at the moment was that his idiotic brother would somehow arrive there before he could get a chance to fully play out his plan.
To his great relief Thor was nowhere in sight by the time he had arrived at the keep; entering, he set the spear into the slot which Heimdall used to activate the Bifrost. With the new energy the entire building soon turned into a massive weapon, now directed at Jötunheim, whilst inside Loki encased the energy tendrils in ice after retrieving Gungnir. He knew Thor would arrive sooner or later, but he would not have that buffoon stop the destruction of that realm.
Indeed, moments later the blond Æsir finally arrived at the Bifrost keep, for a moment unable to do anything but stare at the sight before him.
"You can't stop it." Loki retorted. "The Bifrost will build until it rips Jötunheim apart."
"Why have you done this?"
"To prove to father that I am the worthy son. When he wakes, I will have saved his life... I will have destroyed that race of monsters... and I will be true heir to the throne."
"You can't kill an entire race!"
"Why not?" he scoffed. "What is this newfound love for the Frost Giants? You... you would have killed them all with your bare hands."
"I've changed." Thor retorted.
His reply was followed by Loki approaching him and hitting him over the cheek with the tip of the spear.
"So have I... now fight me."
When Thor failed to react, the dark haired prince again swung the spear, knocking his brother onto the floor.
"I never wanted the throne! I only ever wanted to be your equal." he scowled.
"I will not fight you, brother!" Thor retorted while moving to his feet.
"I'm not your brother... I never was."
"Loki, this is madness."
"Is it madness? Is it? Is it?! Come on, what happened to you on Earth that turned you so soft? Don't tell me it was that woman!"
With Thor failing to answer, Loki narrowed his eyes in what could have been seen as a look of disgust.
"Oh... it was..." he growled. "Well maybe, when we're finished here, I'll pay her a visit myself!"
Biting back his anger at his brother's threat, the blond Æsir finally chose to speak.
"And do you think Kara would approve of what you're doing, brother?" he snapped back, his fist clenching around Mjölnir's handle until his wrist turned white.
"Leave her out of this!" Loki growled, baring his teeth.
"I will not! Do you even know how fortunate you are to have such a woman's heart in the palm of your hand? Why would you cast aside her love by doing such things?"
With Loki now the one who failed to answer, Thor ultimately decided to risk pushing him further in the hopes that he could still convince him to stop before Jötunheim was obliterated.
"You want to know why I won't fight you? Because of her... because I don't know if I can hold back once I start... because she loves you so much, that she made me swear I wouldn't kill you."
Silence followed his words until Loki suddenly burst out into laughter.
"Only you would have a will weak enough to succumb to your feelings for a woman. That's why you would make a poor king and that's actually why you won't fight me. Because unlike you, brother, I have a will of steel."
Momentarily allowing his sorrow to show on his face, Thor finally brandished Mjölnir and took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry, Kara..." he muttered.
He knew now that he had no other choice; clearly he could not reason with Loki, so his only option was to take him down in battle, hopefully without having to kill him. Gritting his teeth he now lunged forward aiming to meet his brother head-on.
"That's the Thor I know." Loki now smirked before mimicking the move.
The following minutes were spent in combat; yet whereas Thor was doing his best to hold back out of the desire to not harm his brother, Loki had no such qualms and seemed to genuinely enjoy the battle. Ultimately the blond Æsir rushed at him again, his strength aided by Mjölnir blasting both of them through the wall of the Bifrost and onto the narrow bridge leading to the palace and the city around it.
Thor's attempt to keep Loki from falling off the edge into the raging sea below, however, proved to be useless when the Trickster revealed it to have been only an illusion, instead attacking him again and stabbing him with the spear. Lying on his back with his newly gained wound, the blond Æsir finally gritted his teeth in annoyance when Loki surrounded him with cackling illusions of himself.
"Enough!" he ordered, summoning a bolt of lightning with his hammer.
Fortunately the surge of electricity was enough to disperse Loki's fake images, at the same time casting the younger prince a few feet back onto the bridge and forcing him to drop the spear. Scrambling to his feet, Thor now approached his brother; his first thought had indeed been to kill him, but ultimately he couldn't find it in himself to do such a thing. Instead placing Mjölnir onto Loki's chest to get him to sit still, the elder brother turned to face the Bifrost in which the energy from Gungnir was still building.
Heaving for breath from his struggle with Loki, the Thunder God now desperately tried to think up some way to stop that whole madness before it was too late.
"Look at you..." Loki retorted mockingly while trying to remove the hammer so that he could stand. "The mighty Thor! With all your strength... what good does it do you now, huh? Do you hear me, brother? There's nothing you can do!"
Trying his best to ignore Loki's remarks, Thor finally arrived at the only conclusion he could draw... he would have to destroy the Bifrost, to stop it. Clenching his jaw he extended a hand toward Loki to summon the hammer which he now smashed into the bridge.
"What are you doing?" Loki asked, staring in shock at his brother's actions. "If you destroy the bridge you'll never see her again!"
When his words failed to deter the elder prince from his task, Loki made one last attempt at attacking him only to fail when the bridge blew up beneath them, casting them both into the air. With the Bifrost collapsing and falling into the black hole created by the blast, both princes would have fallen with it had Odin not arrived at that very moment to grasp Thor by the ankle; at the same time Thor himself was struggling to not let his muscles fail as he held onto Gungnir, Loki hanging over the edge, holding onto the other end of the spear.
"I could have done it, father!" he called out, looking up at Odin. "I could have done it... for you! For all of us!"
"No, Loki..."
Ultimately understanding that his Asgardian life was beyond repair, Loki now narrowed his eyes whilst his gaze moved from the elder king to his brother.
"Loki, no..." Thor pleaded when the weird gaze in his brother's eyes made his heart cringe.
Though he had tried to deny his own premonition, the blond Æsir watched in horror as Loki released the spear and allowed himself to fall into the void beneath them. And as the stars before his eyes became blurred from tears, his first thought went to the young woman back on Midgard... how in the universe would he ever be able to tell Kara that Loki was dead?
OoOoO
"My queen, I am so sorry for your loss."
Tearing her gaze away from her son who was now heading to one of the outer terraces of the palace, where his father had withdrawn for a moment of peace, Frigga smiled kindly at the sight of Sif's sorrowful expression, whilst behind them the great hall resounded with laughter and cheerful songs; yes, the realm had been celebrating throughout the night and the entire day, rejoicing in Odin's awakening and Thor's return from banishment. And though they had all been smiling on the outside, the queen knew that her son and even Odin himself mourned the loss of the younger prince.
"How is he?" she finally asked, once more looking to Sif.
"He mourns for his brother. And... he misses her... the mortal."
Whilst the two females were speaking, the young Æsir himself had been talking to his father.
"I have much to learn... I know that now." he said sorrowfully. "Perhaps, one day, I shall make you proud."
"You've already made me proud." Odin replied with a trace of smile on his lips.
With silence lingering between them for a few moments, Thor now took a deep breath.
"Father... is it true? What Loki said... that he wasn't my brother..."
"Yes..." the elder king replied reluctantly. "I kept it from you both, because I wished for you to grow up loving one another as true brothers. Now I am not so sure I did the right thing."
"I believe you did... I know there is always a purpose to everything you do."
Again silence veiled them before the prince spoke once more.
"Father, I know I did not tell you before... but..."
Heaving a sigh whilst wondering how to best word it, he ultimately decided that just stating it plainly was probably the best choice.
"What is it?" Odin asked, once more turning to face his son.
"There is a girl in Midgard... Loki first told me of her some years ago. I met her while I was there and she was of great help to me in stopping the Destroyer. I promised to her, before I returned, that I would not kill Loki; and yet I failed to save him. She has loved him for so many years, father... and... despite what he said before our fight, I want to believe that he too loved her sincerely. She deserves to know what happened."
"And how would you get a message across to her, without the Bifrost?"
"I know your ravens have no need of the Bifrost to fly to other realms. Let me send one of them to her... please."
Rather astounded by his son's pleas, the elder king ultimately gave in to his own feelings and nodded. Turning his back to Thor he held out his left arm and soon, with a loud caw echoing against the palace walls, Huginn – the elder of the two ravens – came landing onto his master's steel bracer.
"Go now with my son, Huginn." the elder king said, turning to Thor while the large bird now perched upon the prince's shoulder. "He has need of you."
"Your will be done, Allfather." the raven finally replied.
"Thank you, father."
With those words Thor left the king and made his way to his chambers.
"What do you request of me, my prince?"
Now standing before the small table set in his chambers, the prince took to writing on a piece of parchment while Huginn settled onto the table as well, to watch.
"I have need of you to fly to Midgard... and deliver this message to a young woman there. Her name is Kara Taylor..."
"I needn't know more, my prince. I shall find her and deliver your message."
With the message done, the blond Æsir strapped it to the raven's leg watching as the ebony bird took to the air and soon vanished into the starry sky stretching from the edge of the sea. He did not even wish to imagine Kara's reaction upon reading that message, but she had to know; it would have been cruel to let her hope for who knew how long, only to utterly crush her later on.
And still... why did he feel like a monster, for being the one to tell her of Loki's death? Was it the guilt which was now gnawing at his mind, because he believed he could have done more to save his brother? Was it because he hadn't told her the whole truth in that letter? Then again... how could he tell her that Loki had basically killed himself? No, if he could help it, then the least he could do was to let Kara keep a beautiful image of his brother in her memory.
OoOoO
Location: Puente Antiguo, New Mexico, U.S.A.
Date: July 10, 2011
"It's so quiet..."
Jane's soft tone was what drew Kara out of her silent contemplation of the night sky, while they waited for the computer to register the new particle data.
"It's beautiful..." she agreed, watching the twinkling specks of silver.
What followed was the sensation of the young scientist's arm settling around her shoulders.
"We'll find them." she said with a reassuring smile.
Over the past three days she had finally coaxed Kara into telling them everything; about Loki, about his visits to her since her childhood, about how her admiration for him had grown into love, even about the mark he had left on her neck. If anything, all that knowledge had only made Jane feel more tightly connected with the young agent, because their reason to search for Thor and his brother was ultimately the same.
"What's that?" Darcy suddenly perked up, interrupting Jane's thoughts.
"What?"
Looking up to where the young girl was pointing, both she and Kara narrowed their eyes in an attempt at discerning just what that odd shadow was.
"It's probably just a bird." Erik retorted.
"Are you sure?"
With the raven landing on the edge of the laboratory's roof where the group had settled, the elder male offered Darcy a pointed glance.
"Okay, okay... it was just a bird..." she admitted.
"Do you think it's hungry?" Kara asked, watching as the raven ruffled his feathers.
"I need no food... some water would be welcome, however."
Throughout the following few moments silence reigned supreme among the group, only interrupted by Erik dropping the stack of papers he had been holding.
"It talked... the friggin' bird just talked!" Darcy suddenly blurted out in shock.
Clacking his beak in annoyance, Huginn now looked from her to Jane and then to Kara.
"There is one among you named Kara Taylor... I have a message for her from my prince."
"I... I'm Kara Taylor..." she replied still trying to fully recover from the surprise of it all.
Approaching her, the raven extended his leg waiting for her to retrieve the parchment. Once she had done so, he ruffled his feathers again while the young woman finally managed to get her mind working properly once more.
"Darcy... could you please bring a bowl of water?"
Nodding, the girl left the roof still looking as if she was hypnotized, while Kara now found that she had to fight back her pounding heart. Was the message from Loki? Had he and Thor managed to somehow work out that crazy situation? In a sudden rush of euphoria she unrolled the parchment, only to have her smile die a swift and merciless death as her eyes scanned the few lines scribbled hastily upon it.
Kara, I am sorry.
I do not know how else to begin but by saying how sorry I am. I am sorry that I betrayed your trust... I am sorry that I failed to keep my promise... I am sorry that I have to be the one who would let you know what happened.
You have my word that I tried everything possible to reason with Loki. But what he did was almost beyond repair; my only choice, in order to save an entire race from being annihilated, was to destroy the Bifrost. In the explosion, the energy in the Bifrost opened up a void and... Loki fell from the bridge.
I am sorry that I could not hold to my word; I would have given even my own life to be able to save him. I know not what to say, that would offer you any comfort and I do not believe there are any words good enough to soothe such pain... but know that if I could, I would do anything to bring him back.
I hope that you may one day find it in your heart to forgive me for not being strong enough to save him, as I had promised.
Thor
By the time she had reached the end of the letter Kara could barely even see from the tears blurring her gaze and overflowing along her cheeks; her chest had tightened as if a huge hand was constricting it in an attempt to crush her and she felt that she could barely draw any air into her lungs.
"No..." she finally murmured, wrinkling the letter when her fists clenched involuntarily.
Lowering her head into her hands, the young woman was ultimately unable to fully contain a sorrowful sob when the pain tore through her heart like the murderous blade of a dagger, shooting straight into the back of her head and making her feel like she wanted nothing more than to just tear her hair out.
"For heaven's sake, please... don't say that to me..." she pleaded in a desperate whisper. "Please... please... please..."
Her begging voice now became almost like a chant, as though she was hoping that her pleas would be enough to undo the earlier events.
"What's wrong? What happened?" Jane perked up worriedly at that unexpected reaction.
Scrambling to her feet, Kara dropped the letter in Jane's lap and left the roof; the only thought her mind could focus on right now was to get to her room and be alone for a while. While Jane took to reading the letter, Erik and Darcy – who had returned with the water in the mean time – looked to each other with concern on their faces.
Upon entering her room and locking the door, Kara found herself rooted to the spot and stunned by her own grief; for a moment she felt so alone that her heart started fluttering in terror, like a caged bird. What...? What would she do without him? As deathly silence veiled her, the only sound she could hear for the following minutes was her shaky, broken breath as she struggled to keep her lungs working through the shock her mind was trying to cope with.
Something... she needed to do something... to let all that pain out somehow, otherwise she would surely lose her sanity. And as fate would have it, her gaze fell upon one of her most recent drawings; she had somehow managed to make it look so lifelike that even she had been surprised. The sight of Loki's charming smile as he stared back at her with those vivid emerald eyes ultimately rendered her to the floor, forcing her to kneel under the weight of her sorrow.
And finally she buried her face in her hands and did the one thing she could still do – she screamed...
Sooo today's replies for my darlings :D
1. CaptainBrieOnToast (via PM) - Aww thank you so much for those kind words. I'm so happy that you enjoyed the chapter so much.
Now about Kara noticing that Loki's evil, well I'm not sure how much she'll be able to focus on that even if she did notice it, because you know... she just found out in this chapter that he died. And hearing that the guy you love died, tends to sort of put everything else in the background. But don't worry, that whole evil thing will have to be addressed sooner or later, after Loki returns in The Avengers.
As for Coulson... well she will have to let S.H.I.E.L.D. know at some point, but we'll see when that happens. Anyway, I am so thrilled that you enjoyed the latest chapter so much and I hope you enjoyed this one the same.
Thank you for this heartwarming review and I'm looking forward to hearing from you again :D
2. SuperNaturalxxFreak - Darling you are much too kind with your words. I am so happy that you love the story and I hope I'll keep meeting your expectations in future chapters as well. Now I'd like to address the Vanya issue, since I'm pretty sure you're not the only one who thinks along those lines xD
Well first of all... if Loki came to you and said "I love you" could you really be 100% sure he was telling the truth? I mean, he is the God of Lies ;) Now Kara does in fact believe him, but the thing is... he wasn't entirely sincere when he said it. I probably didn't manage to get the point across clearly enough, but the fact is that Loki isn't yet sure if what he feels for Kara is actual love, or just infatuation and sexual attraction. And the reason that actually keeps him in that questioning state IS in fact, his realization that he is also attracted to Vanya to some extent. That can confuse a guy, you know xD
Also Vanya is a seductress, as you well pointed out, and her natural skills are also aided by magic. So in a way she's similar to the mythological Calypso who seduced and enslaved men through magic. I have yet to actually delve properly into the whole love triangle but it will come to pass at some point, especially after Kara will get to meet Vanya later on. And I have a huge part for Vanya to play in the sequel as well, so don't worry, she's very relevant to the plot; I had a good reason to make her who she is and to sort of make her one of the antagonists.
So to conclude, thank you so much for the wonderful review, darling. I'm really happy you liked this story as well and I hope the whole Vanya affair won't drag it down too much for you. Looking forward to hearing from you again, honey :D
3. moonsword17- Really, you humble me with that compliment. I'm really glad you enjoyed the story so far and I hope the following chapters will make you love it even more, if that's possible. Thank you so much for the lovely review and I'm looking forward to hearing from you again, darling :D
So these are my replies for today. Cheers, lovelies~ ( ˘ ³˘)❤