Thanks to Jen (for pointing out a HUGE error), Twiggy, Rhi and Lindsey.

Chapter Twenty: Dethroned

Darcy stayed put until Thor had crossed the warehouse floor. He nodded to her solemnly and passed by to pause beside Loki's prone form.

"Still playing these games, Loki?"

From where she was, Darcy could see the scars whirling up Thor's arm—shiny patches of skin that looked raw in the harsh lighting. Remnants of what Loki had inflicted on him.

Loki cackled, but even Darcy could see it was a mask, humor covering up his desperation. His fingers still scrabbled for the scepter. Thor kicked it away and the laugh cut out, replaced by an ugly rage.

"It's over," Thor said. "The people of this world know the casket is out of your reach. They cower before you no more."

Soldiers filtered inside, and Thor stooped beside Loki, deftly capturing his wrists and clicking something into place; the most intricate pair of handcuffs Darcy had ever seen. Then he shifted Mjolnir, hauling Loki to see his feet while keeping the hammer poised, ready to swing.

Loki took a long, slow look at the soldiers around the room. "You fools!" he yelled. "You think this is the end? I was preparing you to win a war and now you'll be obliterated. Far worse than my reign is to come."

"Enough," said Thor. He hauled Loki forward, and Darcy saw the way the soldiers reacted as Thor passed by, the awe radiating from them. He'd earned their respect in a way Loki could never have dreamed of. "Bring the scepter," he commanded one of them. "You will need to fashion a case to contain it."

Footsteps sounded next to her, and Darcy glanced up to find Sif looming over her.

She scooted backwards but Sif offered a contrite smile, and a hand to help Darcy up. "I am sorry for trying to kill you," Sif said. "The agent Romanoff told me partial truths and has now explained the entire story. You are a brave woman."

Darcy accepted the hand but kept a wary distance when she was on her feet. "What did she tell you?"

"That Loki's mistress was kept in luxury on that island. We saw the house; it certainly seemed to be luxury."

"It was." Darcy was going to miss that house. "But I was never his mistress. I was his prisoner." One night doesn't make a difference.

"You were, and I understand that now. Few would have taken the risk that you did to bring Loki down."

Darcy shrugged it off. Sif was acting far too friendly to know the whole story yet. "I can't believe Natasha did that." Except she totally could. "You almost killed me—would have if Loki hadn't arrived—"

"That was the plan. Loki had to choose between you and the casket, and only your imminent demise would force his hand. She predicted my reaction to seeing you as his mistress entirely too well."

"Yeah, she can be like that." Had Natasha been that confident in the plan? Had she really assumed that it would all work as she expected and Darcy would come out of it unscathed?

"I've learned." Sif did not seem impressed. "I asked her to explain her actions and she apparently found me entirely too honest to convince Loki I meant you harm when I did not. Still, we have the casket and the queen has hidden it even from Loki's grasp."

Loki was eyeballing the pair of them over his shoulder as Thor hauled him out of the warehouse, his face bereft of expression but chilling nonetheless. Sif returned his stare with convincing menace.

"I owe him a dagger in the gut," she said. "I hope this time he rots. There's an interesting story here on Midgard—Erik told it to us last night while the queen healed my wound. When the Allfather got sick of Loki's lies and treachery, he had his lips sewn shut. I would gladly volunteer myself with a needle."

Darcy had no reply to that. They followed the brothers outside, onto the plateau crowded with agents and soldiers. Not all of them had been here when Darcy arrived.

"One thing I still don't understand,"Sif continued, "was why Loki would put your life before his opportunity to defeat Thor. Agent Romanoff was utterly convinced it would work, the queen backed her convictions, and yet neither have deigned to explain why. Surely it can't mean he has finally given his heart to another?"

"Not at all," Darcy said, with absolute sincerity. She was still sure that whatever form Loki's obsession with her took, it had nothing to do with his heart and everything to do with his desire to prove himself in the eyes of the universe. Not that Darcy had any intention of telling Sif about her dalliance with him, or even the boy in the mirror, not when Sif had just demonstrated such open hatred for Loki. She was rescued from having to provide a good explanation by the appearance of the Warriors Three, dashing over from the knot of soldiers they'd been talking to.

"Lady Darcy!" Fandral greeted, sweeping her up into a hug. "It is so good to see you not avoiding Sif's blade." Sif tutted beside him.

"Thanks for believing in me the other night," she whispered. He'd been the one to figure out what was going on and helped her light up the beacon in the process.

"It was nothing. I have learned to scarce believe the words that fall from the lips of a woman as beautiful as Agent Romanoff."

"Funny, many women have been heard to say the same of you," said Volstagg, leaning in for his own hug. Beyond him Hogun gave her a nod—a friendly nod with traces of a smile.

Beyond them, Thor placed his hand on Loki's head and pushed him down into a waiting helicopter, securing him with more irons and dropping Mjolnir into his lap. Thor carried a weight in him he hadn't the last time Darcy saw him, scars beyond the ones marring his skin. It was there in the tightness of his shoulders and his uncharacteristic frown. Loki sent one more chilling stare her way before the door shut on him.

There were a cluster of helicopters surrounding the one they'd just climbed into, obviously how the rescue mission had arrived on the mountain.

"Why didn't we hear you guys arrive?" she asked.

"The warehouse is soundproofed and topped by half a mountain," said a new voice from behind them. "Stone is not the best conductor of sound."

Darcy whirled to find Tony and Steve walking up to them, still in the casual clothes they'd taken to wearing around the facility.

"You're here!" she said.

"Some of us are," said Tony. "Bruce decided traveling in a helicopter was an especially bad idea."

"But we decided we had to come back up Thor," explained Steve. "We didn't know how messy it was going to get. Loki isn't known for surrendering with grace."

"Where's Natasha? And everyone else?" Darcy asked.

"Natasha is in New York, with Pepper, at SHIELD mission control. Everyone else is still at the facility working on the bridge."

"Wait, I thought you'd done it? How are these guys," she pointed at the warriors, "here if you still don't have one working?"

"We've got one working intermittently," said Tony, "with major intervention on Asgard's part. We're still struggling to get one strong enough to move entire armies between worlds, and that's kind of what we need."

Thor's helicopter lifted off in a roar of sound, and Darcy felt herself relax, although not before an alarming thought occurred.

"You know Loki can just poof out of there?" she pointed out.

"Not with the chains that bind him," said Fandral. "He is anchored in place and prevented from using trickery or illusion. Thor also claims Mjolnir pins him in place, stopping him from even employing magic to escape."

"Where are they taking him?" she asked.

Tony gave a wave at the departing machine as it swooped over the mountainside, disappearing from view. "SHIELD's version of a maximum security cell. Romanoff claims they built it after he wreaked havoc the first time. Thor's volunteered to do guard duty until Papa can whisk them both back to Asgard for an ass-whooping."

"So who's in charge right now?"

"Fury, pretty much," said Tony. "Old governments are being reassembled, but right now SHIELD are the big kahunas and Fury has claimed Loki's throne. He's already bitching about the paperwork."

"There's still work to do, though," said Steve. "We need to reassure everyone that the situation really has been dealt with, so we're being used as…mascots, I guess."

"Keep calm and carry on," said Tony.

"That was only going to be used if we lost," said Steve.

"We still might," reminded Tony. "You've seen the files—the situation is worse than we thought. Loki's out of the way, but Thanos is on his way and he is going to make Loki look like a schoolyard bully."

"Fear not," said Sif. "Together the might of Midgard and Asgard will send whatever army he can muster up back to the where they came from in blood and bondage. What remains of the army once we are through with them."

"I like you," said Tony. "You're spunky and you'll definitely keep the soldiers' spirits up."

Sif's smile returned his smile until she processed what he meant and she took a step forward. Volstagg stepped between them.

"Tony, tone down the misogyny a little," Darcy instructed. "Or we'll let her hand you your own ass."

"I'm just saying!"

"I'm a warrior," Sif spat, "and I will not be leered over."

"How would Lady Pepper feel about your comment?" Fandral asked.

Tony glared at them all. "Since we're no longer reduced to hiding in the boondocks, I get my suit back, which means no one is going to be handing me anything, least of all my ass."

Steve turned to the warriors, effectively blocking Tony behind the bulk of his shoulders. "While I admire your enthusiasm," he said to Sif. "It might not be that easy. The creatures in his army are tough to kill and we only saw a small fraction of their numbers."

Tony raised his hand. "Uh, I blew up half their armada. And nearly died in the process."

"Yes, you did," Darcy said, patting him on the arm.

"But SHIELD did some research on the ones left behind when we closed the portal, and they believe the soldiers are clones. Which makes it easy for them to replenish their numbers."

"Then we must prepare," said Volstagg. "Because I, for one, will not stomach defeat."

"That's the spirit!" said Tony, clapping him on the bicep. Darcy thought he'd gone for the shoulder but not been able to reach. "First thing's first, where can I get some caffeine around here? It's been a long night."

Despite outward appearances as an inhospitable place, the warehouse did have a staff canteen, where Darcy was able to grab a sandwich for a belated lunch. Tony sampled the coffee, refused to drink anymore, then caved when someone pointed out there was no other coffee to be had for several thousand miles. Volstagg tried a little bit of everything, despite apparently already having eaten breakfast and snacking on the helicopter ride.

For a short time the canteen resembled a tavern with the warriors and Sif holding court, beguiling the SHIELD employees with stories of daring do. The only thing missing were flagons of ale. Steve took the mayhem as a cover to have a quiet word with Darcy.

"You okay?" he murmured. Tony was less discreet, eyeballing her as if he could X-ray her deep, dark secrets out of her.

"I'm fine. More than fine."

"You sure—because if he laid a finger on you, we'll make him pay."

"He didn't hurt me. He never even threatened me."

Neither man looked convinced, but Darcy wasn't about to start going in depth about it in the middle of a crowd of soldiers.

Then the call went up and they had to head back up to the helicopter pad, where their chariots awaited. Darcy ended up sandwiched between Volstagg and Sif, with Steve sat opposite, his back to the pilot, which was actually a pretty sweet deal because between them they blocked the view out of the window.

It didn't stop Darcy from gripping her seatbelt with white knuckles. Sif noticed and offered her a sympathetic smile.

"Truth be told, I do not like riding in these flying contraptions either," she confessed. "I prefer my feet firmly on the ground."

"You're less likely to die if we fall out of the sky than I am," Darcy replied.

She felt a tap at her shoulder, and a hand appeared holding a metal flask. "No thanks, Tony," she said.

Just before the door shut, two agents appeared carrying a long box between them. They placed it at the warriors' feet.

"As requested," one of them said, "aluminum casing, coated in silicone, lined with lead." They departed, leaving Darcy to poke at the box with her toe.

"Careful," said Steve. "It's the scepter."

She jerked her toe away. "Why do we have to bring that thing?"

"When we realized what Loki was heading here for, Frigga said she believed she could destroy it," said Steve. "Better that than in Thanos' hands."

"Did Loki really think he could use it to keep control?" asked Tony. "What was he going to do, take over one agent at a time?"

"He'd lost," said Fandral. "He turned to the best weapon available to him after the casket—he was desperate."

Darcy gave a tiny shudder, which Sif noticed. "He was going to use it to control you, was he not?"

"I think so," she replied. "When he found out I'd betrayed him."

Then all speech was cut off as the engines roared into life. They could have kept up the conversation through the headsets, but the Asgardians probably didn't understand how to use them, and the last thing Darcy needed was to give Tony Stark a platform to speak for the next few hours. She turned hers off, shut her eyes and hoped for the best.

They made another pitstop in the middle of nowhere for more fuel, which Tony insisted on using to go in search of better coffee. He came back with a tray full of lattes and espressos, and Darcy gratefully took one of the former, letting the heat from the cup warm her hands and the cream settle her stomach.

Despite the fact they'd been in a flying deathtrap, she was feeling safer than she had in a long time. She was sat next to a woman who'd tried to kill her less than twenty-four hours earlier—albeit the longest twenty-four hours of Darcy's life—but the constant nerve-jangling dance she'd been doing was over. She didn't have to worry that someone was going to see a note they shouldn't or guess something about her plan and leave her at Loki's mercy. Sure, he was still out there, but she trusted Thor. She'd have trusted him anyway, but his grim determination earlier had made it clear he wasn't going to let Loki slip through his grasp. She was free.

So long as Loki kept his mouth shut about the night before, and even then, she could blame Stockholm Syndrome or a million other things. She'd come through for them when it counted and they could hardly bitch about the route she'd taken.

Right now, she was safe again. Even if they fell out of the sky, she could trust someone to catch her.

She left the headset on during the next leg, though it seemed most people were napping even after the influx of caffeine. She knew they were nearly at their destination when she heard Sif's exclamation.

"It looks so different from the air!"

Darcy peeled her eyes open to glance beyond Sif. While she'd not been paying attention dusk had fallen, and below them the skyscrapers of Manhattan glittered and gleamed.

"It truly does," said Fandral. "Like this, it's almost as beautiful as Asgard."

Volstagg chuckled. "Don't let Thor hear you say that."

One building stood out among all the spires, an obnoxious sweep of glass and steel with five letters blazing from its side.

"Are we landing at Stark Tower?" she asked.

"Of course," replied Tony. "Unless you want to spend the night on the helicarrier."

She clutched her belly as it recoiled at the idea and shook her head. "I want to be back on the ground, please."

She got her wish a few minutes later, the helicopter dispatching them onto the landing pad that jutted out of the tower and departing for SHIELD domains. Pepper was waiting in the rooms off the pad, back in the kind of suit she hadn't worn since they'd fled all those months ago.

"Welcome back to Stark Tower," she greeted, and as Darcy glanced around she realized they weren't in the office spaces. "In honor of our esteemed guests and their assistance in the defeat of Loki, we're throwing a banquet tonight. Rooms have been prepared for you all to relax in before the feast begins. Rachel here will show you to them."

Sif and the warriors three bowed and marched off behind Rachel, a girl Darcy recognized from her days of working here. Darcy made to follow them, but was stopped by Pepper.

"It's good to have you back," she said, pulling Darcy into a hug. Apparently it was a hugging kind of day. "I was so worried about you. We all were."

"I missed you guys too," Darcy said into her shoulder. She stepped back. "And hey, I survived, and we won. This is not where I thought I was going to end up today."

"Me either. The last couple of days have been manic. I mean, Frigga is one thing, but then all these warriors started turning up, and they need so much feeding!"

"Well, if Stark Industries is back in business, do I get my job back?" Saving the world was awesome and all, but it didn't pay the bills.

Pepper put on a stern frown. "I don't know. There have been some pretty high instances of absenteeism lately, we may not be able to overlook them." She broke into a grin. "Of course. In fact, I'm sure we can arrange a promotion and a raise for you."

"As awesome as that sounds, I can't deal with anything stressful right now. Not after the last few months. I need the easy life for a little while."

"I'll see what we can do. Speaking of stress, SHIELD have sent a doctor over to conduct a physical on you."

"They've what now?"

"You've been in Loki's care for a while. They need to check you're okay."

"Is everyone going to start assuming Loki raped me again? Because he's done some shitty things, but not that. Not the first time he kidnapped me or the second."

Pepper held her hands up in surrender. "Hey, you said it yourself, it's been a stressful few months. Everything you've eaten and drunk has been under Loki's control. It's not a bad idea to let someone make sure you really are fine."

Darcy sighed. "Okay. Where do I need to go?"

"Bridget will show you."

Her old friend appeared behind Pepper and waved. Darcy squealed, dashing across the room to wrap her arms around her. "You got out!"

"Of course I got out," Bridget replied. "I didn't know you had, not until today. Where the hell have you been?"

"In hiding. Duh."

Bridget led her out of the room and down a corridor lined with doors.

"You did a good job. None of the hacks here could find you, and trust me, I made them look."

"You came back to work?"

"I had to. I had rent to pay, mouths to feed, and someone had to make sure there was a company left standing. We did a lot of covert searching for people who'd gone missing. Someone found a way to reconnect the old link to SHIELD's servers so we did what we could—anyway, here we are. I have tons to do for this party, but when I'm done you are telling me everything."

"You should probably let Pepper and Tony know what you were doing while they were gone. I'm pretty sure Tony will give you some kind of bonus for it."

"Maybe." Bridget waved goodbye as she walked back down the corridor, scribbling away on her Starkpad.

Darcy knocked on the door she was in front of, and it swung open. A willowy woman in a white lab coat held out her hand. "I'm Dr. Sibley."

Darcy shook it and shuffled into the room. It was a bedroom, a hotel-style guest room that looked exactly like Tony and Pepper had collaborated on designing it: bold to the point of being garish, when Pepper had obviously tugged on Tony's reins and told him no more. One wall was Ferrari red, the bed sheets were black satin, and everything else in the room was made of glass or black marble. Yet there were vases of Calla lilies and a sleek white rug across the floor, with soothing artwork on the walls.

Dr Sibley had set up shop at a table in the living space.

"I need to go through a checklist with you, Ms Lewis, to establish exactly what you've been through and if there is any assistance SHIELD can provide in helping you adjust back to civilian life."

Darcy snorted. "I never stopped being a civilian."

"Nevertheless, I'm assured you've been in an extremely high pressure environment lately with no small amount of danger involved. And this is all, naturally, at SHIELD's expense."

Fury was going to choke Natasha when he realized.

"Fine. What does it involve?"

"A blood test. I'll also perform a physical exam and run through a series of questions to determine your mental state. If it's determined you need extra support, we'll bring a counselor in."

It was only when the needle was in Darcy's arm that she realized why SHIELD—and specifically Natasha—would want Darcy to take a blood test. They wanted a look at her hormone levels.

"So who gets to see the report you're going to write up?" she asked Dr Sibley.

"This is entirely confidential, Ms Lewis," the doctor insisted. "It is SHIELD procedure that all field agents are thoroughly physically and mentally evaluated upon return from lengthy missions. I would never break my Hippocratic oath, not even if Director Fury demanded it."

"Sure, I believe you. I really do." The doctor meant what she was saying, but she was a fool. Fury didn't need to demand anything, he'd just pull the results out of the servers. Besides, Natasha was behind this one. It was all a smokescreen to ensure Loki's heir didn't make an unexpected appearance. If the blood test showed anything out of the ordinary, it gave her plenty of time to slip something in Darcy's tea to bring it to a swift closure.

Not that Darcy had anything to worry about. Frigga had given her that potion and she'd been within the three month window, so Darcy was in the clear. Unless Frigga had lied so Darcy would assume she couldn't get pregnant and do something stupid…

Time around such tricksy people was making her second guess everything they did, and giving her a headache to boot. Instead panic welled inside her. Why couldn't something be simple, just this once? Sibley picked up on it as they were running through the questions that composed the psych evaluation, and when she'd finished making notes she put on her best concerned face.

"Based on what we've just discussed, I would recommend you speak with a counselor. You aren't displaying any symptoms of post-traumatic stress—that you've disclosed—but prevention is more effective than treatment. If we can help you understand the trauma you've been through, it may stop any symptoms manifesting in the future."

The doctor meant well, of that Darcy was sure. And her reasoning was sound. Darcy just didn't want to be going through that with anyone on SHIELD's payroll. If she was still employed then she still had insurance, and would find a doctor of her own. Maybe Pepper could suggest someone who SHIELD couldn't manipulate.

"I'll think about it. When will you get the blood test results?"

"They should be in tomorrow. We will need to conduct a follow up every few weeks to ensure nothing unusual shows up. Your blood pressure is a little higher than it should be, that ought to resolve itself now you've been removed from the source of stress, but I want to monitor that too."

"But that's it for now?"

Sibley pursed her lips. "Yes."

"Great. I have a party to get ready for. Do you need anyone to show you the way out?"

The doctor confirmed she didn't and left, leaving Darcy staring at the suitcase of her stuff that had been brought from Plum Island and the facility. Time to go out and face the music, with more people than she'd spent time around than since the day they'd fled Stark Tower. A lovely counterbalance to her time in isolation, and less time to sit worrying about what a blood test could reveal to SHIELD. Not that anything would show up on the first day, but if they were going to do follow ups, she'd be stressing about it for weeks. For tonight she could get merry and ignore the clusterfuck that had become her life.

She picked a dress and entered the bathroom for the second shower of the day, washing away the grime of two helicopter rides and rolling around on the warehouse floor. In a fit of perfect timing, she found herself frantically searching her stuff for the box of tampons. Aunt Flo had invited herself to the party, just under three months since Frigga had handed her that potion.

Darcy had never been so happy about it being that time of the month in her life, but it had been a strange year.

A/N: I know some of you are going to wonder if maybe she actually is pregnant because a visit from Aunt Flo isn't a guarantee of anything, but I can categorically tell you she isn't. I'm not going to take that route in this story because, as some people who've been speculating about Frigga's potion have pointed out, it removes her agency, and that's already happened to her enough in this story. If that little boy from the vision were to happen, he would be the product of a happy, solid relationship.

Also, I know it might feel like the story is winding down because Loki has been defeated, but nooooo. Plenty more to come!