Chapter 34

"What the hell just happened?" Barton asked between heavy breaths.

Loki's vision hadn't cleared enough yet for him to see where Jane had teleported them. The smell was familiar though.

A squealing whine erupted from the Iron Man suit just before there was a crash, then a heavy thud against the floor and a curse. "If anyone steps on me, I'm going to be pissed," Stark groaned.

"Don't worry, I'm not moving until I can see," Romanoff said. "Foster? You here?"

Dust, sun-baked rocks, the smell of old paper and furniture, and that which was uniquely Jane, though it was a dying ember due to her time away, filled Loki's nose and called forth fond memories. They were in her New Mexico lab.

The brief moment of relief at being free of a building's worth of concrete slowly crushing him withered in his chest until only tension remained. Skadi had found him there once before. They weren't safe.

While he was fast adapting to the Tesseract's abrupt version of teleporting, he needed to find Jane and convince her to move everyone to someplace less vulnerable.

He squinted through the blurriness and found her staring eye to eye at a naked bespectacled dark-haired man, who was gripping her arms. Loki reached for one of the metal daggers SHIELD had made for him before remembering he had none left. If his elemental magic was all he had remaining, then an ice dagger would have to do.

Just as coldness gathered in his hands, Loki noticed the shredded tan trousers lying around the man's feet. The green beast had worn something similar. Could this be the same creature?

"Dr. Foster." The man whispered her name as if it were a prayer. His hold on her wasn't restrictive. It seemed more of a buttress for his trembling frame.

He released the Jotunn magic and glanced at Thor to find him rubbing his eyes and muttering under his breath.

The only person who didn't seem affected was Rogers. He watched her and the naked man with intense interest, only pulling his gaze away long enough to acknowledge Loki.

"Who is he?" Loki asked just loud enough for him to hear.

"Dr. Banner. A scientist. He tried to recreate the serum that transformed me and ended up—"

"I know this already. Who is he to Jane and why is he staring at her like that?"

"They're both renowned scientists. Other than that, he was a professor at the university she went to, but not at the same time." He shrugged. "It doesn't say anything about a relationship in their files."

Jane started to speak in soft tones. Loki leaned forward to listen, but Thor had finally caught sight of them and based on his narrowing eyes and white-knuckled grip on Mjolnir, he had clearly missed the man's reverence. Loki leapt to the side and intercepted his once-brother before he could do something rash.

"Back away, Loki. Jane is in danger."

"Look carefully, you oaf." He shifted so Thor could see around him. "And be quiet so I can hear."

Banner had just finished telling her something, leaving Jane stunned.

"I don't understand," she said. "I didn't do anything besides bring us here."

"Then it had to have been the Tesseract." His gaze flicked down to it in her hand. "It must have perceived the Other Guy to be a threat and neutralized him."

"It's possible, but how?"

"I don't care how." A sudden carefree smile overtook his face and he stepped closer to her, drawing her up, as if he meant to twirl her around. "Don't you see, Jane? You can keep me, me. I'm free."

"Yeah, so long as we stay together all the time. We'd have to sleep in the same bed and shower..." Her chuckle faded as she realized he was serious.

Thor made a move to walk to them, but Loki barred his path with a hand. He wasn't happy with the thought of the scientist constantly being in her presence either, but she had to be the one to handle this predicament.

"Dr. Banner, I'm not— We can't—" Her gaze dipped down before shooting back up to the wall behind the mortal. Pink suffused her cheeks, and she cleared her throat.

It took a couple glances down at himself before he realized he was completely bare. His eyes went wide and with a quick scoop of his hand, he picked up his trousers and held them around his waist. Taking a step back, Banner repositioned his glasses and said, "You're right. It's my burden, not yours."

The room was far too quiet. Not even Odin's presence would have commanded such silence.

Loki checked on the other mortals and wasn't surprised to find them watching the exchange. Stark, still in his supine position on the tiled floor, craned his head to see better. They watched as Banner slowly, step by step, moved from her side to the couch, and sat with his fingers mindlessly fiddling with the loose threads of his trousers.

When Jane realized she had an audience, she tucked her hair behind her ear and gave a forced smile. "Right. Well, um...Welcome to my lab. It's a little small, but we're safe here and you're all alive, so...Yeah." She lingered for a second before exiting, then walked past the windows toward her trailer.

Tony whistled. "That was rough." His suit dismantled and fell into pieces around him, allowing him to sit up and turn to look at the scientist. "It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner. Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage-monster."

Banner kept his eyes trained on the last window Jane had passed and muttered a half-hearted thanks.

"My comms are down," Romanoff said, then looked to Barton and Rogers. "Are yours?"

After they nodded, Stark got to his feet and began snooping around Jane's lab. "JARVIS is online again. The suit is a goner, but we can contact SHIELD."

As they continued discussing their plans, Thor grabbed Loki's arm. "I need to share words with you."

Loki took a deep breath. This was the moment he had been equally dreading and eagerly awaiting. To finally be Thor's superior, at least in the sense that he had won Jane's heart, was thrilling, but to have possibly earned the God of Thunder's wrath was not something he wanted to experience.

When they stopped at the farthest corner from the group, Thor stared at him with his jaw working. It took him a long moment before he spoke. "Do you care for her?"

"Could you be more clear? There are a lot of hers—"

"Do I look to be in a gaming mood?"

The answer was a definite no, but Loki couldn't help himself. "Oh, you should really be thanking me. You are free again. Go, pursue all the beautiful women you can get your hands on."

Thor dropped Mjolnir, causing the tiles to shatter, and gripped Loki's jacket. He picked him up with a rough shake and leaned in close. "I love her, and you— You've either played a cruel trick on her or you love her too. Which is it?"

Loki could've spoken the truth, he could've apologized, or spurred his once-brother's anger even more, but he found he could say none of it. He did love her, but what good was that if he might be her greatest threat? What relationship could they have, if he had to keep her at an arm's distance?

"So help me, Loki. If you hurt her..." Thor breathed out and let him go. "I want what is best for her and you. And if that means losing her, then so be it, but I will not let go so easily if this is some jealous rivalry you're playing at."

The God of Thunder snatched up his hammer and charged out of the room. The ensuing sonic boom of his sudden departure had everyone staring at Loki. He merely smiled pleasantly and strolled outside. The slap of Jane's screen door pulled him out of his knotted thoughts and tangled emotions.

"Why did Thor leave?" she asked as she ran to him.

"Safety precaution. He wanted to make sure we weren't followed." The easy lie unnerved him. Was it further proof he was not good enough for her?

She stopped next to him, then backed up when he turned away from her. "But Skadi can't find us here. Right?"

"I wouldn't put anything past her."

There was a long pause where she stuffed her hands in her pockets and scooted rocks around with her foot. Eventually, she glanced at him and asked, "Was he angry?"

Loki knew that she was referring to the kiss. He shook his head, marveling at how that particular lie felt right. She didn't need to concern herself with such a petty detail when she had enough to contend with.

"Are you?" she asked him.

Loki yearned to tell her that he wasn't. He could never be angry with her, even when she was being frustratingly stubborn, and especially not over one of the happiest moments of his life. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and show her just how not angry he was.

"Loki?"

He turned to face her and was struck by her simple beauty. It was effortless and carefree, which only added to her allure. The dying sun highlighted the golden tones in her hair and lit up her skin. She was positively radiant.

The lab's door creaked open as Romanoff stepped out. "A Quinjet is on the way. Fury wants to know where Thor went off to now."

Jane shrugged and looked at him.

"He didn't exactly give me his itinerary."

The spy's gaze sharpened on him, but she spoke to Jane. "Stark's taken the liberty of helping himself to your tech."

She cursed and dashed to the door, disappearing inside.

Loki turned back to the expansive, rapidly-darkening horizon.

When the door closed he thought he was finally alone, but then Romanoff's steps alerted him otherwise.

"Let me give you a tip," she said. "Foster might find your smart-ass, emo attitude attractive, but if you keep it up, you'll lose her. You'll lose everyone."

"That was very profound and so very helpful."

"Anytime." Under her breath, she added a vulgar epithet, then went back inside.

Not long after night had fallen, the aircraft had arrived and returned them to the Helicarrier where they underwent a debriefing and were sent on their way. The mortals had stopped at the kitchen to eat, but Loki needed his magic, which required rest. He went straight to his room and fell asleep with his boots on.

A loud voice blaring through the speaker in his room woke him up with a jolt. "Meeting in ten minutes on the Bridge."

After a quick check on the amount of magic he'd been able to replenish, he climbed out of bed and made his way to the bridge. There was now a fair amount in reserve, which surprised him. He must've been asleep for quite some time to recharge that much.

When he opened the door and caught sight of Thor standing close to Jane, whispering in her ear as the others talked and gestured to several of the screens, he came to an abrupt halt. Loki would've given him the benefit of the doubt, it could've been purely innocent, but Thor glanced at him with a knowing smile.

"Brother!" The God of Thunder's bellow got the attention of everyone in the large room. "Look here. I believe it is my best one yet." He gestured to the fulgurite in Jane's hand. It really was his finest one. He must have spent quite a bit of time cleaning it, careful not to break the many delicate interweaving branches.

She lifted up the white sphere and said, "We have them here on Earth, but they normally look like dirty roots. He was actually able to control the lightning to shape it like this." Turning it around in her hands, she stared at his handiwork. "It's amazing."

Naturally, this caused Thor's grin—and his already bloated ego—to grow. Loki gave him his sweetest smile. "It is far nicer than all the others you've passed out to the local barmaids."

The insult was not spoken loudly, but it had the same impact as if he'd yelled it. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at them, even the operators at their stations. He knew all of this without having to look, which he couldn't do, not with the staring match he and Thor were having.

"You know," Stark said from behind Loki, "blocking the only exit is against fire code."

The God of Mischief ignored the mortal and walked the rest of the way in, passing Thor and Jane without a glance in their direction.

"What did I miss?" Stark asked.

"Nothing." Fury touched a button and all of the screens changed to maps of different regions of Midgard. "Here's the latest intel we have on the invasion. The Frost Giants have already overtaken many of the northern countries. We think they're strongest there. Am I accurate in assuming this?"

Loki nodded with his gaze solely on the head Midgardian. He certainly did not notice how Thor moved in time with Jane, casually but intentionally brushing against her whenever possible.

"Right." The screens changed to images of a completely destroyed SHIELD headquarters with Skadi standing on top of the rubble, yelling at her army. "As you can see, their leader did not perish in the ambush. Neither did it send her running back to her own world. Instead, it had the opposite effect."

The images cycled through various parts of a city—their capitol, if he remembered correctly—frozen and deserted. Large monuments were each marked in some way: a beheaded man sitting on a throne, a crumbling building with its dome pockmarked and its columns destroyed, and what had to have once been a slender, towering obelisk was now in pieces.

"We can't let them get away with this," Rogers said as he stared aghast at a screen.

"I have no intention of doing so. But we need a plan. Nothing we've thrown at them has worked."

Barton started pacing. "Not even the Hulk deterred them. They just sent in something equally monstrous. No offense, Banner."

The diminutive man seemed to shrink further at the extra attention. He tore his gaze off Jane and nodded as if he shared the same thoughts about himself. Loki wasn't sure what to make of him or his obsession with Jane.

"It was a Frost Beast," Thor chimed in. "Nasty creatures, but nothing special. I killed one once by flying straight through it."

Romanoff's raised brows mirrored the others' reactions, except hers quickly faded. She turned to a screen with a map and said, "We can't be everywhere at once. I say we stick to the original plan to take down Skadi, but this time lure her somewhere warm, midday with the sun blistering their backs."

"And with me there, things should go more smoothly," Thor added.

Everyone nodded as if he was their savior. It was just like in Asgard with the Warriors Three and Lady Sif, hanging on his every word, and Odin and all the guards going with whatever he said.

The small fire burning within Loki burst into an inferno. "Or we use an army, one that is just as strong and indestructible."

Stark scoffed. "Yeah and then Santa Claus can send his elves to clean up afterwards."

Clenching his fists, Loki bit off his retort before it escaped. He had to to be patient. If he was going to go through with this, he had to play everything just right. Soon, everyone would see him as their savior, Jane would be his, and Odin would finally see his worth.

"What Mr. Stark is trying to say is that we lack such an army." Fury directed everyone back to the screens where an image of a weapon appeared. "But what we do have are new assault rifles made from the Tesseract's excess of energy—"

Rogers glowered as he pointed to the picture. "That looks awfully like a HYDRA weapon."

"We used them for research, but—"

"I thought the Tesseract was being used for reusable energy and interstellar travel, not weapons of mass destruction," Jane said with more heat than Loki had ever heard from her.

"Not only did we learn that we are not alone"—Fury pointed to Thor and Loki—"but that we are hopelessly, hilariously outgunned. We did what we had to, and it's a damn good thing we did or we could be in a lot worse position right now."

Banner stepped away from the wall he was leaning against, staring at Romanoff. "Did you know about this?"

"Maybe you should remove yourself from this environment," she responded.

"I was in Calcutta when you convinced me to come in. I was pretty well removed."

His heavy breaths had all the mortals on edge. The ones near him tried to discreetly back away.

"Banner." Jane walked to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Breathe."

It was like a switch flipped inside the scientist. His aggressive posture deflated and his face softened. He nodded, drawing in a deep inhalation. "Thanks."

"No problem." She smiled at him and looked back at the group as if nothing of importance happened. "What?"

"You're like a pacifier," Stark noted. "He throws a tantrum, we throw you at him, and things are all peachy."

She shook her head, not bothering to respond to his comment, though Loki could tell she wanted to.

Fury's eye lingered on her before he turned back to the screens. "As I was saying, we'll lure Skadi in where the Frost Giants will be weakest, maybe Iran, then we bring her down with the help of our new tech."

"She'll be expecting that," Loki finally said. "If she hasn't already thought of a way to work around the heat, I'll be shocked. Besides, killing her won't solve the problem. They've been oppressed for thousands of years. They want blood and more blood and they won't stop until your kind and ours are eradicated."

"What do you suggest?" Thor asked, much to Loki's surprise.

"We kill the ones here first, then we kill all their spell casters so no one can travel between realms again and the method is lost to them, then their warriors. We do what Odin failed to do in the first place. We cripple them so utterly that to think of war will be unfathomable."

Fury sighed. "It's harsh, but it's either them or us. We'll start with Skadi. That should cause disorder and confusion that we can take advantage of."

"No, we do it all at once."

Stark laughed. "Last time I checked, we're just seven people and even with all of SHIELD and the U.S. and other countries fighting alongside us, it still won't be enough. Plus, to coordinate such a large-scale attack would be nearly impossible."

"Not to mention how many people will lose their lives," Rogers added. "I take it there are not enough of these assault rifles to give to every soldier?"

Fury shook his head. "We started full-scale production the day the Jotunns invaded. Right now, there are only enough for a small force."

"We can't wait for millions to be made," Barton pointed out, unintentionally helping Loki. "Countries are falling like frail old ladies in a gust of wind."

The God of Mischief let the silence draw out, let them dwell on the futility of their actions. When he felt confident they would take him seriously and eagerly accept his offer, he spoke. "We need an army and not a weak, disjointed Midgardian one."

"Asgard is blocked to us," Thor said. "Heimdall still does not answer my calls and you cannot travel there."

"I have access to an army that can easily handle the Jotunns, all under my control. Think about it"—he faced Stark—"with a single thought, troops positioned around the world will move in unison." Looking at Rogers, he added, "There will be minimal to no loss of human life." Finally, he turned to Fury. "They will be defeated in less than a week, cleanly and expediently."

Thor, Barton, and Rogers spoke over each other, shooting out questions and, in one case, accusations. Jane's eyes were on him. She had to know the army was connected to the Other, and yet she was waiting for him to expound on this revelation.

"How?" Fury demanded, quelling all other voices. "How did you come across such an army, and how long have you been sitting on this information?"

"Several days ago. I had to make sure it was credible. And a creature from outside of Yggdrasil offered it to me as part of a deal."

Thor walked to him. "How is this possible?"

"More importantly," Fury interrupted, "what do they want in exchange?"

Loki leveled his gaze on his once-brother. "The Infinity Gauntlet."

"No." Thor clasped Loki's shoulder. "Brother, this is madness. It is in the Vault for a reason. No person should have control over such a powerful relic."

"It has no power so long as the Gems are still hidden."

Stark waved a hand. "Will somebody explain what all of this means?"

The God of Mischief ignored him and continued to speak to Thor. "We don't even have to give it to them. I'll agree on the condition, the army proves worthwhile. Once the Jotunns are gone, we'll use the Tesseract to cut off their connection. The army stays under my control, Yggdrasil is safe, Midgard gets their Bifrost, and Asgard gets the Tesseract back. We go home and all is well."

His hand fell from Loki's shoulder. "I do not like it."

Fury seemed to be considering it, though. He was ultimately the person he needed to convince anyway. The mortal clasped his hands behind his back and finally looked at him. "If these creatures are outside of our—all of this, then how do they get their army here?"

"We use the CMS machine to open a portal."

"It could work," Jane said.

"I'm with Thor," Rogers announced. "We don't know anything about this army. They could be worthless, adding to our problems, or worse, turn on us. And whatever this Gauntlet is, if someone is after it, it can't be for good."

Barton looked at the map. "I don't like it, but it's the best chance we have. Look." He pointed to an area that had just turned red. "As we argue the merits of accepting help, another country has been lost to us. Pretty soon all of Europe and Russia will fall."

Fury's gaze landed on Romanoff, asking a silent question.

She nodded. "Barton's right. We can use one alien army to fight another, letting them weaken and slowly kill each other off. Meanwhile, we stockpile the rifles, build the Bifrost, and restore our connection to Asgard and any other world willing to help."

The director walked to the center of the bridge, then turned as if taking in all of the screens, his soldiers, and agents. When he faced Loki, he stopped. "I'll need to speak to the council, but how soon can they get here?"

"As soon as we can transport the CMS machine to a viable location."

Author's Note: I made a mistake. The next chapter is the end of the third quarter, and then the next one will be the kissing chapter. *prostrates before you* Please forgive me.

I'm glad the last chapter went over well! But if there's ever anything you think I can work on, let me know. I love constructive criticism. The main reason I'm writing fan fiction is to improve, so lay it on me. Seriously.

Thanks for reading and reviewing! I appreciate it all. Especially the time and work, my beta, Dream Flight, and my sister put into this story.

Up Next: big, crazy things that I don't want to give away, so you'll just have to wait and see. ;)