Chapter 12

The slow pounding of Summer's feet on the floor was so monotonous it was almost putting her to sleep as she walked. The weight of Ewin within her arms and on her hip dragged her back though.

Her eyes were dull as they stared ahead; she hadn't slept well last night. Sure, Loki had started to accept that he couldn't just blur Ewin out of the picture, but the picture he held was still the same as before. He hadn't changed his plan. He was still hell-bent on destruction. Summer wasn't sure what else there was for her to do.

She would keep going back though, with Ewin. She thought it would be good for Loki to see the boy again. He seemed to have an impact on him eventually. The weight of being responsible for a child weighed heavily on ones conscience when making choices.

That was the effect she was hoping Ewin would have on Loki. The stronger the bond, the stronger the impact.

She tried not to think of the way she would be cutting off Thor from his son's life, remembering that fatherly glow in his eyes whenever he looked at Ewin. Loki was more important to her. She had to put him first.

She wasn't sure what would happen; if Loki changed his mind; if he didn't; if Thor wanted to take Ewin, or both of them… she didn't know which future to prepare herself for. She could only take each day as it came, and pray some good would come out of it all eventually.

Her arms hugged Ewin a little closer to her at the thought, and she shook her head clear. She needed to be clear minded for when she saw Loki.

Glancing down, she caught her little boy's bright blue eye and forced a smile on her face. "It'll be okay, Ewin." She cooed softly, almost trying to convince herself too. "We'll be fine."

There was no force in Heaven or Hell that could separate her from her son, so at least she had one promise she could keep. She would never let anything happen to Ewin, and she would never leave him. He was her only son. She would not give him up for the world.

However this whole mess ended, she would ensure her son was kept safe and well, with either Thor or Loki.

She couldn't think like that though, she told herself, shaking her head again. Things would be fine, she lied to herself. She and Ewin would go and see Loki and today would be the day he changed his mind at last for the better. She had to believe that. If she didn't, how was Loki supposed to?

As she sighed and lifted her eyes though, her feet suddenly slowed her steps to a stop. Her brow suddenly furrowed of its own accord as a weighty ominous feeling settled over her out of nowhere.

Even as she turned her gaze to the clear blue skies outside, something still felt wrong. Her heart thudded hard in her chest and she clenched her arms around Ewin instinctively. Gaze scanning the perfect horizon, she couldn't even see a misplaced cloud. What was going on, she wondered?

She couldn't see anything… except for the jet flying slowly beside the aircraft.

That shouldn't have been anything out of ordinary. There were always jets around, taking and sending information and supplies, and they all looked like that one outside. But instincts didn't lie, she had always trusted – and her instincts told her that jet shouldn't be there.

A second later, the explosion confirmed her paranoia.

XXX

The tension in the air was thick as all eyes were on Dr Banner, spear in his hand as his fierce gaze burned around the room. Thor watched on warily.

Chaos was unfolding more and more each second. The more he stood by and watched the scene before him, the more he started to think he had overestimated humans' ability. Perhaps they couldn't be trusted. They couldn't even work together for the good of their own world – what would they do to Loki, an alien to them?

For a moment, Thor just held his breath. He had been told of Dr Banner's ability but he had no desire to see it first hand, especially on board a flying aircraft.

He breathed a sigh of relief though when the monitor beeped behind him and the scientist dumped the scepter back on the table with a surly look.

"Sorry, kids. You don't get to see my party trick after all."

Thor's eyes followed him with every step, even though the scepter was out of his hand. He didn't need anything to change. He could morph at will. They were not out of the woods yet, Thor thought, watching Dr Banner cross the room.

The buzzing screen was important though, important enough to turn all eyes to it. It could only be one thing: "You have located the Tesseract?" Thor asked.

If they could get the Tesseract, then Thor could end this madness on Earth. He could take Loki back Asgard, and with an arm twisting, perhaps he could convince the Alfather to exile Loki to Earth instead of imprison him. Then he could be free to be with Summer. What of Ewin, Thor was yet to decide, but he knew if Loki was to have a future out of a prison cell, it had to be beside Summer's good will to guide him.

As soon as he had said 'Tesseract' though, the mortal's began their squabbling. "The Tesseract belongs on Asgard." He said over them firmly. "No human is a match for it."

He was not going to lose this one chance to save his brother. If the Tesseract was lost to him, so was Loki.

"You're not going alone." Captain Rogers caught Tony Stark's arm as he turned to leave.

Stark brushed it off. "You gonna stop me?"

Thor ignored it. Petty fighting would slow them down from getting the Tesseract and that was exactly what he needed. All he needed was the location of the Cube.

Turning to Dr Banner, he was just in time to see the alarmed look cross the scientist's face before he whipped his glasses off his face.

"Oh my God…"

Those last three words of doctor's were the last words Thor heard before an explosion ripped them all apart.

All of a sudden, everything was a blur. Colours flashed before his eyes; all manner of sound burst in his ears; pain hit his body as he was thrown through the air uncontrollably… then in a second he crashed through a wall, rolling to a stop amongst smatters of twisted metal.

His eyes stared up at the torn ceiling, dazed. His ears rang with the suddenness of the blast and he blinked blankly, staring up at the hole in the ceiling like he had never seen anything like it.

He hadn't, he soon realized, not recognizing the room above him. He'd been thrown to another part of the ship.

Groaning, he dragged himself to his feet, carefully rolling his ankles and wrists. Everything felt fine, if a little sore from his flight. But nothing broken, nothing truly hurt.

Slowly, his mind started to catch up with his body, eyes drinking in the men running around him. Where were they going? What had happened?

One thought silenced his questions though: Loki.

This was no coincidence.

He was running before he knew it, letting his legs carry him to where he needed to be. Loki was either behind this or the target. He needed either helping or stopping – Thor was the only one that had a chance either way.

Carving a path through the running mortals, Thor overtook them easily, driving himself towards Loki's cell. As he ran, he moved further away from the damage, moving from snarling, twisted metal that had once been walls to nothing more than a few shattered windows. Soon, even those were gone.

Even the humans disappeared soon too, and he was left running alone through the dormitory corridors towards Loki's cell. Everybody must be converging on the damage, he reasoned. That or the control hub.

Not everyone, he soon realised as he turned a corner: Summer was crouched low against the wall, arms around their screaming son.

The moment he met her wide, frightened gaze, he was running to them in a heartbeat. The closer he got, the more he drank in of the pair. A line of blood ran down Summer's face from her hairline and one of her shoulders was limp, while the other jostled relentlessly as she tried to hold onto her squirming child. She must have been hit against the wall when the blast hit, Thor guessed. Luckily, she had taken the worst of it. Ewin looked fine, albeit shaken.

He dropped to his knees as he got to them, eyes scouring over them for any more damage he hadn't yet seen.

"Loki…" spilled from Summer's lips in a second, her round eyes glittering with unshed tears.

Her arm tightened around Ewin, pulling the infant closer. Thor ignored her, his hand touching protectively on his son. She didn't brush him off though. Drinking in her terrified gaze, he wasn't surprised though, noting the quick breaths that rasped through her lungs.

"The ship is under attack." He barked urgently, hooking a hand around her upper arm and helping her quickly to her feet. A flash of pain ran through Summer's eyes, but she didn't say anything, not taking her eyes away from the thunder god's burning gaze. "You go back to your room, bolt the door, and wait for me there. I will come for you when the ship is secure."

Through her tears, Summer gulped hard. "Loki-"

"I will see to Loki."

His eyes fell down to his little boy in Summer's arms. As far as Thor could see, he was unharmed. If anything happened to his child, these attackers would be lucky to leave the ship alive, the god promised darkly in his head.

Still, the fight had only just begun. He had to fight to keep Ewin safe. Gently, his hand cupped his little boy's face.

Ewin was oblivious to the tenderness in the god's gaze. He was disturbed and his ears hurt, screaming noisily to his hearts content, snot running down his face. Thor committed it all to memory anyway, letting it stir his heart with protective instinct.

It broke his soul that he had to leave, but there was no better way for him to protect his son than from the front line. Even though it felt wrong to be so far from what he needed to protect, Thor knew there was no other way.

"Farewell." He said to his son, watching the words wash over the boy obliviously. He didn't care though, fawning low and pressing a kiss to Ewin's forehead.

When he straightened up, his gaze bore into Summer's. "Go!" he urged, stepping away.

XXX

As soon as Thor stepped away, Summer stumbled back into the wall, gasping as she knocked her aching shoulder. Her head swayed dizzyingly.

Then before she knew it, she was alone.

They were under attack, Thor had said. They were under attack in a flying aircraft with no means of escape and she was alone, unarmed, with a baby in her care… she was all but defenseless.

And wounded, the brutal ringing in her ears reminded her, feeling the blood start to dry on the side of her face. Her knees felt weak, like they were about to give out from beneath her all over again and the hands clutching her baby to her chest trembled. Blood pounded in her ears so loud she couldn't even hear her own disorientated groan even though she felt it leave her.

What was she going to do? Thor had said run, back to her room. What then? The door didn't even have a lock. What would a mere door do against men with explosives and guns?

At least, she hoped it was men. If it was not, it was Loki's army of aliens. And they would show her no mercy.

The breaths rasped thick and fast from her chest and she fought to control the tears building in her eyes. She couldn't move, frozen against the wall as fear paralyzed her. She could almost feel death closing in on them…

Then a tiny voice whispered to her in her head, cutting through the ringing: run!

Her shaky hand braced against the wall and she gasped with pain from her shoulder as she pushed herself upright. Thor was right: they had to go. Blinking, the world slowly started to come into focus and she rolled her head around the corridor, gathering her bearings.

It was all lost though as the ship suddenly pitched sideways though, and she was thrown to the ground again.

This time, it was backed up with the distant sound of gunfire.

Run!

No sooner had she lifted her head to take a breath, than she had thrown herself forward, her feet running on instinct. All the could think of was to get away, holding Ewin to her as tightly as she dared, his cries piercing through her mind. If anything, they drove her on. She felt like she was running for her life.

In seconds, she was lost. The walls looked the same, the windows were the same, the doors were identical – and she was moving too fast to really take note of any path she might have remembered. She ran so quickly she started to feel dizzy again, but she didn't dare slow down.

Adrenalin drove her on long after her mind stopped working, her body not far behind. The air tore harshly through her lungs, her arms ached from holding Ewin, and her head felt light and spinning. The corridor started to sway again.

She couldn't stop though. The gunfire still sounded too close for her to feel safe. Would there be any safe place on this ship? Her room certainly wasn't.

Unless that was part of Thor's plan. Perhaps, despite his tenderness towards Ewin, he was planning to use this attack to solve his own dirty conscience. If she and Ewin were gone, there was no proof of what wrong he did on Asgard. Maybe, he was luring her into a trap.

Her steps slowed for a moment at the thought, but as soon as her body let up, it just began to unravel. She felt her legs lose control, knees buckling with every step.

She knew it was a matter of time before she fell. It was inevitable. Her body couldn't hold this level of adrenalin and her mind was quickly shutting down alongside it. Every breath had her eyes growing wearier and wearier, fighting to close and surrender to her mild concussion. How much further could she go?

Turning a corner, she slowly blinked, cracking the line of dried blood by her eyes. All she did was blink. Blink for one second…

And then Loki was right there in front of her.

She gasped half a heartbeat before she crashed into him, her arm instinctively curling over Ewin's head. Twisting her body a second before impact, her hurt shoulder smashed into Loki's solid armour and she cried out in pain. Her teeth snagged down on her lip to stop any further noise though, even when Loki's hands found her upper arms, stopping her from bouncing back.

Her brain rattled inside her skull as she came to a sudden stop, knees collapsing beneath her while she slumped against Loki.

He felt real, Summer thought, gasping for breath against his breastplate, but she almost couldn't believe that he was. He was locked away. He was in a cell. Thor had gone to check on him… only now he was here. Where was Thor? What had happened?

She didn't dare ask now, but she was fairly certain that the men attacking the ship were Loki's men. He wouldn't be roaming so freely – alone! – if there were even more people on the ship trying to capture him. At least if he was with her they would know not to harm her. With Loki, she was safe – or at least as safe as she could be on this ship right now.

"It's alright," his soft voice murmured, thumb stroking gentle circles into her good shoulder. It wasn't as comforting as Summer might have hoped. "I'm here."

She was just starting to catch her breath back when she peeled her eyes open… and her heart stopped. A cry tore from her lips as she saw red, smeared over Loki's breastplate and matted in Ewin's hair. She could feel it wet on her fingers and on her cheek, still warm...

Her hands scrambled to push herself away from the bloodied god and she felt sick, feeling her fingers tremble around her son. Loki's hands tightened around her though, holding her from leaving.

Wide eyes glimpsed up at him through her panic, and she saw a combination of her best dream and her worst nightmare. He was here – really here, not even a sheet of glass between them anymore! Only the blood on his armour betrayed what he had done to get there.

Knowing she could never break free of a god's grip, Summer steeled her panic, forcing her breaths to steady themselves. It was only ketchup, she told herself calmly, lifting her eyes from Loki's chest. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to meet his gaze at last, watching him connect the dots behind his eyes. A heavy sigh left him as his hands softened against her. "Summer, I-"

"Loki, what the hell is going on?" her voice trembled.

The emotion was barely held at bay, tears already starting to well in her eyes. It took all she had to keep her lip from quivering.

But one look at the blood and it was all undone; the back of her hand pressed against her mouth, fighting to keep the bile down as the smell of blood was impossible to ignore. This time, Loki didn't resist her as she stepped back.

His gaze followed her though, gentle, but still simmering with urgency. "We must go." He said quietly.

Summer could see the pain in his eyes as he said it, watching her despair. He was no fool; he knew exactly what was wrong. They both knew exactly what Loki had done to get his freedom and the evidence was smeared all over his breastplate. Summer's only consolation was that he seemed to be just as upset about it as she was.

But was that enough?, she asked herself as the breath hitched in her throat and Loki blurred before her. Surrendering to her sobs, she tore her gaze away and bowed her head.

For a moment, Loki paused, but when he took a cautious step forward, Summer didn't fight it. As awful as everything was, she wasn't ready to walk away from Loki. She couldn't. Not yet. She couldn't accept that Loki was beyond salvation, that her Loki was really gone. A part of her was starting to prepare for that eventuality though.

Clutching her baby close, she let Loki gently touch her arm and with the briefest of chills, she knew he had taken them away from the corridor. She remembered the sensation from where he had teleported them around Asgard all those years ago. He was right; they must go, while they could.

Suddenly, wind whipped her hair around her face and she peeked her eyes open as the sharp breeze caught the air in her lungs. Ewin screamed louder in her arms.

The corridor was long gone, and instead she found herself inside the belly of the jet she had seen fly past the ship earlier, the one that had started all this chaos. As Loki strode up the lowered ramp, it closed behind him. The air stilled. Summer's knees gave out as the whole structure growled and trembled, and she fell back into one of the seats that lined the walls. The familiar feeling of lightness told her they were taking off.

Feeling the colour drained from her face, she watched Loki slump down opposite her, eyes dark and brooding. He wouldn't meet her gaze. "Where are we going?"

Summer could barely hear herself over Ewin's cries, but she knew that Loki heard her. Despite that, he didn't move. He didn't say anything.

She was being kidnapped by Loki essentially. They were being taken away from the organisation that had offered her protection and safety, from Thor, to somewhere completely unknown and that almost certainly wouldn't be safe. Loki had his freedom now. What would come next in his plan? The battle? The Tesseract? The aliens? Whatever it was, it would be bad.

What else was he going to do? Back in the cell, Summer had started to see the man she loved peeking through again, even if he had refused to give up his plans. He was still there in his gentle eyes and soft spoken words to her.

But now, blood smeared literally on his hands and a steely gaze, that man was nowhere to be found in Summer's eyes. Wherever they were going, by the end of it, she would know if her Loki was gone for good.