Author Rant Note Thing!: Okay so we didn't reach 75 (one away! So close!) reviews but you know what, that's fine! Your reviews were wonderful AND we reached over 600 views! I'm so happy that everyone really enjoys this story and those of you who are telling me your thoughts and concerns and hating me for cliff hangers, I love all of you! Thank you!
This chapter ends with us heading to Thor 2 times... so yes, there will be spoilers. You've been warned!
Let's see if we can get to... 80 reviews! If this story ever reaches over 100 reviews I think I may fall over dead from excitement!
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There was a cool breeze against her skin, sending a gentle shiver up her spine. The cold felt great against her body, yet, this cold felt so familiar. Her eyes fluttered open to the sun lit room, the familiar architecture of the ceiling, the softness of the sheets, she knew where she was. "Asgard?" She whispered to no one in particular as she slowly sat up.
Her body ached slightly, her giant belly in the way as she maneuvered to get comfortable, taking in her surroundings. She was in her old chambers, her chambers with Loki. She slowly stood from the bed, a hand on her stomach as she headed for the window, noticing she was wearing her normal green color, this time her dress altered for the baby bump.
She stood looking out the open window, her hand on the railing as the cool breeze continued. "Was I dreaming?" She asked herself, taking in the sights of Asgard before her.
Kaleria heard movement behind her, soft footsteps as she kept her eyes locked on Asgard. Soon, a loving, cold, arm snaked around her midsection and a chin on her shoulder. "My love, you're up early?" His voice soft echoed in her ears, forcing a smile.
"It's hard to sleep when you have such a large belly." She replied, turning around now to face her husband.
He smiled. "I'm sure it is. It's almost time." He referred to her due date, receiving a bigger smile from Kaleria.
"It's strange to think us parents." She commented.
"And why is that?"
"Well, you're such a troublemaker." Kaleria teased. "I can only imagine the child would be just like you."
"Oh, to be so lucky." He laughed.
"Do not laugh; it will be a taste of your own medicine!"
He simply smiled, leaning forward to kiss Kaleria gently. "We will make fine parents."
"I love you." She practically whispered.
"And I you, my fire queen." He said. The word 'queen' resonated in Kaleria's head for some reason, getting stuck within her thoughts as she looked away from Loki and back out the window. "Is something the matter, love?"
Kaleria nervously bit her lip as she stared out the window. "I'm not sure. Something, though I'm not sure what that something is, feels wrong."
"Maybe a side effect of the pregnancy?"
"Possibly, I could be imagining it." Kaleria said as she looked down to her hands. She kept staring at the ring on her left hand, and trailing to her wrist. Her wrist was fine, no discoloring, nothing. She kept staring at her wrist, expecting something to be there. "No, I know something's off." Kaleria muttered. "Does my wrist look funny to you?" She asked, turning to Loki and waving her wrist around.
Loki just laughed. "You keep moving it, hold it still." Kaleria obliged. "No." He replied musically. "Your wrist is a perfect as always." Kaleria narrowed her eyes at her wrist, dissatisfied, as if expecting something to happen. Loki chuckled, placing his hand on Kaleria's wrist gently. "You're fine, I promise." As he let go of her wrist, Kaleria looked at it once more, she could have sworn she saw a blue tint.
"No… something's off…" Kaleria said again, placing her hands on her stomach for comfort, wanting to feel the baby kick. That's when her eyes went wide. She couldn't feel the baby. There was no movement what so ever. This baby was a fighter, constantly moving and kicking. She felt nothing, she hadn't felt the baby in… she couldn't even remember when. "No…"
Loki looked at his wife, concerned. "Kali, you're beginning to worry me."
"This isn't right." She muttered, looking around the room in a panic. "None of this is right…"
"Okay love, you need to calm down."
"Calm down?" Those words resonated in her head, she had heard them before, and she had heard them recently.
"Do not tell me to calm down." She replied, panic setting in. "This can't be real."
"Kali, you need to calm down. Think of the baby."
That's when it all came back to her. Like a wave of memories, she began remembering everything. Steve, the Avengers, Loki, the Tesseract, Coulson. Above all, she remembered Coulson. "You killed him…" She whispered.
"What?"
"You killed Phil." She repeated a little louder. "You murdered him." She began looking for an escape route.
"Kali, please try to listen to me."
"No!" She shouted. "You killed Phil, and I think you kidnapped me too!" She tried to ignite her hands on fire, only to have nothing happen. "What did you do to me?"
"I'm trying to keep you safe." Loki said somewhat defeated.
"Safe?" Kaleria scoffed. "The only thing I need to be safe from is you."
Loki looked somewhat hurt as he tried to walk over to his wife. "Kali." He said, only to have Kaleria back away from him, her back against the railing. "I'm going to keep you safe." Kaleria placed her hands on the railing, mustering all the strength she had to lift herself onto the railing, her behind now sitting on the railing. Loki stared at her wide eyed as he slowly tried to move forward. "Kali, what are you doing? Just come down, come to me."
"I swore to you that I would never willingly go to you, that I will never forgive you." Kaleria looked behind her, looking slightly down to see the long fall awaiting her. She looked at Loki with defiance in her eyes, meeting his saddened once; a single tear falling down her cheek as she said her last sentence. "And you will never see this child." She closed her eyes, falling backwards off the balcony. Everything felt like slow motion, as she opened her eyes to look up at her husband, leaning over the balcony and reaching for her. For the first time in a long time, she felt in control as her body landed with a thud on the pavement below.
Her body jerked as she woke. Her eyes opening as she sat up quickly. Immediately, she regretted that decision as her head ached and her body screamed. She was still sore from the explosion, and being knocked out did not help the situation either. She sighed with somewhat relief as she felt the fluttering movement within her stomach. The baby was all right.
She looked around at her surroundings; she was in a rather large bed within a chrome looking bedroom. She saw magazines framed on the walls promoting "Stark Tower" and "Man of the Century". Kaleria rolled her eyes, knowing exactly where she was. "He's such a narcissist." She muttered as she got off the bed. "Now, why am I here?" She asked no one as she headed for the door, opening it with force.
She walked into what she assumed was the living room, it overlooked the city skyline, and complete with bar. Another thing Stark seemed to not be able to live without. She moved closer to the window, examining everything outside. It seemed normal, nothing out of the ordinary. "I knew your body would burn off the tranquilizer fairly quickly." A voice said behind her.
Kaleria turned around, face to face with Loki once more. "You drugged me?"
Loki shrugged. "You would not come otherwise."
"No kidding." Kaleria scoffed.
Loki eyed his wife for a moment, taking in her figure before his lips curled ever so slightly. "You look so beautiful." He corrected himself. "You were always beautiful but, seeing you with my child."
Kaleria glared. "I told you; you are never to see this child."
"You say that now." Loki replied, taking a step closer, to which Kaleria matched with a step back. Loki noticed and smirked. "We don't need a repeat of your dream."
"You saw my dream?" Kaleria asked.
"I helped create it." Loki admitted, his smirk fading slightly. "I should have been there for you; through all of this, throughout your pregnancy." Kaleria looked at him somewhat confused, where was this sense of remorse coming from? "I had it all, once. I had a loving wife and she is pregnant with my child. I wanted to make a wonderful life for you, for both of you."
She was falling right into his hands, like she always did. "Loki, you can still have it all." Her voice was soft as she took a step closer to him. "Stop this, end this now. We can make this right."
"It cannot be stopped." He replied. "Once the portal opens, it will begin and end."
"What will begin?" Kaleria asked.
"My army will come, there is no stopping it." His voice began a little harsh. "This is where you claim your allegiance to the right side."
Kaleria narrowed her eyes. "I did." She said. "And it is not with you."
The scowl on Loki's face would frighten anyone. It was menacing and had the ability to strike fear up anyone's back. "Fine; we can do this the hard way." He lifted his scepter, walking closer to Kaleria. "I did not want to have to use this on you."
At that moment, before Loki was able to touch her with the scepter, Stark flew onto the balcony and began disrobing from his Iron Man suit. He walked into his living room, looking to Kaleria. "Hey fireball, I didn't interrupt anything, did I?"
"Impeccable timing, Mr. Stark." Kaleria muttered as Loki glared at Stark before returning his attention to Kaleria.
"Ah-Ah; I wouldn't touch her with that stick if I were you." Stark said.
Loki turned his attention to Stark now, walking closer to him. "And why is that?"
"I'll blast you across the room before you can even blink." He replied, winking at Kaleria. "I like fireball the way she is. No mind control necessary"
Kaleria rolled her eyes, a small smile appearing on her lips. "Thanks Stark."
Stark turned his attention back to Loki, as he began making a drink. "I know fireball can't have any but, care for a drink?" He offered.
"No thanks." Loki said, eyeing Stark carefully. "Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity."
"Actually." Stark began. "I'm going to threaten you."
Loki scoffed. "You should have left your armor on for that, then."
"Yeah, it has a bit of mileage on it. You've got the glow stick of destiny. You sure I can't offer you a drink?"
"Stalling isn't going to help."
"Not stalling, threatening." Stark corrected, looking at Kaleria. "One drink won't hurt the baby, right?" She just glared at him. "Right, right, my bad; bad form."
"The Chitauri are coming, nothing is going to stop that." Loki added. "What have I to fear?"
"Well, aside from your wife having a pretty interesting set of powers; The Avengers." Loki smirked. "It's what we're calling ourselves, like a team; 'Earths mightiest heroes' type of ordeal."
"Yes, I've met them."
"Yeah, takes us some time to get any traction, I'll give you that." Stark replied, taking a sip of the drink he prepared and placing the glass down once more before walking closer to Loki. "Let's take a head count, shall we? We have your brother, the demi-god; a super soldier, a living legend that, as much as I hate to admit it, lives up to the title." Kaleria smirked slightly at the mention of Steve. "A man with breath-taking anger management issues; a couple of master assassins, and you have managed to piss them all off."
"That was the plan." Loki said.
"Not a great plan." Tony said. "When they come for you, and they will come."
"I have an army."
"We have a Hulk."
"I thought the beast wandered off."
"You're missing the point." Tony said. "There is no throne; there is no version of this where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes, and maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you. If we can't protect the Earth, you can bet we will avenge it."
Kaleria watched in horror as Loki slowly walked up to him, raising his scepter. "How will you friends have time for me, when they're so busy fighting you?"
"Stark look out!" Kaleria reached out to them, yelling for Stark.
Loki tapped the scepter onto Tony Stark's chest. A loud ping noise echoed in the room, nothing happening to Tony. Loki tried again, with a confused look on his face. Once more, nothing happened to Stark. "Why is it not working?"
"Performance issues." Tony said, looking to Kaleria apologetically. "You sure he's the father, I mean this guy seems to have a lot of backfires-"Before Tony could finish, Loki grabbed Tony by the throat, dragging him to the window. "JARVIS, any time now!" Tony yelled as Loki threw Tony out of the window.
Kaleria ran to the now open window, next to Loki as she yelled after Stark. "Stark!" Loki turned to Kaleria, about to say something, only to hear a noise from behind them. The two turned around to the elevator as the doors opened. A red pod shot from the elevator, nearly missing them, and going out the window, heading down after Stark
A few seconds later, the Iron Man suit flew up to the window. Kaleria sighed with relief, a smile on her face as she saw him. "There's one other person you pissed off. His name was Phil." Before Loki could respond, Iron Man shot Loki with a simple shot, sending him flying backwards. Iron Man looked at Kaleria. "Will you be okay, fireball?"
Kaleria ignited her hands on fire. "I think I'll be fine." As Kaleria finished her sentence, a rather large blue beam shot up to the sky from the tower; Iron Man and Kaleria looked up to the sky to see the beam was opening a portal. Within minutes the hole ripped open and spilling from it was the Chitauri army.
"Right, army; stay safe, fireball!" Stark yelled as he flew off towards the army.
Kaleria watched from the window in horror as the Chitauri flooded from the sky, like a wave of death they came down upon New York City; the only defense against this war was the Avengers. She wanted to be out there, she should be out there fighting. Yet, she knew she couldn't, not in her condition. Plus, the amount of heat she'd take from Steve for putting herself and the baby in danger was not worth it.
Explosions could be heard from the streets, people panicking and screaming, and the sound of weapons being fired. It was a horrific sight to behold. She was unsure when Loki got back up and decided to stand next to her. He seemed to just appear as he stood silently next to her, watching the destruction before him. "This is madness." Kaleria whispered.
"It is what must be done."
"No, Loki." Kaleria sighed. "None of this is necessary."
"When I rule Midgard-"Loki began.
"Don't you get it?" Kaleria said. "The Avengers will not let you win. You will lose, and when you do, the consequence will be… I can't even bring myself to think of it."
"What sentiment for a man you loathe." Loki scoffed.
Kaleria turned to Loki, her expression soft. "I do not loathe you, Loki. I could never loathe you. I may never forgive you for the death of Phil but, I still believe my husband is in there somewhere." His lips pursed as she continued. "I know there is a part of you still in there, a part of your old self that I had fallen madly in love with, and still am in love with."
The baby began kicking wildly, causing Kaleria to grimace slightly. Loki looked at her somewhat concerned. "Are you all right?"
Kaleria nodded a small weak smile on her lips. "It's kicking."
"Oh." Loki's face dropped slightly as he looked at his wife's belly. Kaleria nervously reached out for his hand, gently pulling him closer and placing the hand on her stomach. Silence sat between them before Loki replied sadly. "I don't feel anything."
"Give it a minute." Kaleria said. As they waited once more, Loki's eyes widened in shock as he felt the baby kick for the first time. He smiled brightly, almost disbelieving as the baby kicked once more. He breathed a sigh of relief and somewhat laughter as he looked at Kaleria. For the first time in a long time, Kaleria truly saw peace within his eyes. He was happy; and in that moment she felt a glimmer of hope for her husband.
His smile faded. "I should have been there." Without another word, Loki removed his hand from Kaleria's stomach and headed outside to the walkway. Kaleria watched him curiously, hoping that maybe he would stop this battle and fix the damage he created. She was wrong as she watched Thor come down to the walk way and soon the two were fighting.
She watched Loki stab Thor in the side, Thor pushed his brother away. Kaleria quickly ran out of the penthouse and towards them, ready to fight Loki. Loki saw he was outnumbered and quickly rolled off the tower edge and onto a Chitauri speeder below. Thor turned to see Kaleria. "Kali, are you all right?" He asked.
"I'm fine, Thor." She said, motioning to his side. "Are you?"
Thor nodded. "We need to find a way to shut down the Tesseract."
"Why not blast it?" Kaleria asked.
Thor shook his head. "Selvig said it cannot be stopped."
"I can try melting it."
"From what Stark and Banner have mentioned, the machine is not so easily destroyed."
Kaleria and Thor waked closer to the edge, leaning over to see the Tesseract and Erik Selvig below. "We need to do something, there has to be some way."
"We will find a way." Thor said, looking back out at the battle. "Until then, I must keep fighting."
"Be careful."
"You too." He forced a smile before swinging Mjolnir and flying off into the sky.
Kaleria tried anyway, blasting fireballs down at the reactor, hoping to stop the Tesseract. Her fireballs seemed to just bounce right off the machine. She sighed, dejectedly. "Well, there goes my plan." She said before heading back into the penthouse. She walked over to the couch and sat, needing to be off her feet. "This is the worst time to be pregnant." She muttered, rubbing her stomach. She felt useless.
Kaleria closed her eyes, trying to block out the loud battle outside, inhaling deeply. As she was about to feel somewhat at peace, a loud crash came through the window. She opened her eyes, her hands igniting as she saw the familiar green warrior outfit of her husband and he rolled on his side, getting up. Before she could ask what happened, a loud roar came following and soon there was a giant, green monster in the room.
Kaleria's eyes went wide as Loki stood before the Hulk, shouting. "Enough!" Hulk immediately paused. "You are all beneath me!" He yelled. "I am a god, you dull creature, and I will not be bullied-"Before he could finish, Hulk grabbed Loki's ankle and began bashing him around repeatedly on the ground, making giant holes on the penthouse floor. Kaleria watched wide eyed as Hulk tossed Loki to the ground one final time.
Kaleria stood, walking over slowly as Hulk growled. "Puny God."
Kaleria moved closer, looking up at Hulk, he looked down at her curiously. She smiled. "Not a bad beating, Banner."
Hulk smirked before running out of the penthouse with a mighty roar. Kaleria turned to her husband, a squeak of air coming from his body as she walked over and looked down at him. "You get no pity from me." She said. "You deserved that."
Loki muttered a few curse words as Kaleria walked away from him and back to the couch, eyeing a magazine and reading it nonchalantly as her husband lied injured on the floor.
After an hour or so, there was silence; complete and total silence. Concerned, Kaleria got off the couch and headed for the walk way outside the penthouse, passing her husband on the floor as she went. She walked outside to see the blue light from the Tesseract was gone, the portal was no longer in the sky, and the Chitauri were unmoving. "They won?" She muttered in disbelief as she looked around. The destruction was devastating all around yet, hope and relief was in the air as she inhaled deeply. The war was over.
Kaleria walked back inside the penthouse, nearly falling over as she realized she was no longer alone with Loki. They were huddled around Loki now, ready to take him in. Kaleria watched curiously as Thor picked up Loki with ease, forcing him to his feet.
She didn't have time to register that Steve had walked over to her. "Kali, you're okay." He said with a smile. Kaleria looked up at him, seeing a few cuts and bruises.
"You're injured." She replied, grimacing slightly.
"A few scratches." He tried to reassure her. "I'm just glad to see you're okay."
She smiled. "And I'm happy to see you." The two embraced for a hug, Steve being careful of Kaleria's belly as he held her.
"Agent Kaleria, your service here has been more than appreciated." Nick Fury said, sitting at his desk, watching Kaleria sitting across from him.
"Thank you, Sir." She said.
"You're more than welcome to come back anytime." Fury said. "Our door is open to you."
Kaleria nodded. "I know, Sir, and thank you for that but, I think I need to enjoy being a mother and adjusting to Asgardian life again first."
Fury nodded, sighing slightly. "You were his favorite, aside from Captain Rogers of course. That was more of an obsession for a hero sort of thing."
Kaleria's heart sank at the thought of Phil. "He was a great Agent and an even better friend." She looked down at her belly. "He was supposed to see me home today."
Fury opened his desk drawer, reaching in to grab Agent Coulson's ID badge and handing it to Kaleria. "You should keep this."
Kaleria took the badge, staring at the picture of the smiling Phil Coulson. "I can't keep this."
"Take it to remember him by." Fury said. Kaleria nodded, holding onto the badge gently. "I hear Thor will be ready to leave in an hour or so, you may want to get your goodbyes in."
Kaleria stood slowly. "Then you'll be my second goodbye." She said, referring to Coulson as the first. "Director, it's been fun."
Fury nodded as Kaleria turned and left his office, heading for the only person she could think to say goodbye to at that time.
Steve was in the locker room, sitting on the bench, his head down as he became lost in his thoughts. Kaleria had come in undetected, spotting Steve and smiling sadly. "If a pregnant woman can sneak up on you, you may need to sharpen your skills."
Steve forced a smile as he stood, facing Kaleria. "How are you feeling?"
"Not bad." Kaleria said. "A little sore but, not too bad."
Silence broke between them, Steve the first to speak. "You know you can always stay here."
Kaleria nodded. "I know." She replied sadly. "I didn't think going home would be this hard. It's all I've wanted and now I can't even bring myself to do it."
"If you don't want to, don't."
"I have to go home." She said. "This world isn't big enough for me." She tried to joke, forcing a laugh. Steve just smiled. "When the Bifrost is restored, I can always visit."
"You still owe me a few more movies."
"Exactly, I have to return someday." She smiled though inside her heart was breaking at the thought of leaving Steve. He could sense her hesitation because he was feeling it too. "I'm really going to miss you."
"Don't say that." Steve said. "It sounds like a goodbye forever." Steve pulled the girl close to him, hugging her gently as she returned the hug.
"In another life, Steve." Kaleria began. "I would stay."
"In that life I wouldn't let go." Steve joked causing Kaleria to chuckle. The two finally pulled away as Steve sighed. "Are you ready to go?"
Kaleria nodded. "If I don't go now I may never leave." Steve forced a reassuring smile as the two left the locker room and headed to find the others.
She rode in the van to central park with a very quiet Steve, Thor, and Loki. Loki would pass glances to Kaleria, unable to speak with his new found muzzle over his face. She tried to avoid his gaze at all cost. The ride felt as though it took forever and once they finally arrived, Kaleria couldn't help but rush out of the van to breathe the fresh air.
Everyone was there, all the Avengers showed up in normal clothes, aside from the Asgardians. She smiled at them all, walking over to hug Natasha and Barton. "Stay safe, Kali." Natasha whispered as she hugged Kaleria.
Kaleria hugged Banner next; he smiled nervously as he hugged her. "All the best, Banner." She said.
"Same to you."
Kaleria stopped in front of Tony Stark, he was avoiding her gaze. "I don't do goodbyes. They make me nervous."
Kaleria chuckled. "Stay out of trouble, Stark."
Tony sighed, hugging Kaleria quickly and awkwardly. "You too, fireball."
Kaleria then stood in front of Steve, his smile weak as she forced her own. "Hey."
"Last chance to stay." He said.
"I have to go."
"I know." Steve said. "Just thought I'd offer."
Kaleria smiled a little more as she hugged Steve tightly, afraid to let go. She finally pulled away and walked over to Thor and Loki. Loki glared at Steve and shared another glare with Kaleria as she wrapped her arm around Thor's. "Ready to go home?" Thor asked.
Kaleria inhaled deeply, looking back to the friends she had made and smiling slightly before looking back at Thor. "Let's go home."
With one quick turn of the Tesseract, the light bridge opened and swallowed the three Asgardians, returning them to Asgard where only misery awaited their return.
Final Thoughts: Thank you guys for reading! I know this chapter was a little slower, I guess, but, it only continues from here! Let's see if we can get to 80 reviews!