Avengers: The King of Kings.
Summary: "One year after Ceil Zak'Vael's defeat, tensions are running in all new highs as anticipation for the Black Hunt's return takes its toll. After reaching a breaking point with Loki, who has grown distant as "the inevitable" looms closer, Thor returns to Earth in hopes of clearing his head before the fight that is to come. However, his "pity party" is quickly interrupted when he inexplicably reunites with the Avengers, who give him some disturbing news: millions of people have been disappearing, and some of the biggest cities in the world have gone dark. With S.H.I.E.L.D scrambling for answers, they're finally forced go after the one man they believe capable of such chaos- Loki. Now, tasked with saving the Earth from certain doom- and his brother from wrongful imprisonment- while at the same time trying to find a reason to keep fighting, Thor's got to decide what's worth what and, most importantly, why, before an old enemy returns to wreck havoc on the one place that was supposed to stay safe- and with a near-silent, morose Loki by his side and constant infighting within the Avengers to boot, Thor's got his work cut out for him… but when tragedy strikes too close to home, it's time to get serious again."
Warning: "This will be a relatively tame fanfic, with the exception of some blood, violence, angst, some language, a character death or two, and other adult situations. So, to be on the safe side, we'll be going with Rated T. I have watched the Avenger's movie and all relating Marvel movies, but this does not mean that I am perfect and/or know absolutely everything there is to know about, and I'm bound to forget or misuse some small detail. So, with that, please forgive me if I screw up, and just enjoy the story."
Disclaimer: "I do not own Thor. Please don't ruin my day by thinking I do."
Author's Note: "This story is dedicated to PhantomLilac AND MischievousChaos."
N._.s._.S
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Lightning Strikes Twice II.
"With these hands, I shook the heavens to the ground; I laid the gods to rest."
- Andy Biersack.
Loki didn't exactly understand why he could slip past everyone without being seen; or why no one seemed to notice him at all as a matter of fact, but as it turned out, that was the least of his problems at the moment. He hadn't meant to set off a storm of this magnitude. Of course, he'd known about the Immortalization Storm from the very beginning, but until now, he'd carelessly written his Jotun self off as irrelevant; never imagining it- and through it, himself- could ever have been capable of such destruction.
Though he knew he couldn't have done anything to prevent this storm; and worse, could do nothing to help now, Loki still felt guilty as he watched his former friends and the old Medic scrambling about like madmen, saving the victims of the storm that would mark the end of his life.
Once or twice though, he witnessed Sanat Eir staring directly at him, dark, steely gray eyes narrowed and heavy brows cinched together; but before he could actually confirm that the old ex-general and medic somehow could see him when nobody else could, Eir would look quickly away again. The same went for several of the Vael who were braving the floods to help- often their eyes, large and bright, would flash directly at him, but before he could either meet them or even confirm it, they were gone again.
Loki made it into the palace without any incident. Since Eir and the Warriors Three were still out in the storm, he obviously didn't have to worry about running into them again. As he approached the gargantuan doors of the throne-room, however, he spotted Odin and Axel.
The Honored Lord of the Vaelhiem looked exasperated about something or other, as insinuated by how his arms were folded tensely against his broad chest and his maroon eyes were flashing as he spoke.
There isn't time. Your people must be evacuated from the lower cities.
"I've already given the order," Odin assured him, with a nod, "Yours, on the other hand, will remain?"
Death by water, Axel muttered, irritably, As if I didn't have enough to worry about already.
"Your soldiers are no doubt courageous, to face a storm such as this."
I refuse to see my warriors hindered by a little water, Axel answered, seriously, as Loki slowly crept by, half-hidden in the darkness, and the Vael's maroon eyes flashed again, this time more powerfully, They will stand strong, together, no matter their adversary, as they have done for millennium.
"A noble gesture..."
Axel's eyes never left Loki, and suddenly Loki felt compelled to stop, to stand before him, invisible to all but the King of the Vaelhiem, as though the King had something to offer him.
You are worthy to live your life.
Odin hadn't expected to hear the powerful voice, resonating through the empty halls, and followed Axel's gaze, only to look upon naught but an empty wall. He returned his one good, bright azure eye to the King and it narrowed as Axel continued, completely ignoring the concerned, cautious gaze of the All-Father.
I grant you peace by thus,
A blessing on the word of the Honored Lord;
I grant you life, wayward soul.
Something in the air seemed to shift, and as suddenly as it happened, Axel turned away, tossing up his white hood as he strode quietly past Odin, as though nothing had happened. He was near across the hall before he turned back, voice cheerful and no longer so resonant.
I am going to join my soldiers, He said, What say we show them how to stop a storm, All-Father?
Odin stared at Axel for a long, stricken moment before slowly turning back to where the Honored Lord had been looking, clearly intent on finding out whom (or what) he'd been speaking to, and by the way his eyes suddenly lit up in both shock and wonder; Loki knew almost instinctively that Odin could now see him too, standing there in the half-light of the door, cross-armed and tense.
Surprisingly enough, however, the All-Father didn't say a word. He simply gave Loki an almost kind, short nod before simply turning on his heel and following Axel out of the palace. As Odin passed him, Axel turned back at the last second to call a rather cheerful warning over his shoulder.
Heads up, Odinsson, He said with what might have been a wink, Thor is in his quarters.
N._.s._.S
Axel Hernsson was three-thousand, seven-hundred and sixty-eight years old, respectively. That meant that he'd not only witnessed Borr's rise to power, but had been personally involved in the Thrice War from beginning to end. Like ex-General Sanat Eir, Axel Hernsson had been greatly appalled and angered with the horrific abuses he witnessed between all three worlds; but unlike the medic, who would defend Asgard's honor if asked, he actually did not take his people's side, and would freely, almost gladly, admit so.
Axel's own father, Lord Hern, was actually one of the many opponents of the war, rightly believing that Lords Actaeon and Ceil Zak'Vael both had been goaded into war by the Councilors. A Councilman himself, Hern tried in vain to stop the war, but it resulted in his untimely death by Curse by an unknown assassin; which resulted in Axel taking up the reins of protest in his father's stead- but before he could begin to reason with them, the Thrice War had ended with the Vaelhiem's banishment from the other Nine Realms.
Fortunately, all was not yet lost. Determined to head off his fellow Councilmen in the future, knowing they had learned nothing, Axel knew that he had to convince the younger generation of their people's treachery in order to prevent another War from happening, and that meant when Remus Zak'Vael was born, he had to get to him before the other Councilors, and the Honored Lord, could instill hatred of the Aesir and Jotun.
In the Vaelhiem, the Honored Lord's children are often brought up by a number of people, everyone from, naturally, the King himself, to the best tutors, generals, and other advisers deemed worthy of the honor. Axel happened to be one of those granted permission to tutor Ceil Zak'Vael for his talent on the field of battle (he'd been a General in the Thrice and had won several low-key battles) and he decided to secretly show the boy the horrors of what really happened during the Thrice War; gradually managing to deafen the boy to the unsuspecting Councilmen who would have him believe that the Vaelhiem had been an innocent target, when in fact the opposite was true.
Remus was, however, was pulled into his father's plan of murdering the adoptive son of Odin when they learned of Loki's true heritage; which would probably result in War. There was nothing either of them could do about that; but Remus was far more daring than Axel imagined and often gave him credit for.
It was Remus who came up with a totally different plan than the one his father set out for.
N._.s._.S
Loki could hear the thunder crashing even as he made his way up the stairwell.
From the moment his plan had come into fruition, Loki knew that his brother would be upset over his death; Loki expected the anger, the pain. But he had never imagined the sheer violence of the storm that came with it- Thor was literally, literally, throwing wild punches into the rain.
It was almost funny, in a screwed up, terrible way.
The God of Mischief had very rarely been inside Thor's quarters, even when they were children- and, obviously, vice-verse. Loki had always imagined it messy, and the few times he'd been in here years ago, usually wasn't disappointed. But when Loki went in this time, he found it spotless; and for some reason, that disturbed him.
Lightning bathed the entire room in azure as Loki crept across it toward the balcony, where he could see Thor standing, Mjolnir lifted high above his head. Jane sat quietly, back against the wall nearest him, knees drawn up to her chest and shaking, thoroughly soaked from the storm.
When she didn't move, Loki knelt and shrugged off his cloak, drawing it over the poor girl's shoulders before standing back up, and shouting above even the booming thunder his brother summoned.
"Thor!"
N._.s._.S
"Curses, curses, to you, the monster that survives.
The stars themselves are after you,
You shall be abandoned;
Those you love will turn their backs,
Even your soul shall damn you in the end.
And all this because-
Curses, curses, only to you, the monster that survived."
This was the finished Curse that Remus decided to use.It was aimed directly at Loki's Jotun self, not his Asgardian self- and they had to be extremely careful to make that clear; because if one word was out of place, if a single part was unclear, the Curse wouldn't work right, and that could mean that the Odinsson would be doomed to a terrible fate he surely didn't deserve. They worked on it for months straight under cover of night, until the verse was perfect, and they could ensure at least a small chance of the God of Mischief's survival.
But that was only Remus' part of the plan.
And so, the day Remus and his father left, Axel put his own into effect.
As Head Councilman of the Vaelhiem, Axel was declared the Honored Lord in Ceil Zak'Vael's absence, and Axel was determined to keep it that way. So, with several key Generals of the Imperial Military backing him, he and his allies staged a coup within hours of the former Honored Lord's leaving, setting the Black Huntsmen (who would later deflect back to Ceil's side for unknown reasons) on any Councilman who dared try to stop them.
The coup was over and successful within hours.
After that, all Axel had to do was wait.
N._.s._.S
Banner was the first one asleep the night after Loki's death. Banner asleep in and of itself was unusual, given the man's persistent insomnia and nightmares to boot; but when Stark came back up to the loft, balancing a datapad in one hand and a hot drink in the other, to find him sound asleep on the couch, he couldn't help but grin.
The storm still raged outside, and it showed no signs of stopping.
Cap, being Cap, was still down in Medic, keeping an eye Barton and Natasha's souls, all while talking strategy with Fury. After Axel's appearance, neither of them were taking anymore chances with them, and were content to stay up there for as long as it took, seeing as they didn't exactly have anywhere to go anytime soon.
Stark sat down in the armchair across from Banner and continued working, sipping his drink and occasionally looking up at Banner, smirking. The booming thunder and flashes of lightning didn't distract him anymore; nor did the insistent, maddening pitter-patter of the hail, now that he'd all but gotten used to it.
Who the hell are you?
That was how Stark greeted Axel Hernsson, when he found him standing in the doorway of the lab, arms folded across his chest. He didn't look impressed when Stark grabbed one of the suit's gauntlets and took aim at him, and actually rolled his bright, maroon eyes when Stark repeated his question.
My name is Axel Hernsson, He'd said, I'd appreciate it if you'd hear me out before shooting me.
Listen, we just got our butts kicked by-
By the Black Hunt; which I am not part of. I want them dead as much as you do.
I doubt it, Stark snorted, but he slowly lowered his hand nonetheless, What do you want?
I've come to help.
N._.s._.S
Okay, so the thing with Stark and the others at the end of this chapter was a second-thought.
It didn't really fit anywhere, but I thought it would be cool to put in for some reason.
Anyway, Axel's awesome- I bet you guys never saw that one coming! XD
Tell me what you thought of this one for sure! XD
The next chapter will be out soon, promise! And it's a heavy one!
So please, look forward to it!
