Chapter 35
After Jane slipped the Tesseract into the CMS machine, she walked several feet away to the computer and went to work.
The grass was lush and dewy. The morning sun was bright and full. The crispness of the air felt right against Loki's skin. All in all, it was a beautiful day, if you didn't take into account the burning buildings, ruined monuments, and the revolting odor. Which he wasn't, not because he didn't care—he did. A little— but because everything would soon be his. That is, if the Other followed through on his deal, of course. If not, the creature would come to regret it, one way or another.
Reports of Skadi's control of the White House led them to D.C. as the locale for the alien army's grand entrance. The few remaining citizens had been evacuated. Battles had been fought to contain the Jotunns and herd them as close together as possible for strategic advantage. Or slaughter, as Loki had said, but no one had liked the word.
Now, everyone stood around waiting for something to happen, though the atmosphere was anything but casual. Barton kept his bow and arrow at the ready; Thor's hammer stayed firmly in his hand, no fancy flips or twirls; Rogers constantly scanned the area; Romanoff kept everyone informed of the Jotunns' movements; Stark hovered near Jane and their machine; and Banner stayed back, fidgeting with his glasses and baggy clothes.
"Why isn't it working?" Stark asked Jane.
Loki's gaze snapped to the two.
She shooed the mortal away with a hand as she focused on typing in commands on the screen. Her look of concentration was something Loki had always found endearing, but right now, he needed everything to work perfectly.
Stepping to her, Loki asked, "What seems to be the problem?"
"Nothing. And that's what's strange. Look." She moved back for them to see. Stark quickly swiped at the screen, analyzing the data faster than Loki could take in their Midgardian system of numbers and symbols.
"She's right," the mortal said, scratching his goatee. "The math adds up. All systems are operational."
The problem drew the others to the computer as well. They all huddled around the screen as if they could understand what any of it meant.
After Romanoff updated Fury on the comms, she asked Jane if they needed to abort the mission.
Jane shook her head as she walked to the Tesseract. "I think it's blocking us."
"Then it must agree that this is a bad idea," Rogers added, much to Loki's disapproval. "It's only ever helped us."
"Maybe it's testing Jane." Loki's words drew her attention. "It chose you for many reasons. Show it the strength of your will. Show it your worthiness."
"You really think I can do it? That I can force it open?"
He moved to her side. "Of course. You've done it several times already."
"That was when it was cooperating."
Deciding to risk the Other's awareness of her, he placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "I believe in you. The real question is, do you?" Separating himself from her, he added, "You can do anything you put your mind to. Don't ever forget that."
She nodded and turned to face the glowing cube.
As he walked back to the group, he ignored Thor's look, though he really wanted to return the victorious smile his once-brother had given him.
All he could see was the side of Jane, but it was enough to watch her every move, to see how easily she fell into the trance, and the Tesseract's immediate response. The intensity of its glow strengthened. Loki would've thought everything was normal, but then she clenched her fists, causing the Cube to shine even brighter. Sweat formed on her brow and her jaw tensed with the strain of what she was doing.
Why was it fighting her? Doubt crept into Loki's mind, but he refused to accept it. This was the right action. It had to be.
"Is she okay?" Banner asked.
A look of worry crossed Thor's features. "We should stop her."
"No," Loki commanded. "The Tesseract wouldn't harm her. It's just a test." Jane was safe. He repeated the sentence over and over again.
In a burst of light the Tesseract turned on, expanding to a ball of energy, even though it was still contained within the CMS machine. Everyone had to look away and shield their eyes, except for Loki. His gaze was locked onto her, on the way spidery bright-blue veins formed on her skin. The color coruscated as if unbridled energy flowed through her, pulsing in time with the Cube.
"Guys," Roger said when he caught sight of her. "I don't think this is normal."
Thor squinted his eyes to see better. "Enough," he declared as he charged toward her.
He got as close as several feet before he was thrown back by the sudden emergence of the field quanta. For the first time, the group acted as one and took a step away from the energy barrier. No one wanted to experience its unyielding power.
Light emerged from those odd veins, seemingly breaking apart her skin. She gasped, her mouth opening as if she were screaming, though no sound came out. Her entire body went rigid, stretching out as straight as it could. More light poured from her.
The moment he could no longer distinguish Jane from the energy radiating out of her, he finally doubted his insistence that she do this. If something happened to her, he would never forgive himself.
When the Tesseract and Jane flashed, a thick beam shot up out of the CMS machine, opening a massive, swirling portal overhead. The darkness of space replaced the patch of clear blue sky that had once been there. Loki's gaze flicked from it to her. He worried for her, wondering what cost she was paying for his selfishness.
The instant the portal stabilized, the field quanta dissolved and Jane collapsed to the ground, unconscious and no longer glowing. The tethers connecting her to the Tesseract were no longer there, yet power radiated off her as strongly as it did from the Cube. He shifted, ready to run to her side, but stopped when Romanoff shouted for them to look up.
Silver specks emerged from the portal. They flew straight down toward them. Loki stepped forward, separating himself from the group so they'd know who their master was. He straightened to his fullest height and waited for them to land next to him in orderly ranks.
They didn't.
Most took off in every direction, shooting energy beams at anything and everything. Others continued their trajectory toward the group.
"I'm going to say they're not friendlies," Stark said. The flaps in his suit opened, ready for him to take flight.
Loki held out a hand for him to be patient. "We don't know that yet."
A section of grass near the Avengers suddenly exploded, spraying dirt everywhere and knocking Romanoff back. After Barton caught her, she immediately shouted into her comms for aerial support.
"Looks like you've been duped." Stark took to the air, firing his arc blasts at the ones still headed their way.
Pieces of metal fell from the sky just before a body landed near him. It was an ugly, monstrous thing, with beady reptilian eyes, exposed jagged teeth, and a chin split in two. Bits of armor were embedded into its grayish translucent skin. Not an ounce of hair covered its muscular form.
Anger and hatred seethed within Loki. They were supposed to obey him. They were supposed to be his path to achieving his dreams. He looked up at the portal as thousands of more specks funneled out of it, dispersing and wreaking havoc on the already battered city.
Thor and Stark took the battle to the air, but they couldn't contain them all. Many landed on the grass, spurring Rogers and Barton into action. Loki had thought the archer needed the high ground to fight, but that was clearly not the case. He used his legs and arms with the same brutal efficiency he used his bow.
When one slunk forward, staying in their blind spot and aiming its bulky rifle at them, Loki picked him off with one of his magicked daggers. He took out two more before the mortals realized he'd helped them. Barton gave him a grudging nod without ever stopping his attacks.
The two inched further away from the Tesseract, either pushing back the aliens or being led away. Loki had the sinking suspicion it was the latter. They had to close the portal before any more came through.
The moment he drew in the magic needed to teleport to the computer to shut it off, a familiar ground-shaking roar grabbed his attention. The green beast charged toward Jane. Loki's heart dropped, afraid he'd crush her.
In one bound, the Hulk leapt over her and landed on a squadron coming her way. The ones that weren't immediately squashed were quickly flattened from his giant fists. He looked at Jane in such a way that made Loki think he was checking on her, then off he bounded, taking out more of the aliens than all of their little group, now named the Avengers, combined.
"Loki, we have no aerial support." Romanoff's harried words came out between a twirling leap and a vicious strike with an energy staff she commandeered from an alien. She dealt blow after blow as if she'd trained her entire life with it.
"Close the portal," she added as if he hadn't already been on his way to do just that before she'd stopped him. An odd flying chariot zipped by and she jumped on it, quickly taking control of the aircraft, then flew off to the cluster surrounding Barton and Rogers.
A quick jump through the void had him next to the computer in an instant. He typed in the abort code, and when that didn't work, he did it again and again, thinking he had made a mistake with the sequence of numbers and letters. After the seventh time, he switched tactics and tried to turn off the power source. A simple touch of a button should've worked. It didn't.
He grumbled his frustration, wanting very much to bash it with his fists, but resisted the urge. Thor would resort to such crude methods. Not Loki.
After a glance at the portal spewing out more of the aliens and now some giant armored slug-like creatures, he turned to the Tesseract. It had to be working independently of the computer, like it was stuck on somehow.
Jane. She had to wake up and turn it off.
He dashed to her side and shook her gently at first, then more forcefully. He called her name, prodded her with his magic, and, as a last ditch effort, opened a vial of smelling salts from his pocket dimension, all to no avail.
"Loki No-One's-Son."
The God of Mischief jumped to feet at the sound of the Other's voice. He stood on the opposite side of the machine holding a golden scepter with a glowing blue gem encircled with several blades. His form was solid. He was really there.
"It is as I said. You are weak. Pathetic."
Snapping out of his stupor, Loki wasted no time in riding Yggdrasil of this menace. He hurled one dagger after another, over and over again.
The creature didn't move from his spot. He stood there and blocked each one with the scepter easily, as if they were feeble, inexperienced throws.
When Loki finally stopped the pointless assault, the Other laughed. He raised the scepter, gesturing to the many aliens still coming through the portal and said, "How do you like my army, the Chitauri?"
The God of Mischief couldn't care less about what came out of the creature's vile mouth. Instead, he focused on the blue stone in the scepter. Power radiated from it as strongly as the Tesseract, though it was a different kind of power. There was some kind of link connecting it to all the Chitauri. It must be how he controlled them; how Loki was supposed to have controlled them.
"They are hungry for war," the Other said. "This world will fall first, then Asgard. Soon they all will. The universe will be His."
Distracting the Other from the magic he slowly gathered, Loki said, "I don't think you will find it to be such an easy task."
"What? The meager might of Earth?" The Other nearly laughed. "The humans will burn."
"They are not the cowering wretches you believe them to be."
"In the end, they will kneel. They always do." He pointed the scepter at the God of Mischief from across the short distance. "And you will show us the doors to each world in this universe."
Loki threw open a portal and teleported behind the Other with a dagger in each hand. The moment he landed though, the alien spun around and blasted him with the scepter.
An energy beam struck Loki in the chest and sent him flying backwards. He lay there stunned, barely able to breathe. The blow had been as bad as what he'd always expected of Thor's hammer. Maybe worse.
"Brother," Thor yelled as he flew overhead with Mjolnir leading the way.
Loki lifted his head to follow the God of Thunder's trajectory toward the Other who was already prepared for the attack. The creature held out the scepter for what Loki assumed would be another energy beam, yet his legs were spread as if he were bracing himself for impact.
Loki called for his once-brother to stop, but his warning was either ignored or it was simply too late.
The Other's scepter had enough reach to touch Thor's chest first, though the tip of the blade glanced off his armor. A heartbeat later, Mjolnir connected with the creature and knocked him flat on his back.
Still slightly disoriented, Loki stumbled to his once-brother, curious as to why he stood there with his arms dangling at his sides. He could've sworn the blade hadn't pierced through his cuirass. "I believe some gratitude is warranted," the God of Mischief teased.
When Thor faced him, Loki's smile fell. His once bright-blue eyes had turned to a muted, unnatural version. "Thor?"
The God of Thunder's passive face twisted into his battle-ready one. Mjolnir's leather creaked under his tightening grip.
Taking a step back, Loki ducked under a particularly violent swing. He held out his open hands to show he would not fight him, but it had no effect on Thor whatsoever. It was like he didn't recognize him.
"Thor. Brother," he grudgingly added. "We are not enemies."
As the God of Thunder took another swing, Loki continued to try to reason with him, all the while growing suspicious of the cause for this sudden change. "Now is not the time for a sparring match. We can practice later."
Still, he did not speak, though he did increase his offense.
Loki deftly avoided a knee, several punches, and a kick before a swipe of Mjolnir knocked him off his feet. He rolled out of the way of another kick and spun up to standing. "Thor, enough!"
There was absolutely no reaction. The scepter controlled the Chitauri and now it had to be controlling his once-brother.
Loki pulled a staff from his pocket dimension and immediately blocked Thor's hammer from connecting with his head. His once-brother's swings were relentless and heavy-handed. There was no holding back and the God of Mischief had a hard time keeping up. Each bone-jarring impact vibrated his arms like reverberating gongs. They were quickly going numb.
Before such a disastrous fate could happen, Loki cast a paralytic spell over his brother. It took dodging three more strikes to realize the spell wasn't working. He tried another, then another, but none stuck. His magic had no effect on him.
Fighting back was the only way he could stop this madness. He had to be careful though. He didn't want to kill Thor, nor did he want to harm him. In any other situation, Loki wouldn't be so adverse to the thought, but they needed Thor to help fight the Chitauri and the Jotunns.
The God of Mischief's staff was a blur from their frenzied movements. At one point, he'd knocked his once-brother on the head, but the Aesir just shook it off and kept going, so he did it again and again. Eventually, Loki sighed. He knew Thor's skull was thick, but this was bordering on the absurd.
They moved in tandem, attacking and counterattacking, though neither could get the upper hand. The problem was that they both knew each other's moves. After centuries of sparring and fighting side by side, that was bound to happen.
This battle might come down to stamina, which made Loki nervous. His breaths were heavy and labored, and his arms would soon become useless. Thor, however, showed no sign of fatigue. He just continued on as if he were one of Stark's machines.
The Other appeared out of the corner of Loki's eye, slowly walking toward the CMS machine and Jane's unconscious form. He turned to them before realizing the terrible mistake he'd just made.
A blow to his ribs, forced the air from his lungs, another had him seeing spots, and a third sent his staff careening off to the side. Loki saw Mjolnir coming straight for him, but could do nothing about it. It struck with such power, he didn't know how much time had passed since he'd blacked out and landed in a ditch. No, not a ditch, more like a crater his body apparently had made.
Thor's hammer was worse than the scepter's energy beam. Much worse.
His once-brother landed next to him, grabbed the lapels of his coat with a single hand, and tossed him near the CMS machine like a rag doll. Loki couldn't move. He vaguely wondered how many bones were broken. After Thor leapt to him, he placed Mjolnir on the God of Mischief's torso, officially making it so he could not escape.
Loki groaned from the pain. He tensed to stop the feeling of being squished, yet his organs still complained of the heavy burden.
"Good," the Other said as he took the Tesseract out of the CMS machine. "Now, kill the girl."
"No," Loki yelled, or at least tried to. "You have all that you want. Leave her be."
"She is a threat to His plans. She must be eliminated." To Thor he added, "Do it. Now!"
As Thor walked away from Loki, the Other moved towards him, holding out his scepter. There was little time left. He could either try to save himself and fight off the alien with his magic or somehow stop his once-brother.
Gazing at Jane, he sent her all of his magic, wrapping her in it like a cocoon. He hoped it would wake her or at least, protect her if that failed.
"Thor, you must stop. You cannot kill the woman you love." Nothing. "Wake up, you stupid oaf. That is Jane. Look at her!"
The Other loomed over Loki now, but he didn't care. He kept his gaze on the soft curves of her lips, the sweep of her brows, and the delicate line of her nose.
"He sees her and knows what he's doing, but cannot disobey my command," the foul creature said. "I believe it is only appropriate to let you watch her die before I take over your mind."
Ignoring his words, Loki tried again. "You asked me once if I was playing a cruel trick on her. I'm not, Thor." He struggled for more air. "I love her. I love her more than I hate living in your shadow. I love her more than I crave power."
As Thor bent over Jane and picked up her head, either to break her neck or crush her skull, the selfish and vain God of Mischief thought how he loved her more than himself.
Jane's eyes flew open as she sucked in a breath. In the same instant, a blast of energy burst forth from her so strongly a sun going supernova couldn't be more intense. It threw Thor off her, rendered Mjolnir useless, causing it to fall off Loki, and sent the Other several feet back, even while he called on the Tesseract's power.
The creature hissed something unintelligible. He jumped into the air and somehow flew into the sky through the dying portal just before it sputtered closed.
Jane sat up blinking. She looked up at the remaining sparks of energy from the portal, at Thor now lying unconscious, then finally at Loki. "You love me?"
Author's Note: Ta-Da! The end of the third quarter. Now, onto the final one.
Thanks for sticking with me through the dry spell! I have been updating/editing the previous chapters in my spare time. So far, I've completed the prologue through chapter 14, and cut nearly fourteen thousand words. You may call me Word Slayer. Lol
Thanks to my beta, Dream Flight, and my sister. I couldn't do this without you. Going back through the old chapters and rereading my author's notes to you two has been fun. Though its been a year, every word still rings true.
FYI, I wrote Mjolnir responding to a mind-controlled Thor because apparently it sometimes does. A brief Google search brought up two instances, one when Thor had his alter ego, Donald Blake, and one when Scarlet Witch put a spell on him. There have also been times when it didn't work so, I picked what I wanted. *shrugs shoulders*
Up Next: Jane's POV. Drama, realizations, and... the KISS!