Author's Note: I do apologize for taking so long to post this. I hope to get back on track with writing a bit more frequently so I can finish this story and begin the next.

Chapter 21: Machinations

Loki walked into his chambers, seeing his wife, he moved quickly to her side. Sweeping her into his arms, he kissed her.

"Good morning to you as well," Katirya replied once the kiss was finished. She smiled up at him as he continued to hold her close. "I take it our, ah, friends, are returning home?"

"Yes, Thor is seeing to it personally first thing this morning."

"Thor?" Katirya raised one eyebrow. "Trying to ditch the wedding plans, I suppose."

"Not surprised, are you? I do think it is a good choice, though. It might cause our enemy to move forward," Loki replied.

"Do you think it might?"

Loki shrugged. "We can only hope. But I have a feeling he… or she, won't move fast. They know we haven't a clue who they are. They are still holding all the cards as they say." He hugged her once more, then released her. "Breakfast?"

"Indeed, my lord." She slid her arm through his as they headed towards the breakfast room. "Mustn't keep our guests waiting," she added, knowing that the breakfast room would be filled with all the guests who were arriving for the wedding.

Darcy jumped out of her seat and raced towards the couple the instant they entered the breakfast room. "Oh my god, I thought you'd never get here!"

Katirya laughed. "That bad, is it? What is the problem today?"

"Ah…" Loki hesitated, knowing Darcy's problem most likely dealt with wedding issues.

Katirya slapped him playfully on his arm. "Oh, do go away. You are excused for I know how tedious you find these wedding preparations."

Loki smiled in relief. Bowing, he took his leave of the ladies and moved to his table. Hogun walked over to join him, followed by Fandral and Volstagg. "May we join you?"

"Please. Male company would be most appreciated right now. These weddings… " Loki's voice trailed off. The door burst open and Sif entered with Micarian by her side. Her eyes scanned the assembled people, finally settling upon Katirya. She said something to her companion then made a beeline to where Katirya was seated. Micarian looked around in confusion, clearly not wanting to join the ladies, but not seeing anyone else at first.

Volstagg roared with laughter. "Indeed! Weddings are a fussy matter, are they not? Ho!" he called out to Micarian. "Over here, laddie!"

Fandral chuckled. "Give the ladies their due. They do enjoy all the fancy dresses and decorations. And," he glanced over at the table where Darcy, Sif, and Katirya were huddled, a twinkle in his eye. "I must add I do enjoy seeing that."

"Always the ladies' man," Hogun teased.

Micarian reached their table. "If I may?" he asked politely.

"Do join us. We were just discussing all the uproar these weddings are causing," Loki stated.

Micarian rolled his eyes. "Do not even start!"

Everyone at the table started laughing.

"Seriously, though, it does seem to be such a fuss over a simple ceremony," Micarian continued.

"But, yours is a rather important one," Loki pointed out.

"I suppose," Micarian admitted, then looked around the table. "Where is Thor? I thought he would be here by now. I had a question for him."

"He is escorting Fury and the others back to Earth," Loki replied.

"He is? I would have thought a few guards ought to have been sufficient," Micarian replied.

"Perhaps, but we discussed it this morning. He indicated that he wanted to do it personally," Loki answered.

"I see, well I shall have to seek him out later then," Micarian replied.

"I still don't understand why you had to accompany us?" Stark complained as they arrived on Earth. They were standing on the terrace of Stark tower.

Thor shrugged. "It was my choice."

"Well, at least it gives us a chance to talk. Why the hell is Loki acting all… like he's in charge of everything, King of the Universe?" Stark complained.

"Ant. Boot," Fury mumbled.

"Well, he is the ruler of Asgard," Thor pointed out. "And Asgard has always watched over Earth even if you were unaware of us."

"So that means he can tell us what to do? Obviously you don't know much about us after all your observations. We do what we want," Stark stated plainly.

Thor looked sadly at Stark. "I thought we were friends Tony Stark. We fought together…"

"Against your brother!" Fury interrupted.

"If that is what you choose to believe," Thor conceded.

"What do you mean, If I choose to believe? I was there. I saw it, you saw it, they saw it!" Stark pointed to everyone in the room. "It was your brother we defeated to save Earth."

"I thought you understood…"

"There was nothing to understand! HE attacked us with that army of creeps. If it wasn't for Stark sending that nuke to destroy them, we'd be dead." Fury shouted.

"But the one who was truly responsible still lives, and most likely is the one who has made that deal with you," Thor replied quietly. "Loki was under his control; I thought you knew that."

"That was Loki we fought, not some dude no one has seen!" Fury snarled. "My deal was made with a real person. I KNOW who I am dealing with and they have promised peace for us while you idiots duke it out to see who is really King of the Universe, and I'll put my money on him, not Loki."

"You have met this being?" Thor asked. "Who is it?"

"Yeah, and I'm not introducing you. All you and your brother have brought to Earth is war and conflict, so go back and tell Loki to get the hell off my planet. Quit watching us. We can take care of ourselves," Fury shot back.

"You are incapable of taking care of yourselves. You have proved that," Thor retorted.

"Boys!" Natasha interjected. "Let's calm down and discuss this like adults, okay? Thor does have a point; there is someone who is behind all this, right?"

Fury glared at her but did not respond.

"So, if I'm understanding you," Natasha spoke up. "Loki was under the control of this being. And you think he's the one dealing with Fury?"

"Correct," Thor replied. "Whoever this person is, they are attempting to collect all of the Infinity Gems. If they succeed, they will destroy us… and you."

Fury snorted. "Seriously? Is that what you believe? You don't know a thing. He's promised to protect Earth from attack, that's why I'm willing to work with him. What have you offered?"

"You kidnapped Loki's children, what did you expect? An army to protect you?" Thor asked.

"Well, tried to… and that was all his idea. I had nothing to do with it," Stark muttered, correcting Thor's statement. "In fact, right now, I want nothing to do with Fury. So why did you have to include us in this… ah, return to Earth stuff?"

"Yeah, I didn't know what Fury was up to, I thought it was a joke," Barton said.

"A joke? To kidnap the children?" Thor looked at him incredulously. "You went into their room fully armed. I do not find that joking at all."

"Well, they weren't exactly unarmed themselves," Barton reminded him.

Stark laughed, recalling Barton's escort by the children.

"That is not the point. A plan was set in motion to kidnap those children so you could have leverage to obtain the Gems. Just because it did not work is no excuse to claim you did it as a joke."

"Like I said, I wasn't aware of what all Fury was up to…"

"So you follow him blindly while he leads you to death and destruction?" Thor asked.

"Well, when you put it that way…" Stark shrugged. "So if this dude gets these stones, you're certain he'll just wipe us out of existence too?" When Thor nodded, he turned to look at Fury. "So what are the bargaining chips we have to ensure this doesn't happen? Or was that supposed to be the kids?"

"The kids were the key to getting the stones. I thought you got that part. I've made an agreement with them to make sure they do not destroy Earth," Fury replied.

"Right, but what's in it for us? I mean, why save Earth? What good are we to this dude?" Stark asked. "I know he might find me useful, genius that I am. I can invent some pretty cool stuff for him… but other than that, what's in it for him? Why protect Earth?"

"Because he promised," Fury stated.

"And you believed him?" Stark asked. "You know, Thor? On second thought, I think I might be with you on this."

"I'm afraid that cannot be. Loki has decreed we are to have nothing more to do with Midgard and its' troubles. You have made your choice through your actions," Thor replied.

"So, you're just leaving us?" Natasha asked.

Thor nodded.

"HA! See what I said. Loki thinks he is in charge. Well, when he meets up with us next, I hope he is prepared," Fury taunted.

Thor shook his head. "I am sorry." He walked away from the others and looked up to the sky. "Heimdall!" The rainbow effect of the Bifrost whisked him away.

"Well, that was interesting," Barton stated. "So you gonna tell us who we're working for now that he's gone?"

Fury lifted his chin and stared at them. "No."

"So, what was all the fuss about?" Loki asked his wife as they exited the breakfast room.

Katirya laughed. "Darcy wanted to know if it was acceptable to invite the ladies who work in the library to her wedding."

"And Sif?"

"Ah, yes. Lady Sif." Katirya frowned. "She is worried her dress might not be ready on time."

"Why do I not recall all this fuss when we were married?" Loki asked.

Katirya laughed. "How easily you forget!" She glanced down the hallway and noticed Thor was approaching them. "Thor!"

"Brother! Am I glad to see you," Loki grinned. "How did it go?"

Thor shrugged as he fell into step with the couple. "Let us go outside to speak."

Loki nodded, knowing they could easily be overheard here in the hallways. Once they had exited the palace, he glanced at his brother. "So, do tell."

Author's Note: Thank you for continuing to read and review my stories. I enjoy hearing from my readers. Hopefully I can complete this story in the next few weeks as I continue on with this journey. So much more to tell.