Chapter Seventeen: Battle for New York

"I don't want your pity, Thor."

"I don't want to be friends out of pity," he said, smashing a chitauri apart with his hammer.

Freyja was knocked backwards by one of the chitauri into Thor's back. The breath left her in a soft puff. She steadied herself and sent a burst of fire at them, watching them wither into ash.

"Then, why do you want to be friends with me? We have nothing in common," she said straightforwardly.

"I like you," he said simply.

It threw her for such a loop that she was almost blasted by one of the alien's weird blades. She was only spared that attack by Thor hooking his free arm under her own arm, bending down, and rolling her out of the way over his back. Now, the two were standing face to face. She could see the earnestness in his expression. He was serious. Although, she didn't think he was capable of deception at any proficient level.

"It's as simple as that?" she asked incredulously, throwing a ball of lighting at Chitauri coming on their left.

"Why wouldn't it be?" he said with that simple smile of his as he blasted lightning from Mjölnir at the Chitauri on the right of them.

"Nothing is ever that simple, but… I'll think about it," she said before teleporting.

She didn't want to see his expression or hear his words at that. She didn't want to argue. She just wanted to block out her thoughts by fighting these invading aliens. Never, ever did she expect to have someone like Thor seek friendship with her. She knew he was attracted to her given all the passes he made on Vanaheim. But, he seemed sincere about wanting to be friends. He wasn't capable of lies like Loki. He just couldn't sell it like his trickster of a brother. Maybe that's why he was seeking friendship: he saw her as damaged goods now since she slept with his brother when they were early teens. She just didn't have any words for the whole situation….

She looked over and saw several Chitauri heading towards Enchantments. Her eyes widened, and she immediately headed over there with fire and lightning in both her hands. She threw them at the Chitauri, scattering or turning them to ash. She hoped that the lovely shop keeper, Mr. Thompson, wasn't in there.

"Arghh!"

"Mr. Thompson?"

She kicked the glass door open. Her eyes caught a Chitauri holding Mr. Thompson hostage with an arm wound around the poor man's neck. An incredulous sound left her before she threw another blast of fire at him, scorching him against the back wall. Mr. Thompson fell to the floor panting harshly. She ran over to him and kneeled beside him.

"Are you alright?" Freyja asked.

"You're a sorceress?" he wheezes, shocked, looking at her.

"Yes, why else would I shop here?"

"I didn't expect an actual sorceress," he said, standing shakily, and she followed him. "Don't get me wrong, Freyja, I'm grateful. I just— oh shit."

She turned to see what he was looking at. It was a Chitauri throwing one of their bombs in at them. She raised her hand, freezing it mid air and then throwing it out of the shop. It exploded off somewhere, breaking a lamp post. The Chitauri started walking forward cautiously with their weapons raised.

"I think you should hide in the basement," she said seriously, not looking away from the aliens.

"I should hide in the basement," he said in the same tone.

She raised her hands as she heard him scurry off. All of them fired at once with their bizarre alien technology much like ants in formation, and she had to act quickly. She redirected the massive blast. It wasn't far away enough though because the shockwave from the blast sent her flying into the air.

"Ahh!" she screamed.

She thought she'd crash into the side of the building she was being blasted away so far. The breath left her when she was intercepted mid-air by a hard body and a meaty arm around her stomach, held at the side like a football. She looked over her shoulder and relaxed. It was just Thor being flown by the throw of his hammer.

"You're getting sloppy, Freyja. What's wrong?"

"The last encounter with the Hulk still has lingering effects on my head. And to be honest, my chakras have been scrambled as of late," she huffed, annoyed.

"Perhaps, you should stay away from the next bout," he suggested rather amicably, especially considering what happened the last time they had a conversation similar to this one. This time, however, he asked.

"Why? Are you worried about your friend?" she teased, pretty light heartedly, finding the notion to be kind of a joke still.

"Yes, actually," he said, trying to return her smirk but mostly he just looked confused by her attitude.

"Okay," she said simply, dismissively.

She then removed his hand from around her stomach, and she let herself drop into the air. She withdrew a knife from her belt and stabbed a Chitauri on his flying chariot. The force of the landing crashed it into the asphalt down below. She brushed the fire on her sleeve absently, putting out the fire.

Suddenly, Rogers stumbled backwards near her as several Chitauri overwhelmed him. When she shot a burst of fire and lightning from her palms, it was off. The target was still hit, and the targets that weren't hit by her magic were taken out by Rogers shield. She stared at her hands incredulously, blinking at them. This wasn't concerning at all.

"We need to close the portal," she said, looking up at the sky instead of her hands.

"Our biggest guns couldn't touch it," he said.

"I don't think it's about guns. Perhaps, magic can help with that," she said, looking at Stark Tower which was halfway across this big city.

"Are you going to teleport?" he asked, looking her in the eyes with those baby blues.

Given she was having trouble with her chakras and her focus in terms of wielding magic, teleporting that long of a distance was just asking for it. No, she wasn't going to do it.

"I'm starting to lose steam," she said. "I can't teleport that far without complications."

"How are you going to get up there, then?" Rogers asked.

Suddenly, Loki came flying through blasting cars and civilians along the street. Those people didn't have a chance but to hide to try and save themselves. Even then, they were doomed. She caught eyes with him, and she snarled at him. He smirked in return. She knew a challenge when she saw one. If he thought it was a sport coming to her city, killing its citizens and spilling her secrets, it was on. Her gloves were coming off.

"I'll think of something," she said with a smirk.

She teleported with a clap. She was correct from before. She ended up higher in the air than she intended. She gasped and dropped down hard on top of one of the aliens driving a small, flying chariot. They wrestled for the control of it messily until she kicked it off. She straightened up, taking the helm of the bizarre chariot.

"Oh, shit!" she exclaimed.

She jerked the flying chariot and grazed one of the skyscrapers. It jolted her quite a bit, but nothing was ruined. She took a deep breath, trying her best to figure out the mechanics on the fly.

"I miss my cat-pulled chariot back home," she said to herself under her breath.

She saw several shots aimed towards her by her old friend. When she turned her head to look back at him, she sneered angrily at him. If his goal was to get under her skin, he succeeded. She stepped on the pedal and soared through the air, dodging each of his blasts. If the chariot had weapons on the back, she would be firing at him now. It wasn't the case though. So her goals were to shake him and get to Stark Tower.

She swerved hard and fast. She saw it shake Loki since his barrage of blasts paused. A smirk graced her face as she continued her path through the skies of New York. She was getting closer. Hope was blossoming within her.

Freyja turned around, ready to smirk, but gasped instead. Loki was barreling towards her at a breakneck speed. There was no escape from him and she rapidly spoke a protective stave. Norns, she hoped it worked!

"Ahh!" the two of them screamed.

Both chariots shattered and off they went flying. She was going to take the risk of teleporting, but Loki's massive hands grasped hers mid-air. And then, she saw his back shatter the glass. The two of them separated as they rolled across the floor and skidded to a stop.

She looked up angrily and stood on wobbly legs. He stood too as she marched over to him angrily.

"You almost killed me!" Freyja said incredulously.

"You almost did as well," he said with a feral smirk.

Having enough with him, she pinned him down by his chest to the floor with a slam to the body. She was on him in a second. She straddled his stomach, putting her hands on his chest, and leaning down to look him in the eyes at a close proximity. It's been some time since they've been this close especially in a position that wasn't strictly platonic.

"I'd say you're done for," she said with a smirk.

"Now who's being a bad friend," he said irritably.

"Still you," she said without missing a beat.

"I'm sure my oaf of a brother told you of my adoption," he said.

"Yes, your point?"

It's never straightforward with him. He loved the theatrics, attention, and mischievousness. It wasn't a shock he performed in plays as a child.

"I'm sure he didn't tell you everything."

She watched as a veil of magic crossed him, changing his appearance.

She looked down at him, taking in his new features. He was different yet the same. His skin was a rich, deep blue; a set of lighter blue striations decorated along the peaks and valleys of his face; and a pair of bright orange eyes sans his pupils. He was a frost giant. There wasn't a doubt about that. His or his mother's magic must have hid it for years. It explained why Odin didn't fully trust him other than his mischievousness.

She looked down at him more sincerely. He was beautiful like this. Jötunn men were typically all hard lines, burly, hard, sharp edges like a cruel ice. It's what made them fierce along with their staggering height, of course. The Æsir would call Jötunn women hideous in attempts to insult them, but if only they knew. To avoid casualties and capture, Jötunn women were rarely seen by outsiders. She had the opportunity to meet a few as a child alongside her father, and they were so beautiful. She's never seen anyone like them. And Loki more closely resembled the Jötunn women despite the male bone structure. He was softer, more delicate in his eyes, lips, and high cheekbones. He was beautiful.

She reached forward towards his face with a slow hand. She saw the confusion and uncertainty in his eyes. Curiously, she followed through and touched his cheek. It was chilled, but it didn't cause the frostbite Jötunns typically gave. So both her hands grasped his cheeks gently, and her small thumbs stroked his cheekbones.

He always managed to draw her in.

Granted, she understood very early on with him that one can't take anything he says or does too seriously. He's a trickster, and he loves chaos. On some level, she wondered if he genuinely had feelings for her, or if he just liked playing with her. She was clever and gifted with magic, so she could play this elaborate game of chess with him that he absolutely adored. She had trouble believing anyone beyond her family had any true feelings for her.

She jumped slightly when she felt him grasp her thighs in order to sit them both up. They were face to face, and she still hadn't let go of his cheeks or stopped looking into his eyes even when his hands traveled up to her waist. This position and where their hands were reminded her of their first time together. It also reminded her of him revealing that information to Thor.

"Leuya," she whispered.

She let go of his face and let him drop back to the floor with a soft thud. She watched him go back to his usual appearance as he slept on before she got up and off him.

"Again, I win," she said with a small smirk.

Then, she clapped her hands together and teleported herself.

She was at the machine holding the tesseract. She looked around at the sky beam striking into the air in a steady blue blast. The ruffling beside her gained her attention. She saw the scientist Loki kidnapped. She regarded him carefully.

"Doctor," she began, curious if he'd try it with her.

"It's… all this," he said incredulously, hyperventilating.

"It's not your fault. You were under a spell," she said.

"A… a spell," he said as if something dawned within him. "You, I was told you're a witch."

"Yes…"

She looked at the machine projecting the portal in the sky. Rogers was right: bronze wasn't the answer. It must be brains, or magic in this case actually. She walked over assessing it. She saw the crown of the portal and machine.

"Your magic can break it," Selvig said. "I believe that."

"Oh Norns, this is probably going to kill me," she muttered under her breath. "Pray to the fates for me. Maybe, they'll be merciful."

"I, uh…"

She didn't look at him before she tried to cast her portal magic in retrograde. She tried to believe in herself. When she touched the portal base, it stung, but she grimaced and beared it. She opened her eyes cautiously and saw the blue light and energy began to shrink. An incredulous smile grew on her face.

"Is that Iron Man going into the portal?" she heard Selvig mutter.

"What?"

She looked up and saw Stark holding what looked like a nuclear warhead on his back, heading straight to the portal. Oh shit. She withdrew her hands, stopping the spell and watching him disbelievingly. She supposed they were to wait on him until he came back. As much as she wanted these aliens gone and didn't care for the eccentric man, she wasn't cruel.

Several minutes passed by and the aliens still kept coming. She debated on whether to close it without him coming back to Earth. He didn't deserve a cold, lonesome death in space, especially when he was putting his life on the line to save everyone. She didn't think he had it in him, but sometimes people surprise her. It wasn't often, but it occurred. Occasionally.

Then, she saw him.

He was a red dot falling from the portal, and in a flash she started up her spell once more. She cried out in pain as she quickly reached the switch through the energy barrier and flipped it. The blast of it knocked her back, and everything went black.

"Fre… Frey… Fre… Freyja. Freyja!"

She gasped awake rather violently, having trouble catching her breath and regulating her rapid heartbeat. Her eyes looked around, blinking rapidly to see Thor kneeling next to her with her other fellow Avengers standing near her with concern on their faces. Well, this was embarrassing for her. She swallowed, regaining some of her composure.

"Are you alright?" Thor asked.

"Probably not," she said tiredly, standing shakily.

"Wanna get shawarma after we cuff your boyfriend?" Stark said.

"He was never my— nevermind. Fine, I don't have to be anywhere," she said, refraining an eye roll as she walked ahead of them.

When they went into the top floor's lobby where Loki was lying, he seemed to be coming out of the spell she put on him. They were all towering above him, and the anger was palpable. Why he chose to piss all of them off was beyond her. It backfired so badly.

"Is it too late to say sorry?" he said, trying to pull off the cute puppy look.

"You wanna cuff him, or should I do the honor," she said with a dry tone and smirk.

"No, I shall," Thor said.

She watched as he yanked his brother to his feet and did just that, cuff him. She felt a twinge of sympathy in her heart of hearts for him, but he really did deserve this. Beyond destroying New York, he broke the rule of don't kiss and tell. She didn't like her business out there, but he didn't care. He was selfish and used their intimacy as teens as a weapon to hurt his brother and embarrass her. Just thinking about it made her stomach hurt with anger.

"Ooh, are you still mad, brother?" Loki goaded. He then changed his appearance into Thor's and began to imitate him mockingly. "Freyja, love me even though you lied with my brother."

Thor didn't hesitate to slap a muzzle across Loki's mouth as he told him to shut up. It was a relief because if the trickster said one more word, then she probably would've attacked him. She still had to bite her cheeks to keep from saying some scathing words back, but she was already embarrassed that more people knew of her very personal love life. She already regretted sleeping with him, and he just had to take a victory lap like the vindictive creature he was.

"Really? You slept with this guy?" Stark said incredulously, pointing his thumb at Loki.

"Well, I used to be ugly, so my pickings were slim," she said, smirking at her childhood friend before laughing drily to herself. "But perhaps it's not all that bad. His brother will probably give up on trying to lie with me now."

"Of course not," he said, sounding surprised that she'd even think of it. "If you were mine, I'd be your best."

She scoffed, but she couldn't help the amused smirk. His arrogance was prevalent as ever. It wasn't as domineering or angry as before. That was definitely an improvement. She wondered what it was like to go around believing that much in oneself.

"Even if I let you share my bed, you really don't have much in the way of competition," she said, looking at Loki with her smirk still present.

He couldn't say anything due to the muzzle on his mouth. All he could do was glare, and it was a refreshing change.

Her comment garnered a laugh from Thor and the other Avengers. It was bizarre. She didn't expect to feel a kinship or something akin to friendship with them. Winning a war and fighting alongside one another would do that, she supposed. She had trouble connecting with people after all. She was pretty abrasive – she had to admit.

"That was pretty savage," Stark said.

"I'll have you know I'm quite civilized," she said, giving him a look.

"That was supposed to be— never mind, let's get going."

"Agreed," Romanoff said as she handed the scepter to SHIELD agents.

So, Shawarma wasn't terrible. One shop owner was kind enough to make them some despite the destruction and the aftermath of an alien invasion. It made sense since they were responsible for saving what's left of the city. Everyone was quiet. Not a word was said as they ate. It was refreshing after such a loud, erratic and hard battle. It gave her some time to decompress. Her ears were no longer ringing, and things were beginning to settle once more.

Afterwards, all of them met up in a courtyard. She wasn't the only one who showered and changed clothes. It seemed it was time to say goodbye. She didn't know if she'd see them again, probably, somewhere and some time later, but it wouldn't be for awhile. She was going to be all alone once more. Stranded on Midgard, yearning to go back to Vanaheim. Baldur wasn't there at the apartment anymore, and now people weren't going to treat her like a normal person. Not only was she in the modeling industry which has further ruined her self image, but now she was going to be seen as one of the people that saved them. Would she ever find happiness and real intimacy?

No, it seemed not.

"Hold the tesseract," Thor said.

"What?" she said, a little louder than she intended, pulled right out of her thoughts.

The conversations between the others halted, and she hated that she drew attention to herself. She felt like the walls were closing in, and her head was beginning to buzz uncomfortably. She swallowed, trying her best to keep it together despite the sweat breaking out on her skin.

"We're going home."

Asgard? Is that what he meant? Asgard was not her home.

"I said I'm not going back to Asgard," she said, feeling her lip curl.

"Freyja, please," Thor began. "It's not a good idea for you to… oi, Freyja!"

Suddenly, her world went sideways and upside down before it went dark….