Lost Souls

Chapter Twenty Four

Catherine was waiting with Erik when the shuttle from Germany arrived back, without Loki but with the iridium needed to complete the dimension splitter. The other materials had already been collected and were being set up in the laboratory. Catherine watched as Erik took the iridium from Agent Barton. She and Barton turned and headed back to the house together. It was a cool night and the wind was blowing quite fiercely despite the house being nestled in the valley.

"What's going to be done about getting Loki back?" Catherine demanded as they stepped inside.

"Well we can't go after them immediately," Barton told her. "He clearly has plans with them that might involve a few days waiting," he added.

"A few days?!" Catherine asked in disbelief.

"We'll give him a few days and then go to rescue him," Barton explained. "In the meantime, S.H.I.E.L.D will be focused on him which now gives us the opportunity to move our equipment to Stark Tower," he informed her.

Catherine sighed resentfully. Barton made a lot of sense, he was a rational man. Of course she couldn't be rational about this. She was in love with Loki. She wasn't seeing the same picture that Barton was. She nodded slowly at his words. "Send the word that starting tomorrow we start clearing out the base…" she told him and headed upstairs quietly towards the third floor.

Once she arrived she looked around sadly. She could see the damaged coffee table still lying in the middle of the drawing room. Turning to the right she moved towards Loki's room slowly. She stepped inside and closed the door, fighting back her emotions. Walking into the centre of the room, Catherine remembered the last time they'd been in here; they'd been making love and Loki had promised to return to her. He told her he always would.

Loki, you're either going to have to really fight to keep your promise or you're a horrific liar even to yourself and to me, she silently told him. She moved over to the bed and sat down. After he'd left she had slept for another hour before returning to her own quarters to practice magic. Running a hand over the sheets, Catherine remembered how tenderly he'd touched her and how beautiful his words had been spoken to her in the heat of their passion.

Loki, I hope you know what you're doing…

XMARVELX

They'd barely made it across Europe and were heading out over the Atlantic Ocean when the ship had been boarded by someone Loki was not so pleased to see. One minute he'd been strapped into a chair and the next Thor had appeared on the landing ramp and punched Iron Man backwards before he grabbed Loki, pulled him from his restraints and marched him out of the ship. Now they were falling/flying through the air thanks to Thor's hammer and a powerful grip on Loki.

Loki hit the ground hard and painfully on a rocky fell. His body ached from the impact in which he'd hit the earth. He groaned and lay still for a few minutes as he waited for his body to recover from the shock. A strange urge to laugh came over him at the irony of seeing Thor again when the humans had captured him. He chuckled as he lay on the ground.

Thor was not looking amused. "Where is the Tessaract?"

Loki laughed again. "I missed you too."

"Do I look to be in a gaming mood?" Thor growled angrily.

Loki began to sit up slowly. "You should thank me; with the BiFrost gone how much dark energy did the Allfather have to conjure to muster you here, your precious Earth? " he asked, spite and hatred clear in his voice. He bent over and placed his hands on the floor, pushing himself to his feet but suddenly a loud clanking sound echoed around them and he found himself dragged to his feet. Thor's hand clamped around Loki's neck painfully as he held him in a vice like grip.

"I thought you dead," he said his voice heavy with emotion.

"Did you mourn?" Loki sneered.

"We all did!" Thor replied fiercely. "Catherine suffered terribly after you disappeared. She went through hell; a hell that you could have spared her!" he growled.

Loki tensed up. Hearing Thor talk about Catherine during that period was striking something within him. Part of him wanted Thor to continue talking and tell him how badly Catherine had suffered but a smaller part of him wanted to block it out. In the end he decided to let Thor talk. After all it was no secret that Loki had loved Catherine even if he was trying to shut his family out of his life.

"Did she?" he asked, playing dumb.

"She was a wreck," growled Thor. "She had to be looked after so often to make sure she was taking care of herself. Your selfish decision left her heartbroken and do you know what the worst thing was?" Thor asked angrily.

"No but I'm sure you're going to tell me," Loki said snidely covering up the anxiety he felt at Thor being about to remind him of his worst decision so far.

"She was pregnant; she was expecting your child, Loki. A child that should have grown up to be healthy and happy but instead died inside of her. She had to deliver him stillborn."

"A son…" Loki said calmly.

"Yes, you are a father," said Thor. "I am not so sure you deserve to be one, deserve to have the gift of a child. You do not deserve it."

Loki's rage got the better of him at that statement and he struggled angrily in Thor's grip, pushing back against his adoptive brother. "Say that again, I dare you!" he hissed viciously.

"You left her; you're the one who broke her and we picked up the pieces!" Thor thundered. "We, who had our own grievances to bear…"

Loki scoffed at that. "Don't pretend you care; the only one who cared for me was Catherine."

"Don't you think that!" Thor thundered. "We still love you; you are still my brother and still their son! As for Catherine, you needlessly hurt her."

"I would not have put her through that for anything else but necessity!" Loki spat. "I would have been ridiculed and humiliated if I had stayed."

"You would have been forgiven; free to be with the woman you loved but no, you couldn't do that. Now her blood is on your hands," Thor said darkly.

Loki was sharply reminded that Thor must think Catherine dead. He narrowed his eyes in fake confusion. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Thor released Loki and looked away, stepping backwards. "Catherine couldn't cope. After losing your son, she went into a meltdown. We had to get Sif to take her out, get her fit and keep her busy. She wasn't coping at all. When the anniversary of your disappearance came around, she was in a state. When the anniversary of your son's death came round, she was a little better; like someone who is existing but not living. For a while we thought she'd get better but the second anniversary of losing you came round and…" Thor paused. "… it must have been too much for her. She jumped off the Rainbow Bridge that night," he told Loki. "She committed suicide."

Loki struggled to keep his emotions in check but allowed the fresh wave of pain to bubble to the surface. "She's dead? She… she killed herself because… because of me?" he asked.

Thor looked up at him sadly. "I'm sorry brother."

"I'm not your brother!" hissed Loki. "So much for looking after her, you claim to be so worried when she wasn't coping that you left her on her own to do something like this!" he growled at Thor taking out his annoyance at his former family having obviously left Catherine alone at times to deal with it.

"Don't you blame me!" spat Thor. "You abandoned her first! Do you want to know your son's name, Loki? You haven't even asked. It was Tyr… Tyr Lokison. Do you even care that the woman you used to love lost your baby and even named it after you?"

Loki surged forwards pushing Thor back against the rock, taking the stronger god by surprise. "Don't you tell me how I feel or do not feel about Catherine or the child!" he said aggressively. "I have always loved Catherine; nothing you can do will make it any less true or change it."

Thor pushed his brother back. "Then stop what you are doing, for her sake, leave Earth alone!" he snarled at him. "Tell me where the Tessaract is."

Loki just sneered. "No. Make me."

Thor grabbed hold of him again. "You should be ashamed of yourself," he said. "Our father-"

"Your father," Loki corrected. "He did tell you my true parentage did he not?" he asked as he pushed past Thor and started walking around the ridge, stretching his aching legs.

"We were raised together, we played together, we fought together; do you remember none of that?" Thor asked, his voice filled with insistence and pain.

"I remember a shadow," Loki admitted. "Living in the shade of your greatness. I remember you tossing me into an abyss, I who was and should be King."

"So you take the world I love as recompense for your imagined slights," Thor scoffed. "No," he said seeing Loki go to protest. "The Earth is under my protection, Loki."

Loki laughed cruelly. "And you're doing a marvellous job with that; the humans slaughter each other in droves while you idly fret. I need to rule them so why should I not?"

Thor stared at his brother in disbelief. "You think yourself above them?"

Loki pulled a face. "Well yes."

"Then you miss the truth of ruling, brother. The throne would suit you ill." Thor told him simply.

Loki made a noise between a hiss and a growl before pushing Thor aside and walking back up to the ridge. "I've seen worlds you've never known about; I have grown, Odinson, in my exile. I have seen the true power of the Tessaract and when I wield it-"

"Who showed you this power?" Thor demanded. "Who controls it would be King," he added.

"I AM A KING!" Loki snapped.

Once again Thor grabbed hold of Loki tightly by the neck. "NOT HERE!" he roared. "You give up the Tessaract, you give up this poisonous dream… and you come home," he spoke the last part softly.

Loki let out a laugh. "I don't have it." Thor glared and pushed himself away from Loki upon hearing that. He raised his hammer to threaten Loki but Loki merely continued. "You need to cube to bring me home but I've sent it off, I know not where," Loki said simply.

Thor raised his hammer. "Listen well, brother-" he began before being body slammed off the cliff by Iron Man. Loki stood alone on the ridge, staring out into the night.

"I'm listening," he muttered. He turned and looked out over the forest where Thor and Iron Man were arguing. Loki soon lost interest in following the conversation. He sat down smirking at them.

His thoughts drifted to France where Catherine would be waiting for him. Barton would probably have told her what was happening by now. No doubt she'd be worried about him not coming back. He recalled the promises he'd made to her during their love making; he'd promised to come back. Would she think he didn't mean them? What was going through her head right now? Whatever she might think, he knew he'd definitely come back to her. This was only a temporary stop, to cause as much trouble for the Avengers as possible. Hopefully Barton would take the hint and use this distraction wisely for the plan to succeed.

I will come home, Catherine, just wait for me…