Chapter 33
Jane boarded the Quinjet along with Tony, Rogers, Barton, and Loki. Thor wasn't with them. She had hoped he would come back before they left for the ambush. They would be fine. They could handle Skadi and some Frost Giants. Natasha was on her way to the site with Banner. They had the Hulk. What could go wrong?
She took her seat on a metal bench attached to the wall as Loki positioned himself across from her. While he still avoided all contact with her, he was softer. They had worked together for hours on the Bifrost without one harsh word or cross look. Maybe he did like her but just wanted to be friends. She could live with that. She could.
When he caught her watching him, she quickly looked away, letting her gaze settle on Tony as he walked to the net separating the cockpit from the back. He was in his Iron Man suit. They were all in their uniforms actually.
She looked down at her plain jeans and flannel shirt, then at the men occupying the space with her. If Skadi couldn't locate the Tesseract, she'd at least find Jane easily enough. Just look for the weed in the rose bush.
Rogers sat next to her. "Skadi won't get near you. We'll make sure of it." He nodded to Tony and Barton discussing something with the pilot.
Loki's eyes were on them. She didn't have to look to know that little tidbit.
"Pretty soon this will all be over and we can get back to our normal lives," the Captain told her.
She almost snorted. "I'm pretty sure normal doesn't exist for us." With a glance down at the Tesseract, she added, "At least not anymore for me."
An awkward silence fell over them and she wanted to smack herself. He was just trying to give her comforting words and she had to throw them back in his face.
"True." He drew out the word as he clearly tried to think of something else to say.
When he opened his mouth to speak, she placed a hand on his upper arm to stop him. "You're right. Pretty soon we can get on with our lives. Normal or not."
She smiled at him so he didn't think she was being sarcastic, for which he seemed grateful.
The God of Mischief's gaze, still trained on her, sharpened to a fine point. It prickled her skin and pulled her eyes back to him. He didn't look away. The intensity between them, the ticking of his jaw, and perched position on the bench, made her think he wanted more than friendship. So what exactly was his problem? Why did he keep himself at a distance?
The engines roared to life as Barton sat on her other side. "Ready yourself."
The Tesseract hummed an energetic tune in her head, spiking her system with a dose of adrenaline or whatever its magical equivalent was. Tapping her heel in time with the quick beats of her heart, she nodded her head to him.
The agent glanced at her foot, then pulled out his arrows and begun his routine of checking each one. She had her nervous habits and he had his. That's what made them such close friends. Before she could laugh at her own joke, the aircraft lifted up and sped off, forcing her to grip the bench and plant her feet. Her jocular mood evaporated along with all the moisture in her mouth. This was happening. She was about to be bait for a sociopathic Frost Giant who would kill her without hesitation.
In no time, they landed and she followed Barton and Tony out onto an expansive circular rooftop. The wind whipped her hair around her face and in her eyes. When she pushed it back and saw how high up they were, she took a step back and smacked into Rogers.
"Just keep your eyes on the door." His arm extended over her shoulder as he pointed to the exit beyond a dropoff not far from the landing pad. Other than that, there were no railings or panels to stop someone from flying right over the edge.
A familiar skyline dotted the horizon. She took a better look around and realized they were on top of the Triskelion, the curved set of three interconnected buildings of SHIELD headquarters. She tried to remember how many floors there were. Fifty? Sixty? Regardless, there were too many for them to be gallivanting around on the roof.
Tony turned to her with his faceplate down and took to the air. Just before he flew off, he said, "Race you to the bottom." She heard his amplified snicker several seconds longer than she could see him.
She would've shook her head, if she were capable of moving. A gentle hand, Rogers' based on the platonic nature of it, touched her back and guided her to the door.
Loki walked around them with his shoulders squared and gaze straight forward.
They went down a level of stairs and came out into a hallway where they took an elevator. Barton left them when they got to a lower floor, but they kept going to the very bottom. Once they made it outside, Rogers told them to follow him.
Natasha had once told her the Triskelion was put on the tiny island because it was easier to defend. Jane hoped that was true. The fewer the Frost Giants they had to contend with, the better. Everyone could focus on the main threat, and they'd be done with this whole mess sooner rather than later.
The Captain stopped at the end of the covered driveway next to Tony. They stood in the middle of the four-lane road, facing the bridge and a portion of the river encircling them.
"Arrived at the designated site," Rogers spoke into his earpiece. After a moment he looked at Loki. "How long until Skadi picks up on the Tesseract?"
"She probably already knows it's—"
A flash cut off his words, then Steve jumped in front of her, covering them with his shield. Something crashed into it with enough force to push him back into her. Small shards of ice fell over them, making her shiver, not from the cold flecks that had landed on her neck and face, but because that must have been one big icicle, aimed directly at her.
Loki's wide gaze was on her, before it narrowed on someone in front of them. Skadi, she guessed. He pulled out the metal daggers SHIELD had made for him and hurled them at the individual just before disappearing.
"Are there other hostiles?" Captain asked into his comms. "Repeat that." He muttered something under his breath, then looked at her. "Thousands are on their way here. Now's the time for you to leave."
"What?" She must have misheard him.
"You've done your part. The Quinjet is ready to take you back to the Helicarrier."
She stared at him for a moment before she realized he was serious. "I'm sorry, but there's no way I'm leaving everyone behind while a horde of giants are about to converge on us."
"That's exactly why you have to leave."
A blast of fire lit up her peripheral vision. Her gaze flew to Loki still fighting Skadi with single-minded determination. He ignored Tony, who cursed his name with all kinds of colorful epithets. The two might "accidentally" kill each other before they got to Skadi, as well as destroy the island. A plume of smoke rose from a small fire burning the grass and trees next to a marred section of the building. Dirt and chunks of concrete littered what was left of the once-pristine road.
"I'm working on it, Barton." Captain stepped in front of her. "You must go now."
"Look, I'm not—" An unseasonably cold breeze rushed over them, just before a gale nearly knocked her over. Goosebumps rose on her arms. Something was not right.
Jane stepped away from Steve and searched the landscape. The trees swayed with the wind and yet the river stood still. It should be choppy, whipped up into a frenzy, not smooth and clear. The setting sun glistened off the surface, as if it were frozen.
She sucked in a breath and turned right into Rogers' star-spangled chest. "They're coming over the river."
He looked over her at the once flowing body of water, then spoke into his comms. "Barton, the bridge won't serve as a bottleneck. The river is solid ice. They'll be coming from everywhere."
After a moment of him listening to the agent, he sighed and said to her, "I'm sorry but this is for your own good."
The next instant, she found herself in his arms, cradled like a small child. He bounded back to the entrance before she could orient herself to her new position.
The doors slid open and he ran through the lobby. Two seconds later, he deposited her in the elevator and told its AI to take to her to the roof. Her head was still spinning from the suddenness of it all and just how fast he was, even while holding an extra hundred plus pounds. Just before she was closed in, he gave her a sheepish look.
She stood there, staring at her reflection in the metallic door, wondering what the hell had just happened. Her mouth was slightly ajar and her hair was a little wild, but she didn't care. They couldn't put her where they wanted, when they wanted, like some chess piece.
Shifting her gaze to the AI's image on the side panel, she said, "Take me to the ground floor."
"Access denied," the feminine voice replied.
Her brows knitted together. "This is Dr. Foster. I need to get back to the ground floor."
"Jane Foster does not have clearance."
She blew out a breath and leaned back against the wall.
When the elevator opened, she headed out to the Quinjet. She stayed far away from the edge of the building and kept her eyes on the aircraft, wondering why it felt so far away.
Off to the side, a flash of light caught her eye. She looked at it, hopeful it was Loki, but as the person materialized, she knew right away it wasn't him. Not unless he had finally accepted his true skin.
The blue form solidified and Skadi smiled at her.
Jane stumbled backwards. In one leap, the Jotunn was on her, clamping onto her arm with a large, freezing hand. The frigidness stole the scream from her lips.
Magic, foreign to hers and Loki's, crashed against Jane and tugged at her very essence. She recognized the spell instantly. Teleportation.
An image of Skadi in control of the Tesseract, killing whole civilizations with a cruel grin, sprung to the forefront of her mind. She couldn't let that happen. She wouldn't.
Igniting the Tesseract was so easy now, it barely took any effort at all. With one thought, she blocked Skadi's magic.
The Jotunn snarled and tightened her grip, snapping Jane's bone. A burst of power exploded from the Tesseract, breaking the Skadi's grip and throwing her against the Quinjet. Unfortunately, it flung Jane back as well, right off the roof.
For a long, peaceful moment, she fell, weightless, staring up at nothing in particular, though rows of windows sped by. Her mind was as clear as the cloudless sky. Then, like a rubber band snapping back to hit her in the face, she realized she was plummeting to her death.
She clutched the Tesseract to her chest, squeezed her eyes shut, and dove into the magic without hesitation. The swirling blue consumed her, and when she opened her eyes, she was standing outside on the pavement, clutching her arm. It wasn't broken, but that was impossible. She'd heard the bone snap.
An explosion on the rooftop split the air. The deafening sound made her flinch and propelled her heart into her throat. Fire burst outward as deep-black smoke billowed up into the sky. She stepped further away from the building as debris rained down on them. A rather large piece of the Quinjet crashed into the trees close to the water.
Tony flew from around the high rise and landed next to her. "There goes our ride home."
Not good, but at least she could teleport them out if absolutely necessary. The Tesseract's tethers were already stronger just from it saving her.
"Where's Skadi?" Rogers yelled as he ran to them.
"Right here," the Jotunn in question hollered from behind them.
Jane slowly turned, hoping she had imagined the voice. Alas, it was not her lucky day. Skadi stood at the end of the bridge with her arms stretched out as if they were all supposed to marvel at her. No, not at her, at the many Jotunns lining the horizon and walking over the river, filling it up until not a speck of it was visible. Her army.
The mass of bodies writhed as it moved ever closer. Jane found herself backing up. Despite her unease, she planted her feet and made herself stand tall.
An arrow sailed by, then two more, all headed Skadi's way. She snatched the first one out of the air with a victorious howl. Before she could touch the second, it exploded, distracting her long enough for the third to hit its target.
In the time it took for her to fall backwards, her army paused in complete silence, then roared to life again, pushing and climbing over each other to get to the island. Jane couldn't stop herself from moving back this time. They looked crazed, like a pissed-off colony of hornets. Her gaze bounced from them to Skadi, who was picking herself off the ground, angrier than ever.
Jane was ready to go now, even if that meant giving up a piece of herself. Just as she turned to gather the group and teleport them to safety, something odd caught her eye. She peered at a section of the charging Jotunns more closely. Bodies were being thrown right and left. The area around it stilled as if the Frost Giants weren't sure what to make of the situation, then, just as quickly, they turned to attack the newcomer.
Tony whistled. "Perfect timing."
A Quinjet flew overhead and someone jumped out of the back. The person's parachute opened as they drifted down, shooting at Skadi. Not that any of the bullets got through her defensive maneuvers. If the Hulk was barreling through the Jotunns, then that meant Natasha had to be the one making an entrance by sky.
"Looks like the party has started." Tony flew into the air. "And I'm not one to miss a good shindig."
She watched him take off, but was focused on a tense Captain America. "You can go too, you know."
"My orders were to guard you."
It didn't look like she needed much guarding. With all of the fighting, arc blasts, gun shots, arrows, and Hulk smashing, everyone was sufficiently distracted. Besides, if she had to have a guard, she'd much prefer Loki. Where was he anyway?
She searched through the chaos the best she could from her out-of-the-way position, but she didn't find any tall, dark, and handsome devils. The Tesseract tingled in her hands, as if to remind her that all she had to do was use it and she'd know exactly where he was. The temptation was strong, but she shook her head and looked around once again.
There, by the bridge. He crept toward Skadi, staying in her blind spot whenever she turned. Her heart dropped. If he wasn't cloaking himself, then he was out of magic.
The ground trembled under her feet a second before a section of the river exploded. Ice and water and other things Jane didn't want to think too hard about flung as far as where she stood. Rogers raised his shield to block the worst of it. He looked at her to make sure she was okay, then lowered their cover.
Everything had suddenly changed. The Jotunns scrambled over the bank and onto the road close to her and Rogers. It didn't look like they were after her though. It was more like they were running away from something.
The Captain edged her back, but she pushed against him, trying to see better. The bridge was empty. "Where's Loki?"
"You have to go."
She ducked under his arm and dodged his grab, getting several steps away before he caught her. A Jotunn stopped mid-run, noticing their little scuffle, and yelled something incomprehensible.
A green blur fell from the sky and landed next to her with a jolting impact. Her teeth rattled, and she had Rogers to thank for not falling over. Despite her unsteadiness, her gaze was fixed on the massive form of the Hulk. She'd thought Thor was big, but he would be a child standing next to him.
With a single swipe of his arm, the Hulk took out all of the Frost Giants near her. They went flying off into the distance or crashed into the building.
She blinked at the display of power, then at the source of that power, too stunned to back away in fear, especially as he stared her down. "Banner?"
His eyes flicked down to the Tesseract in her hands several times before he reached out and poked it. Light shot out from the cube, and he flinched back, sucking on his finger. He glared at her and crouched down as if he were about to squash her like a bug. Jane was on the verge of fleeing or puking. Then, he roared at her. The kind of roar that would leave her partially deaf and plagued with nightmares for a week.
When he was done, he had the attention of everyone on the island. Not even the wind dared to disturb the silence. He huffed out a breath and slowly turned away from her, shaking his head.
The Tesseract's constant hum kicked into overdrive as a sickening feeling raced down her spine and slammed her in the stomach. Something big was coming. She felt the source, a portal, not far from them. Skadi stood near it, cloaked in magic and staring at the the Hulk.
"Banner!" Jane yelled, but it was too late.
A giant beast jumped from the portal and landed on him. They rolled, a green and frosty blue ball of thrashing teeth and limbs, into one of the buildings, demolishing it chunk by chunk. Windows shattered, metal screeched, concrete crumbled. The building groaned from the constant barrage, and she wondered how much more it could take.
She tore her gaze away from the vicious fight to find Skadi gone. As loathe as Jane was to taking life, she was starting to root for her death.
"Time to go." Rogers tugged her backwards.
With the Hulk busy, the Frost Giants had regrouped and were headed her way again. She swallowed and nodded her agreement, but then she caught sight of Skadi, now sneaking up on a distracted Loki. He was fighting off several Jotunns and wouldn't know she was there until it was too late.
Jane's legs were running before she realized what she was doing. She heard Rogers call her name, she saw all of the Frost Giants in her way, but she didn't care. She had to get to Loki.
One second, she was closing in on him and the next, she was flying through the clouds. The breath had rushed from her lungs at her sudden removal from the island and the strong arm wrapped around her waist, squishing her to a warm torso. She looked at that arm and knew who the culprit was. "Thor, Loki is in danger. We have to go back."
His grumble vibrated her back. "Loki will be fine."
"He doesn't have his magic!" Skadi had probably reached him, if she hadn't already killed him. Panic gutted Jane. He couldn't be dead. He couldn't.
"Look, Jane." His rough shake snapped her out of her mindless struggle to free herself. "Look at the island."
It was in ruins. The building must have finally collapsed from the battle between the Hulk and the Frost Beast, leaving the circular top that had connected all three crumbling from the imbalance. Smoke and dust rose from the wreckage. The trees were on fire. The bridge and the covered driveway were nowhere to be found.
"They sent me here for you, and a rescue aircraft for the rest."
SHIELD might not make it in time. They could be buried alive or hunted down by Skadi and her forces.
She craned her neck to look back at him. With the way the setting sun lit up his blond hair, the way his blur of a hammer spun above his head like a halo, and how his blue eyes shone like polished jewels, he looked like an angel. He just wasn't her angel. "I'm sorry, Thor. I'm sorry you and I weren't meant to be."
She closed her eyes, opening herself to the Tesseract and sought out Loki's life force. He had survived and so had the others. She snatched onto their threads and pulled them through the Void along with her and Thor to the first safe place she could think of, her Puente Antiguo lab.
Author's Note: this is going to be quick because mama's super busy. Thanks everyone for reading and for Dream Flight and my sister for beta'ing.
Up Next: Loki's POV. Thor and Loki hash things out, and we get a proper introduction to Dr. Banner (if one can call it that). Oh, and the real kiss will be in the following chapter!