A/N: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! I'm sorry for the slight delay of this chapter – I fell ill! But anyways, I am holding a competition starting now because I think that this story deserves a cover! (And I cannot draw for the life of me!) So if you would like to draw up a cover for this story then you can send me a PM with a link to your work! The contest will end February 25 (because that's when Thor: The Dark World comes out to DVD!) If you have any questions feel free to contact me! And do enjoy this chapter!
Tony Stark snuggled more into the pillow in his lap as he changed the channel of the living room TV to BBC America. It was that time – that time of life when one's emotions become a chaotic mix of excitement of utter sadness. It was the day that the 11th Doctor was to regenerate. It was also Christmas. But for the Whovians of Earth, the regeneration was a bit more important. The other Avengers were calmly lounging about the pent house of Stark Tower and keeping themselves entertained with their newly obtained Christmas gifts. They had spent the earlier part of the holiday at the movie theater where they saw a curious movie by the name of "Frozen." Clint smirked as he heard Loki singing in the other room.
"Do you wanna build a snowman?" The Trickster caroled as he carefully organized his impressive supply of nutella that the others had gifted him with. He had grown much fonder of this Midgardian holiday in the last year. The god continued to hum the song and departed for the kitchen for a much needed snack. He became so absorbed in what he was doing that he didn't notice that Stark Tower had become completely silent. Out of curiosity, he turned to face the living room.
"What is happening?" Steve asked in an astonished yet worried tone. There were large snowflakes floating in the air all around the pent house.
"Brother, is this you?" Thor asked. Hawkeye cautiously poked one of the snowflakes.
"At least this isn't as bad as the last few times…" he mumbled. Steve grabbed one that was close to him and examined it. Tony who had been so absorbed in the Christmas Special of Doctor Who let out a small whimper as the credits began to roll.
"Good bye Matt Smith….." he said softly. "Hey guys! What if I was the Doctor?! That'd be so cool! I mean, Peter Capaldi is gonna be a great Doctor – but I'm Iron Man! The combination would be the best thing ever! Hey, what's with the giant snowflakes?"
"Merry Christmas, pathetic mortals," Loki chimed in as an answer with a charming smile and a gleam in his eye that promised much mischief.
"Merry Christmas, indeed." Nick Fury's voice boomed over the loud speakers that JARVIS normally used to speak. "I have a mission for you Avengers; there is a man not too far from your current location. He calls himself the 'Winter Soldier.' He's causing quite a problem, so get out there and stop him."
"Winter Soldier? How appropriate," Tony commented
"I have a bad feeling about this," Steve said under his breath.
"Right, Brother, um…" Thor hesitated a moment.
"Yes, yes, I know; stay here, don't break or hurt anything or anyone, and clean up my mess," Loki said with a tight smirk.
"Yes…" The God of Thunder assented uneasily. The Avengers quickly assembled and departed Stark Tower. Loki pouted for a moment at his now silent surroundings. He waved his hand in front of him, and all of the snowflakes disappeared. Sighing, he absent-mindedly rapped his fingers on the kitchen counter.
"JARVIS?"
"Yes, Mr. Laufeyson?"
"They need me, don't they?"
"The Avengers appear to have the fight under control at the moment."
Loki scowled. He was never fond of anything that took the Avengers' focus away from him. The god pouted again – it was not fun when there was no one around to appreciate his gloriousness, or be bothered by his mischief.
"I can make things go faster," the god said in a defensive tone.
"This is an Avengers mission, and you are not an Avenger, sir."
Fury and pain welled within his mind and soul. Foolish computer! He had never thought of himself as an Avenger! He was Loki! A god! He had given up being a villain because he knew that that path would never lead to victory. He resided with the Avengers because he actually enjoyed their company and they were almost just as messed up as he was. The Trickster shook his head. Who was he kidding – he was a monster, a jotun doomed to eternal darkness. But that didn't mean that he still couldn't have fun! He was the God of Mischief damn it! A piano melody suddenly began to play out of nowhere. Loki took a deep breath as more snowflakes materialized in the air around him. He chuckled slightly before quietly singing the first lyric.
"The snow glows white on the mountain tonight." He slowly walked over to the large glass doors that led to the balcony. "Not a footprint to be seen. A kingdom of isolation, and it looks like I'm the king." He gracefully opened the doors, and welcomed the cold winter breeze that ruffled his long, dark hair. "The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside." A twinge of fear worked its way through Loki's thoughts as his hands began to turn blue. "Couldn't keep it in; Heaven knows I tried." He elicited a quick sigh as an explosion erupted a few blocks away from him. "Don't let them in, don't let them see,be the good god you always have to be!Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know,well now they know!" The lights of Stark Tower flickered into darkness as Loki allowed his magic to freely flow all around him. "Let it go, let it go!Can't hold it back any more." He abruptly turned away from the city and looked up to the sky. "Let it go, let it go – turn away and slam the door!" He was almost levitating from the amount of magic that was surging through him at that moment. "I don't care what they're going to say! Let the storm rage on!" A smirk full of dangerous promise formed on his beautiful face. "The cold never bothered me anyway."
Loki teleported over to the body of water that surrounds the island of Manhattan. The water began to freeze wherever he stepped. "It's funny how some distancemakes everything seem small,and the fears that once controlled mecan't get to me at all!" He smiled as his magic began to form a makeshift castle fit for the glorious king that he was. "It's time to see what I can do,to test the limits and break through!No right, no wrong, no rules for me,I'm free! Let it go, let it go! I am one with the wind and sky.Let it go, let it go!You'll never see me cry!Here I stand,and here I'll stay – let the storm rage on!" The god continued to will his magic to build the castle higher and higher into the sky. "My power flurries through the air into the ground.My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around, and one thought crystallizes like an icy blast!" His creation was tall enough now that he had a clear visual of the Avengers' current battle. "I'm never going back, the past is in the past!" New armor that held an icy resemblance to his battle armor formed on him as he watched the heroes fight their enemy. "Let it go, let it go!And I'll rise like the break of dawn.Let it go, let it go!That perfect god is gone!Here I standin the light of day – let the storm rage on!The cold never bothered me anyway."
"What the hell are you doing, Reindeer Games?" Tony's voice interrupted Loki's concentration. The god froze in mid dance.
"Uh…I um…Shouldn't you be fighting, or snarking, or something, Mr. Stark?"
"Oh my god, you're totally impersonating Elsa! This is hilarious!"
"Man of Iron, do not mock me."
"Sorry! This is just so priceless!" Loki shot a bolt of sparking magic at the Avenger. Tony dodged it and finally stopped laughing. "Hey, hey, stopping, see? Look, things are getting pretty hairy over there, and so we need you to join in – unless you have other more evil plans to be taking care of." The God of Mischief glared at him before teleporting to the Avengers' location in downtown New York. He was met with the sight of an intense explosion followed by the sounds of screaming, and he was on the roof of a tall building.
"Look out!" Steve shouted as he threw his shield in Loki's direction. The Trickster ducked down and turned to see what the captain was attacking. It was a man dressed in all black. He had an arm made of metal and a mask that covered most of his face. The mystery man caught Steve's shield with his metal hand. Loki threw a knife at the villain. He dodged it, but fell right into a spell that the god had been casting. Steve ran up to the man and ripped the shield from his hands. Loki approached the two of them, and Captain America tore the man's mask off. "Oh my god…" The man unfortunately recovered faster from Loki's spell then the god thought he would and kicked Steve hard. The Avenger fell to the side. The man turned and ran away from Loki and leapt off the roof that they were on. Loki saw Mjolnir fly down in the enemy's direction. The Trickster quickly ran over to Steve and helped him into a standing position.
"Will you make it?" he asked with legitimate concern. The captain took in a shaky breath.
"I know him…"
"What?"
"The Winter Soldier – his real name is Bucky Barnes. He is – was – my friend…" The First Avenger seemed depressingly confused.
"I would guess that it is surprising; I suspect that you thought you'd seen the last of him," Loki said thoughtfully, remembering Steve's stories of his previously-thought-to-be-deceased friend.
"Uh, the saying is 'Surprise bitch. Bet you thought you'd seen the last of me.' Cap, you look like you've seen a ghost." Tony spouted as he landed next to them.
"I have," Steve said with no small amount of bite in his voice. Another explosion rocked the building on which they were standing.
"We have visual of the Winter Soldier." Hawkeye's voice chimed in over the Avengers' com systems.
"Where is he?" Tony and Steve asked at the same time.
"I see him," Loki stated in a controlled tone. Mjolnir suddenly whizzed by the Trickster and almost nailed Bucky in the face, but the villain dodged the hammer gracefully. Thor landed next to Loki and summoned Mjolnir back to his hand.
"Brother," he started in a questioning tone, "is something else happening in the nine?"
"No, I simply came to aide you and your team."
"Guys look out!" Natasha half screamed as she watched Bucky shoot a beam of something powerful at the unsuspecting Avengers and ex-villain. Steve, Tony, Thor, and Loki all leapt in different directions. Loki, who had accidentally leapt off of the roof, fell hard onto a balcony.
"Guys, we need to get this guy before the city gets completely destroyed!" Hawkeye shouted. The Trickster slowly stood and with expert concentration summoned an army of unbeatable quantity and skill. Hundreds of thousands of rainbow colored mantis shrimp descended upon the building in which the Winter Soldier had been hiding. "Well, that works," Clint observed with a tone of astonishment. A small smile graced Loki's features.
"I have him, my friends!" Thor proclaimed as he swooped into the building and tackled Bucky. The others sighed in relief as the battle finally came to an end.
"That was quite an interesting tactic, Snow Queen, but thanks for your help," Tony commented as he hovered next to Loki. The god smirked.
"You are welcome, peasant."
"Merry Christmas," the billionaire spat with a caring smirk.
"And a Happy New Year," Loki retorted with a smug smile as he teleported himself and the Avengers back to their home.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed! And don't forget about the cover art contest! Stay awesome out there!
