Songs for this chapter: "Sword and Council" by Brian Tyler; "To The Stars" by Tyler Bates

Chapter 24

Jane followed Thor out the door of Hliðskjálf into Valhalla. Everything looked mostly the same as on Asgard, but there was a faint golden glow to all the inanimate objects, as if they were embedded with Asgardian radiation. Sif and Fandral stood guarding Hliðskjálf's entryway, vibrantly colored just like they were back in the living version of Asgard. They paid her no attention.

"Can they not see us?" Jane asked.

"Who?" Thor asked.

"Sif and Fandral. They stand right here and here." Jane said pointing to them. Cautiously she asked, "Can you not see them?"

Thor frowned and then his sallow face seemed to light up briefly.

"For a moment, just then, I could see Sif." Thor said. "I can only see the living if they are thinking of me while I am thinking of them."

"So you cannot see Fandral?"

"No, he rarely thinks of me. I am sure he is distracted by other, more pressing things." Thor said with a suggestive grin. His grin disappeared as he looked at Jane and added, "Much like you."

Jane blushed and cleared her throat before saying, "Where is Frigga?"

"Likely in her room or perhaps in Loki's quarters." Thor shrugged.

"Her room is closer." Jane said and headed towards the queen's chambers. Thor followed and Jane took in all the guards as they walked. Hundreds of these einherjar—all sallow and gray like Thor—filled the narrow halls of the royal quarters. Every so often she would see a living guard, striking in his vibrancy. The dead cleared out of their way, some nodding at her and all of them nodding at Thor. Great, Jane thought. Even the dead don't respect me as queen.

"Does everyone come here in death? I thought Hel and Niflheim hosted the dead?" Jane asked Thor. "There are just so many people. More than I expected."

"It is only those who die gloriously, which is to say through sacrifice." Thor said. "But it is all of those, spanning every millennia of Asgard's existence."

"And Odin? Is he here?"

"Of course," Thor said. "All kings—and queens—come to Valhalla in death."

Jane nodded.

They went into the royal chambers to find them empty. She marched through to Frigga's room and looked back to Thor.

"Should I knock?"

Thor laughed and shook his head. Jane pushed open the door and walked in to find Frigga sitting with a Jötunn woman on two sitting chairs by the fireplace. The chairs were not in the living version of this room. Though grey and clearly dead, both women flashed Jane a smile.

"Jane! You've arrived." Frigga said. She nodded to Thor and he left the room. Frigga motioned to the Jötunn woman and said, "May I introduce you to Bestla, former Queen of Asgard."

"Nice to meet you. You were Bor's wife?" Jane asked.

"Yes, I was." She smiled. "But that is neither here nor there. Come here, child. I need to see for myself."

Jane stood in place warily.

"Bestla does not believe another Jötunn Queen of Asgard exists." Frigga explained.

"I am many things." Jane said to Bestla. She studied her markings. "You are from Queen Nál's tribe."

"Yes, Nál is my daughter." Bestla said.

"Really?"

"Yes, it is quite common for Jötnar to parent many children with many different partners." Bestla said simply. She then looked at Jane quite directly and added, "You shouldn't feel ashamed. It is part of who you are."

"What do I have to feel ashamed about?" Jane asked.

Bestla looked to Frigga, who gave her a simple nod, and then turned back to Jane.

"I do not speak of now; I speak of your future actions. Loki will want you to feel ashamed, but you should not. Remember that when the time comes."

Jane nodded, wondering what she meant. She painted it like Jane would mother a child with someone other than Loki. It was in that moment she realized she had no idea how Jötunn pregnancy worked. It seemed like a question better suited for Skaði, or even Nál. Either way, it was not a hot topic for her at the moment, and she cleared her throat to address Frigga. Before she could, Frigga spoke.

"Loki has gone to Heven, though he does not know its name." Frigga said.

"I'm sorry? Heaven is where Humans think they go when they die. Well, some humans think that." Jane said.

"Different concepts." Frigga waved it off. "Heven is the Tenth Realm, the realm of the Angels."

"Why is it secret?" Jane asked.

"Please come and sit. There are some things you need to know." Frigga said and motioned a chair into existence.

"You can perform magic here?" Jane asked in surprise.

"How do you think I've sent you messages?" Frigga smiled.

Jane sat in the chair and held her hand out to Bestla.

"I am from your tribe." She said as Bestla took her hand.

Jane's form shifted to Jötunn and Bestla let out a delighted laugh.

"So you are." She said.

Jane tugged back her hand, fading to Æsir, and looked at Frigga. "Tell me." She said.

Frigga smiled at the command then launched into it.

"The Angels are descendants of the Archangels, who were Celestials. Celestials are creatures similar to Titans."

"Titans? Like the Mad Titan, Thanos?" Jane asked.

"Yes, did the looms…?" Frigga trailed off.

"There was a memory of Muninn's vision." Jane said cautiously, unsure if Frigga knew that Thor spied on her.

"Of me and Nál?" Frigga asked with a nod. "Will you tell Loki?"

"Assuming I find him, no. I would rather Nál tell him." Jane said. "She deserves the chance."

Bestla smiled, pleased with Jane's thinking.

"So the Celestials…they are massive creatures who exist beyond the restrictions of reality, more or less?" Jane said quickly.

"Yes, they are creatures of the Ginnungagap, like the Titans, and they have assigned roles. For instance, Azrael is the Archangel of Death."

"Azrael? Are they all men?" Jane asked.

"They are without gender." Bestla said.

"Like the Norns." Jane said.

"No, the Norns are women. Female Jötnar." Bestla shook her head.

"No," Jane said and remembered what Urðr told her. "Oh, you've not seen them. Well, not the real them. Only the Protector of the Realms can do that."

"Interesting," Bestla said.

"The Archangels created the Angels by reproducing with non-Celestials, like Æsir, Vanir, Jötnar, and the Elves, before the elves split their magic into Dark and Light many cycles ago." Frigga explained. "Over time the Archangels decided their descendants were to oversee the other Nine Realms, except for Muspelheim."

"Why not the Eldjötnar?" Jane asked.

"They deemed them demons." Frigga said in a voice that indicated she agreed. Jane recalled the memory of Frigga and Odin imprisoning Surtur. Based on Odin's history of abhorrent behavior, Jane was willing to give the Eldjötnar a shot.

"So why is Asgard in charge then? How could the Æsir possibly defeat Celestials?" Jane asked.

"We did not." Frigga said. "Odin was able to sever the link between their realm and the other nine. He banished them from entering the rest of Yggdrasil and erased all records of their existence from the realms."

"Even Muspelheim?" Jane asked.

"No, Muspelheim had already been banished by then."

"When you imprisoned Surtur?" Jane asked.

"Yes,"

"With what power?" Jane asked.

"The Alfather's power. It cannot be severed by death, except the death of Asgard itself. It belongs to the radiation that forms the branches." Frigga explained.

"Well, there's a loophole because Surtur is free. He voted against me at the High Council." Jane said. "So, any advice you have on him would be helpful."

"Kill him, is my advice." Frigga said coldly.

"I need all the realms to defeat Thanos. I do not plan to kill Surtur for no reason."

"A wise decision." Bestla said and eyed Frigga. "The follies of those before you do not need to be repeated. I can tell you that while the Eldjötnar seem to be made of fire, they cannot burn the Jötnar with their bodies or tongues. Any other species, however, would not enjoy their touch, and most would die from it. Also you will learn this quickly, but Nál and Surtur loathe each other for reasons I do not understand."

"Thank you." Jane said. Maybe Bestla will be more useful than I thought. "So if Odin broke the link and no one knows it even exists, how is Loki going to Heven? And why does it matter?"

"You knew of the realm from the Norns, so he will know of it by now from reading your mind. As to why it matters…" Frigga trailed off and looked like she might cry. Jane wondered if the dead could cry. "We stopped a war from coming to us, but in return the Angels took something precious from Asgard. If Loki steps on their land, it will not only reform the link due to his Æsir radiation, it will be perceived as an attack. That he is coming to reclaim what they stole."

"And what will they do to him?" Jane asked.

"Kill him on sight." Frigga said.

"And if he cloaks himself and they cannot see him?" Jane asked.

"They can see through true magic." Frigga warned.

"This war that Odin stalled, was it only with the Æsir?"

"What do you mean?"

"The Vanir, the Jötnar, should they be warned?" Jane asked.

"If you can stop Loki, then nothing will happen. Let me show you on the charts where it is." Frigga stood.

"Goodbye Jane." Bestla said with a smile. "I look forward to your rule."

"Thank you," Jane managed to get out before Frigga transported her to the Observatory.

"Look out at the stars." Frigga said. "I will give you Heimdall's sight."

Jane looked out into the abyss of space, seeing merely the stars for a few moments until Frigga did some magic that gave her Heimdall's sight. Suddenly the universe seemed to expand. All of the living echoed in her mind, chattering across the realms. She played with her focus and tried to find Darcy's voice amongst the crowded speech. She focused her mind towards the Earth and specifically to London. Darcy's laugh rang through her ears and she could see her with Ian, watching trashy television shamelessly on the couch of Jane's London flat. Jane smiled at this, pleased her friend seemed happy, despite her terrible taste in TV and mooching off the free living space.

"Let me know when you've adjusted to the noise." Frigga said.

"I have." Jane replied. Mind linking with her Jötunn tribe made this experience easier.

"Impressive." Frigga remarked, mostly to herself, and then pulled out the star charts. "You see here, where the Heavens Cloisters should meet the Svalinn Sun?"

Jane looked at the old chart and nodded, seeing the abnormal gap. They had erased it from the records.

"Now, look out there." Frigga said with a nod to the stars beyond them.

Jane looked. In the space that was blank on the chart glowed a bright sphere, its light stronger than the Svalinn Sun beside it. Jane's focus intensified, seeking out any signs of Loki. To her relief, he was not on the realm. A host of others were though; she could hear them. They spoke of nothing special, normal day to day happenings of life. They blended into the rest of the realms' chatter. If Jane hadn't known the Angels existed, she would never have noticed. Neither would have Heimdall.

"Loki is not there." Jane told Frigga.

"Then there is still time."

"I will send a party to intercept him. It won't be safe to go as Queen of Asgard." Jane said. She turned to Frigga and added, "Thank you for your help."

"Any time." Frigga said.

Frigga undid Heimdall's sight from Jane's mind and Jane transported them back to the palace. She bid Frigga farewell and headed to Hliðskjálf. Time was not on her side if Loki was on his way to Heven. She needed to send Sif and Skaði to intercept him immediately, and she needed a plan for him once he arrived back on Asgard. As she hurried back to the Gullbrú, the perfect plan dawned on her.

~.~.~

"Earlier today, I issued a new proclamation securing a law that already is present in nearly all of the realms. The ravens have been sent updating Yggdrasil of this change." Jane said to the High Council of the Realms. It was their first meeting at Urðarbrunnr with Jane crowned as Queen of Asgard. All the leaders who had been at the gathering in which she had been elected were present today, along with Maria Hill, who had agreed to represent Midgard, and Faradei of Alfheim. He had complimented Jane on her skills in true magic upon his arrival, admitting that they had been watching her and Loki closely during their time on Alfheim.

"What is the law?" Nál asked.

"It is the law protecting people from all forms of sexual assault." Jane said. "But I wanted to move on to something the High Council must actually decide on, which is how often we wish to meet. Currently we—"

"You cannot just put a law into effect that affects all the realms!" Surtur yelled. "Odin would never have attempted such blasphemy."

"Odin's inertia led Yggdrasil into decay." Jane said. She looked at Surtur directly to add, "I remind you this is not a democracy. This is a unification of realms. Should Muspelheim wish to cede, we will find no problems destroying that branch of Yggdrasil and refusing aid and protection against attack to that realm. Perhaps you might discuss such endeavors with your Eldjötnar subjects before interrupting me again."

Surtur glared at her with his yellow, snakelike eyes, and she turned back to address the group.

"As I was saying, currently we meet maybe every year and things have begun to fall into a…questionably chaotic order." Jane continued. "I move to meet more often, possibly quarterly by the Asgardian annual cycle."

As Nál, Alvíss, and Valfreyja made motion to agree, Surtur thrust his fiery tongue out across the table towards Maria Hill with what would be a fatal blow for a mortal. Jane caught it midair, the fire singing her Æsir flesh as the tongue wrapped around her arm like a rope whip until her Jötunn form emerged and froze the fire.

"We do not strike fellow Council members, Surtur." Jane said to him like he was a child.

"You will rue the day of Fáfnir's return." Nál growled at him, her protective instincts of their shared bloodline kicking in at the sight of Jane's injury. "A Rime Giant and two Frost Giants against your pathetic Eldur lashings? A sight I'd like to see."

"Nál, please, calm down. It is only Surtur." Valfreyja said in a placating tone.

Jane noticed Faradei look between Valfreyja and Surtur as if trying to determine whether they were sleeping together or not. Eldjötnar were not exactly compatible with anyone other than Eldjötnar, but Jane knew Valfreyja would change a person to fit her needs. Perhaps Faradei knows this, too. Jane thought and marked him as a risk to her ultimate plan.

"Fáfnir will never return." Surtur hissed, clearly not needing his tongue to speak. "He is probably dead, drowning eternally in his sea of snakes."

"Oh, never say never, old man." Someone who looked like a white Frost Giant boomed jovially from the entrance to Urðarbrunnr. He was not alone. A woman walked at his side, carrying herself as confidently as he did, and he held something in his arms that appeared to be a very large lizard.

"By the Norns," Surtur whispered as the pair entered, his body temperature rising slightly, hotter than Jane thought possible for a living being. She noticed his heartbeats had increased tempo and wondered the relationship between him and the newcomers.

Jane stood and walked to greet them knowing Nál would protect Maria if Surtur was foolish enough to try and strike her again.

"You must be Jane Foster, Queen of Asgard." The white giant said. "I am Fáfnir, King of Niflheim."

"What is that?" Jane asked him, looking at the massive lizard and noting that white giants were Rime Giants.

"This is Níðhöggr, my dragon." Fáfnir replied.

"May I?" Jane asked, reaching out her hand to pet it.

"No, he really hates the…" Fáfnir began, trailing off as Jane ran her hand over the dragon's scaly back, using magic to calm the beast and successfully draw purrs from Níðhöggr. Fáfnir finished his thought in shock, saying, "…living. He usually hates the living."

"A trait shared with his owner, I presume." Jane said with a sly grin.

The woman next to Fáfnir let out a giggle and Jane turned to her to see she had a dual colored face. It had not been immediately apparent before, but one side was the dullish gray of Æsir death offset by a Jötunn-red eye, and the other was a striking porcelain color, rosy with life and accented by a brilliant jade colored eye. The familiarity of that shade of green combined with the Jötunn red took Jane off guard. It was as if she was looking at both of Loki's eye colors at once. She let out a gasp and the woman frowned slightly, as though she were disappointed with Jane's reaction to her appearance.

"Your eye colors," Jane said, shaking her head. "They are identical to those of someone I know."

"Really? No one has ever told me this about both of my eyes." The woman said, her frown transforming into an easy smile as she asked, "Do you know this someone well?"

"Yes," Jane managed, quickly containing her visible emotions with magic. The woman's smile too was identical to Loki's. Different than how Skaði was similar to him. Unsettling, as if he were there in this woman's form, peering at her through her dichromatic eyes.

The woman searched Jane's face for a moment before saying in a louder, confident tone, "I am Hela, Ruler of Hel. I received your ravens and thought I would come see how Yggdrasil fares without Bor's wretched lineage ruling it."

"We are glad to have you at the High Council, Hela. And you, Fáfnir, welcome back." Jane said. She looked at the dragon he held and added, "Unfortunately within the walls of Urðarbrunnr only High Council members are allowed, and as lovely as Níðhöggr is, he will need to wait outside until we adjourn."

"Really?" Fáfnir asked.

Jane merely nodded and walked back to her place at the head of the table. She would rather the small dragon be in the meeting, mostly to spite Valfreyja, but rules were rules. If Otta had to wait outside, so would Níðhöggr. A line from Loki's letter swam through her mind briefly: I lack the compassion to be fair.

Sif fingered the sealed parchment that Jane left with her and Skaði to give to Loki. She wondered what was written inside. What Jane would say to convince Loki to come home. She hoped it was enough since she had no ideas of her own and Skaði did not seem to either. A beep sounded from the navigation console, calling her attention to the map of the Heavens Cloisters.

"We are entering uncharted territory now." She said to Skaði. "I have turned on the cartographer as Jane requested, but we should mind the visuals. Anything could be out here."

"It is strange to know another realm has existed all this time." Skaði said from the front of the Asgardian spacecraft. She looked out the front window trying to catch a glimpse of everything they passed in the Heavens Cloisters. The light from what appeared to be thousands of stars made it somewhat difficult to see, even with the Asgardian technology filtering the faux starlight. This region was the brightest part of the Yggdrasil, even though it was technically beyond the stars. No Jötunn had been beyond the Heavens Cloisters before.

The Bifröst had only taken them as far as the collection of habitable asteroids known as Alfheim's Archipelago. From their spacecraft, everything there had seemed empty of life. She knew though the Light Elves were generally invisible except when they wished to be seen. Entire cities could be on every asteroid of the archipelago and no one but the Light Elves would see them. At least that was what they were taught on Jötunheim. Skaði was about to ask Sif if Asgard taught the same when she saw something move.

"Did you see that?" she asked Sif.

Sif moved to the window and said, "No. What was it?"

"There!" Skaði pointed to the figure that seemed to float through the space nearby their ship.

"It is Loki! Thank the Norns." Sif said enthusiastically.

"I am not so certain." Skaði said with caution and added, "I should be able to feel him in my blood. Besides, he cannot survive in space unaided."

Both women looked closer and gasped as the being turned towards their spacecraft and seemed to look at them directly. His hair was black and wild like Loki's, but it was his eyes that forced the gasp from them. Their unnatural jade color was distinct and incredibly familiar.

"The windows are reflective, correct?" Skaði asked.

"Correct. Whoever that is, he cannot see in." Sif said, but her voice quavered. It felt like he could see into the ship, into their souls. It felt like he knew their purpose in this place and that he did not approve.

"He's coming towards us." Skaði whispered.

"I will hail him. Perhaps it is an outer guard?" Sif said, forcing herself to be practical to combat her fear.

"Wait," Skaði grabbed Sif's arm to stop her movement towards the communications panel. "Listen."

Sif could not hear anything for a long enough moment that she was about ask Skaði for clarification, but then a noise ruptured through her as if it possessed her. A wailing howl.

Sif's mind went blank for a moment, as if her brain emptied out. Her chest heaved a final breath before she could no longer pull more air into her lungs. Then she blacked out.

"What happened?" Sif asked slowly as she came to.

Skaði shook her head and stared out the window, unsure how much time had passed while they were blacked out.

The being who uncannily resembled Loki halted his approach and the howling stopped. He continued to stare at their spacecraft's window as if he could see through it and lifted a hand, as if to beckon them towards him.

"I should hail him." Sif said.

The spacecraft began to move towards the being.

"Are you doing that?" Skaði asked in a panicked voice.

"No." Sif said, running to the controls. "The system has been manipulated. I must manually override it."

"Can I help?" Skaði asked, running to Sif's side.

"No, probably not. It only responds to Æsir touch." Sif said. "I do not understand how he is doing this. He has taken down our shields and our weapons are offline. We are sitting eider."

"He must see us as a threat." Skaði said. "We will have to hail him."

"Follow the plan?" Sif asked, turning to Skaði.

Skaði nodded and Sif took a deep breath.

"Ready?" Skaði asked.

Sif nodded.

"Sorry," Skaði said and then punched Sif in the face. Sif recoiled in pain and Skaði hit her again and then again. She hurriedly bound Sif's hands and put the muzzle over her mouth. She took a vial of Jane's blood and wiped some on her inner wrist, quickly turning into Jötunn form. "Okay, signal the hail."

Sif swiped the Hail command and live video feed of the Loki lookalike filled the control panel screen.

"I am Skaði of Jötunheim and I demand you release my ship." Skaði said in a threatening tone.

"Skaði of Jötunheim, you are trespassing on a protected region of space and you are lying." the being replied with a sly grin.

"I do not lie. You will release my ship at once." Skaði growled in a hard tone.

"Your Asgardian ship, Jötunn? How foolish do you believe me to be?" he asked.

He sounded so much like Loki, it was unsettling. Almost like when Jane imitated him in their fight. Skaði realized this could be a Light Elf using magic. It would explain why she could not feel his blood. Something inside of her told her otherwise though. Her Vanir Light could sense no magic. She knew she should follow the plan.

"I commandeered this ship from the Asgardian Warrior, Sif, and disposed of the rest of the crew. She is my prisoner." Skaði said, grabbing Sif forcefully and pulling her close enough for her beaten face to be visible on the transmitting Hail imagery. "You will release my ship."

"You have entered the Realm of Heven, Skaði of Jötunheim and Sif of Asgard. You have no rights here." He turned to his right and called out, "Azrael, they have arrived."

Sif wished that Skaði had not punched her in the face now. The feeling of dread rising in her chest was one she knew too well from battle. They had entered a trap.

"What is your name? Who are you?" Skaði yelled in a masked tone of anger. Sif could tell she was as frightened as her.

The being looked at them again and said, "My name is Fenrir and I am an Angel."

He then cut the Hail transmission and the control screen went blank before repopulating with the processing graphic from the cartographer. Sif and Skaði looked at one another with confusion. Jane had not explained what an Angel was, let alone that it existed.

When they turned back to the window, Fenrir had transformed into a massive, glowing wolf. His eyes were Jötunn red and he let out a snarl before turning and running away from them. As a thrust of sudden movement sent Sif and Skaði flying to the back of the spacecraft, they quickly realized he was towing them, not running away.

Skaði undid Sif's restraints and they both quickly found seats and buckled up to avoid further injury.

"Now what?" Skaði asked Sif.

"We follow the plan." Sif said and Skaði nodded.

"No, I don't think so." Loki said, appearing out of thin air in front of the navigation console. He threw up a cloaking device around them with the meager level of dark magic he knew and turned to face the gaping faces of Sif and Skaði.

"Wh-what?" was all Sif could manage.

"I snuck onboard when you were attacked." Loki explained. "Remember when you both blacked out? That little trick wasn't me. I'm only admitting so much since it was so impressive. Whoever this Fenrir guy is, he's powerful."

Loki looked at them for reactions. Neither seemed to suspect anything about Fenrir's identity.

"We have you now. We need to get out of here." Skaði said. She could feel this was truly Loki and had no desire to stay one more second in Heven. If he could sneak onboard, then maybe he could get them away from Fenrir.

"Your plan was to capture me?" Loki asked. "How did you know I'd be here?"

"Frigga," Sif said.

"Frigga?" Loki asked, puzzled. Has she come back from the dead?

"She also told Jane that this realm could see through true magic, so nothing you're doing right now is working." Sif said and Loki realized Jane had entered Valhalla. She was crowned.

"Who says I'm using true magic?" Loki grinned.

"Since when do you know dark magic?" Skaði asked, approaching Loki slowly.

Loki smiled at her and said nothing.

"Why did you come here, Loki?" Sif asked.

"Unfinished business." Loki said. He glanced out the window at Fenrir and then looked back at them. "You two should leave though. It has nothing to do with either of you. This realm is unsafe."

"We are not leaving without you." Sif said.

"How will you detain me?" Loki asked. He nodded towards the front window and added, "Furthermore, how will you defeat him without my help?"

Skaði let out a sigh and Sif marched over to Loki and shoved Jane's sealed parchment into his chest.

"What is this?" he asked.

"An edict from your queen." Sif said and pushed him aside to see if the controls were working again. They were not.

Loki walked away from them to open the letter. Its brief and pointed contents filled him with simultaneous panic and bliss. He concealed the letter with true magic and hurried to the console, stepping forcefully in front of Sif to gain access to the controls.

"We have to go back to Asgard." He said. "Jane left you both letters that will reveal themselves once we are free of this realm."

"Just like that?" Skaði asked.

Loki looked at Fenrir once more with a silent longing before he severed the connection between the spacecraft and his son. He wondered what Fenrir meant when he called himself an Angel. The race was foreign to Loki; it did not exist in any history account he had read or heard or forced out of someone. All Loki knew was that when his son had identified himself as an Angel, an immense turmoil overcame him right down to the marrow of his core.

The angry growl of his wolf child sounded through the spacecraft and Loki hurriedly threw up the shields and reversed the engines. Another day, son. He thought and then flipped on the hyper-drive.

Once they reached maximum velocity, he turned to Skaði and said, "Just like that."

Sif watched in awe as Loki expertly maneuvered them through the asteroid belt above Alfheim at such a high speed. He slowed down the ship and dove into Alfheim's atmosphere, soaring through the seemingly empty plains and down into a river canyon.

"Where are you taking us?" Sif demanded. They were well past Alfheim's Bifröst gate.

"Read your letters." Loki said and waved towards the side of the control panel where two parchments had appeared, attached to the console with a binding of Æsir radiation.

Sif and Skaði ripped open the royal seals and began to read. Loki took advantage of their distracted attention to slip into the waterfall that covered the passageway to Jötunheim. By the time their terrified screams filled the cabin, the spacecraft had slipped through the crack in the ice wall and into the frozen realm where he and Skaði were born.

"As you can see, we have to make some pit stops first." Loki said. He smiled at them and added, "Then we can go crash Jane's wedding."