Life is never gentle

by Cip

No-one ever said life was kind or gentle and Tony is about to find out the hard way just how difficult it can be. And this time he can't call on the Avenger's for help and can't tell Pepper the truth - he has to do this alone, and that thought is terrifying. FrostIron, warnings inside.

21. Chapter 21

I AM SO SORRY!

I never meant for this to take this long! This has been a pig of a chapter to write and I picked the absolute worst time to try and write it too. *Waves doctors note* See? I have an excuse. Really. I promise! It's a good one! Remember I said I was poorly last chapter? Well that was an understatement since 'poorly' turned into 'seriously ill'. Terrible chest infection that first led to a torn intercostal muscle and then caused a fractured rib.

Needless to say, my concentration has been hovering around the zero percent mark these past few months.

So, really really sorry and in the absence of illness, broken bones and other general aches and pains this shouldn't happen again.

On the plus side; this chapters longer than normal :D Yay! Love to you all and thank you so much for putting up with my abysmally slow writing!

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The two men stayed where they were for a long time, Loki quietly sobbing into his lover's shoulder. In all the time that he had been back in Asgard, the trickster had not allowed himself the luxury of such an outburst and emotion has a way of taking over once it's given a small outlet. Seven years' worth of pain and fear were finding their way out and that was never going to be an easy or pleasant process. At some point he had at least thought to roll off of Tony, knowing that he was too heavy to really stay on top of the man like that. In response Tony had simply wrapped his arms tightly around the prince and pulled him closer.

It was about half an hour before Loki ran out of tears and lay curled into his lover trying to calm down his breathing. He was shivering again, but that was dying down as he waved a hand to vanish away all the mess; from both the sex and the crying.

"Neat trick..." Tony murmured. He ran his hands up and down his lovers back. "How are you feeling?"

"A bit of an idiot to be honest." Loki's voice was thick, but he had a slight smile as he slowly sat up.

"I don't see why; after all, you've been bottling that up for a long time. About time it all came out."

"Yes, but I would rather it had not spoilt the moment."

Tony sat up too, looking surprised. "What? Don't be stupid! No moments were spoilt!" He wrapped his arms around Loki's waist from behind so that he could rest his chin on the prince's shoulder. "Guess what?"

Loki rolled his eyes at the childish question. "What?"

The man laughed and kissed his neck, sucking hard to draw out a bruise. "I love you."

"I believe I could have guessed that."

"Yeah, but you didn't." Tony removed his arms and slid round to sit in Loki's lap instead, locking his legs around the trickster's waist. He leant forwards to gently knock their foreheads together. "I'm not letting go, you know. Ever."

"Who ever said I would let you have the choice of going?" Loki's eyes were red-rimmed, but his smile was genuine as he leant forwards and kissed his lover. "Thank you."

Tony hugged him all the tighter.

"I told you I would be alright."

"Says the guy who just sobbed on me for half an hour." The man teased gently. "No, you're right. I shouldn't have worried." And he meant it too.

Loki was something far from human; physically, mentally and culturally. Tony still felt justified in worrying beforehand, but in the long run the prince had been right. A human response was to avoid triggers; apparently the Jötunn response was to write over the memories with something happier. Loki had known his own psychology well.

"How is your hand feeling?"

"I'd forgotten about it to be honest." Tony glanced down at his palm, shrugging at the red but healing skin. "Doesn't hurt and moves like it should. I've had worse."

"I am still sorry."

"You've thrown me out a window; frostbite is nothing."

Loki grinned. "And still with the window. As I recall, you allowed me to be thrown out of a helicopter."

"Yeah, but you had just ripped some dudes' eyeball out."

"And it tasted delicious."

"Oh God! Did you have to give me that imagery?!" Tony was laughing so hard he barely got the words out.

"Mmm, German eyeball…" Loki pretended to nibble on the man's shoulder before also collapsing into chuckles. "Almost as tasty as American trapezoid muscle."

"Stop being creepy! I'm going to start believing you've eaten people! For all I know you have!" Tony batted him away. "Please can we repeat all of this infront of Steve! He was so pissed that I took you down and not him!"

The tricksters' eyes gleamed. "Oh you took me down alright." He inclined backwards until his back hit the furs again, Tony leaning over him. "Took me down again and again and again."

The man lit up, then frowned slightly. "Uh…I would love to jump all over you right now, but you know that human men can't recover that quickly, right? I mean, in my hey-day I'd be up and running again in fifteen minutes, but we're talking at least forty five now."

Loki shrugged elegantly, his eyes roaming over his partner's body. "I can wait. It's been about half an hour already." He ran his hands up Tony's thighs where they rested on either side of this chest.

"Well, with the right motivation I may be ready quicker than I thought…"

"Hmm, I could always-" Whatever he had been about to say went lost as Loki suddenly froze, raising a hand to silence Tony when the man tried to ask what was wrong. "Someone is coming."

Stark remembered what he'd been told about the sensory spells on the rooms; since he couldn't hear anything and had to assume that it was one of those alerting his partner. He was silent as the prince monitored it intently, then Loki groaned and thumped his head back against the floor.

"Oh Norns. It's Thor."

As he said it there was a corresponding thump on the door.

"Brother? Tony? Are you in there?"

Tony was tempted to not answer, and placed a finger to his lips to suggest the idea to Loki. However, the trickster shook his head with a long-suffering sigh.

"He won't go. He asks out of politeness; he knows we are here."

As if he had heard it; Thor banged on the door all the harder. "Come on, both of you! You have hidden away too long today!"

"He genuinely doesn't know what we've been up to?"

"Of course he does; he is simply being an obnoxious bilgesnipe!" Loki sat up, gently pushing his lover off of him in the process. "I am going to turn him into a soup-bowl!" He flicked his fingers, restoring their clothing, then rose stiffly to his feet, a wince briefly crossing his face.

Tony followed him from the soft rugs; hopeful that Loki was going to make good on this threat. The trickster threw the door open and in the process almost took Thor's nose off.

"What?!"

The thunder God took a step back, obviously well aware from the single word just how annoyed his younger brother was. "I came to look for you; The Avengers and Evie are down at the training grounds and we wanted you both to join us."

Loki's eyes visibly flashed red. "And when in my life have I ever wanted to go to the training grounds?"

Thor shrugged hopelessly, backing up another pace. "It was Evie's idea!"

"Do not blame this on my daughter, Thor. She does not even know what the training grounds are!"

"Alright, so I desired your company! Is that such a bad thing?"

"Yes! Did it occur to you that we may have been busy?"

"You have been gone the past two hours; I assumed that you had finished talking over your argument!"

Tony – sensing that fratricide (Was there a term for a God killing a God?) was imminent – stepped between the two. "Okay guys, time out." He was staring at Thor, but casually reached out behind himself, grabbed Loki's wrist without looking and lowered it, which diffused the fire ball growing in the trickster's hand. "Thor; yes we were busy and don't appreciate the interruption. And Loki-" He glanced over his shoulder at the fuming prince. "You've got that whole 'I'm going to destroy the world' thing going, and it's not a good look on you."

"I am sorry if I have interrupted you; our friends and I genuinely did desire your company with us. I believe it is hard for a human to gain respect here when matched against Aesir warriors." A grin broke on his face. "Although Natasha certainly succeeded in garnering fear; which is just as good."

Loki's expression warmed slightly to a tiny smile. "Oh? Who was it?"

"Fandral."

"He should know better than to assume the worst of a woman."

"He knows that now. Actually so does Sif."

The trickster significantly brightened. "She beat Sif?"

"Eventually. It was a hard match."

Tony glanced at his partner and took in the conflicted expression on Loki's face. It was obvious the prince desperately wanted to see the Warriors Three being humiliated by a mere human, but at the same time didn't want to give Thor the satisfaction of knowing it. Stark rolled his eyes.

"Well, I want to see this. Lead the way Thor." He shrugged a single shoulder at Loki in a 'come along if you want to' gesture.

Unsurprisingly, Loki did go with them, albeit grudgingly.

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The training grounds were an area that Tony had yet to visit, so he was uncertain what they might look like, if he'd even really thought about it at all. Possibly something like an army camp with obstacle courses and shooting ranges. However, he was surprised to find something that wouldn't have been out of place in a Roman city.

On the outside the grounds were deceptively low, looking like a large circular building, maybe three or four stories high. Inside, however was a different story.

Steps led down into a huge oval arena that was comparable to an amphitheatre. There were nearly twenty tiers of seats rising up around it apart from one end that was taken up with weapon storage. All across the area there were people engaged in various martial pursuits; from stretching out to what appeared to be two huge men sparring with morning stars.

Tony stared in part awe part horror whilst Loki merely rolled his eyes at the displays of brute strength. Thor led the way round the edge of the seating to where Evie was sat with the other Avengers and Fury. Natasha was back with them, a fresh bruise on her cheek and a smug glint in her eyes. A little way along the Warriors Three were trying to look like two of their best hadn't just been beaten by a mortal. They perked up when they saw Thor, then darkened as Loki appeared behind his brother.

"If looks could kill, you'd be a pile of smouldering ash right now." Was Clint's welcome. He moved over a little to let Tony sit down, but addressed his comment to Loki.

"Yes, believe me that the feelings are mutual." It was all the clearer how different Loki really was from the rest of the Aesir out here amongst the brawny and overly-manly-man warriors.

Thin and pale really didn't cut it in this world.

"Do you feel like a bout, brother?" Thor seemed to be in his element.

"Do you feel like being burnt alive in dragon flame?"

Thor laughed, but Tony had the sneaking suspicion that Loki was entirely serious.

"Come now Loki! You should at least try to have a go, even if you know you will lose." Volstagg said cheerfully. "You were always so defeatist."

The snarl on Loki's face would have sent the Hulk running, but Thor got there first with a retort.

"My brother's strengths lie elsewhere, and you know that well!"

"What strengths?" Fandral laughed in derision.

Thor gestured at the arena. "Go ahead and show me how well you can cast a double of yourself. Or throw a fireball."

Volstagg looked gobsmacked at the prince standing up for his brother. "What warrior needs those tricks?"

"You know well that Loki can take your head off of your shoulders without having to even look. He can turn your blood to molten metal or ice as he sees fit." Thor grinned at his equally astounded sibling. "You may call them tricks – just as I once did – but believe me when I say that Loki is more deadly than any of us."

The trickster was a master at schooling his emotions, but this was such a huge thing coming from his brother that he was metaphorically floored without even setting foot in the arena. Thor had never had a good word to say about his attributes on the battle field, and certainly not infront of the heir's friends.

It was such a big gesture for Thor to make that when he turned big imploring eyes on his brother and repeated the request to spar, Loki felt that he didn't have much choice.

"We will take it easy; I know you are still healing." The older prince stated courteously as they made their way down the steps to the sandy ground.

Loki glanced up at his daughter, who was eagerly talking to Tony and looking excited. "No. I do not think so. If I must do this then we are doing it properly. After all, Norns know when the chitauri will arrive and I need to at least familiarise myself with combat again before that."

Thor looked side-ways at him, taking in the stubborn cast to his brother's expression. "I do not like it."

"You never do. Pounding me into the ground was certainly never your favourite past time when we were younger." Loki allowed a smile to enter his voice just enough to make it more a tease and less of a barb. "How about this; I shall agree not to use magic. That will mean I will not tax myself so much."

"Yes, but you will be depriving yourself of your strongest fighting point."

Loki shrugged. "The chitauri can block my magic. As much as your compliments flatter me, I need to recall my other strengths."

His logic made sense, although it was obvious that Thor didn't like it. He didn't even want to pick up his hammer to begin with, instead edging towards a normal sword. However, a dark glare from his brother made it clear that punches were not allowed to be pulled.

"Put it this way, Thor: If you do not fight at your absolute best you will be going easy on me and if I win then the victory will be meaningless and you will have proved that your friends are right."

"Yes, but-"

Loki moved like a snake. He had materialised a quarter-staff – his only concession to using magic – and now drove it straight into his brother's gut.

"No pulling punches!"

Thor was taken by surprise, but he was a trained warrior and recovery was instinctual. As was calling Mjölnir.

Sitting with the other humans, Tony could only roll his eyes. He knew damn well that if he were in Loki's position he would be doing exactly the same thing – had done the exact same thing. He understood his lover's reasoning and in this case agreed with it. Yes; Loki was still in pain and still recovering, but the chitauri wouldn't care about that when they arrived, he needed to feel ready. Tony would admit to worrying at least a little though; the last thing Loki needed was another injury.

It was hard to actually tell what was happening though; the two God's moved like lightning and it was near impossible to see one move from the next. Whilst the brothers had fought during the chitauri invasion all those years ago, none of the Avengers had actually seen them. Tony had had a brief glimpse of the two when he had flown past Stark Tower but since there had been a giant space-eel on his tail at the time he hadn't paid much attention.

It was certainly something to see two Gods fight and to be fair to him, Loki really was holding his own. He was tending to evade Thor's huge strikes, favouring to try and duck and hit instead. The last time they had fought, his chitauri staff had been able to take the blows from Mjölnir; this one couldn't so he wasn't even attempting it.

There were moves being used that would have at least physically disabled a human, if not killed them but the two Aesir were simply rolling with the punches, as it were. One of the hits Thor took to the head had Tony covering Evie's eyes, although she impatiently batted him away, completely entranced by the fight.

However, it was all very well for Loki to demand a full-on sparring match, but it was a tough ask to match up against Thor's hammer. He realised this to his cost when it came to the point that he had to choose between being smashed in the face, or blocking with it with his staff. He caught the blow, but the power behind it shattered the weapon, leaving him with two handfuls of splinters. This didn't prevent him from kicking Thor backwards in the chest and giving himself a moment to reassess the situation. Thor was in the zone by this point so didn't realise that his opponent was weaponless, meaning that Loki had to dance out of the way of the next two blows.

"Here, catch!"

The shout came from an unexpected place and it was by pure reflex that Loki caught the object thrown at him. He was met with a bright splash of colour as he swung the new weapon round and scythed it through the air at his brother, catching Thor off guard. Loki had never used this form of weapon before and had never in a million years expected to try. And certainly not this one.

The look on Thor's face was priceless as Captain America's shield caught him neatly on the jaw as it flew round in a large arc and back to Loki. The trickster was ready for it, and caught it neatly in one hand before bringing it down as a shield rather than a weapon. Thor wiped away a trickle of blood from his lip and gave a feral grin.

"Now that is one thing I never dreamt I would see you fight with."

"Be glad I am restricting my use in magic, otherwise there would be ten of me and you would have a Skjaldborg to contend with."

Thor winced. Even to a hardened warrior like himself, the thought of a shieldwall comprised of Captain America's indestructible shield was daunting.

"Why did you do that?" Bruce leant in close so that only Steve could hear the question. "I thought you said you couldn't trust him."

"I don't like him, but I don't want Evie to see him pulverised. Also…" And here Steve smiled slyly – an odd look on his face. "I appreciate that Loki is an extraordinary fighter and I may pick up some moves."

"That's sneaky."

"I am capable of sneaky if it helps my technique." Steve sounded distracted as he watched Loki kick Thor in the shoulder then use his spinning motion to slam the shield into the blond God's head. "For someone's who never held that shield, he's doing a damn good job."

"You never know; he's thousands of years old; he's probably used something like that before."

Both with an indestructible weapon, the God's were more evenly matched. Thor favoured strength as always, but Loki's agility evened out the score as he evaded most blows. It was clear that the two were very used to fighting each other – in every sense – and even with Loki using an unfamiliar weapon they were falling back into old patterns.

"Who usually wins?" Natasha had leant forwards and rested her arms on the thin rail that ran infront of each tier of seats.

"Thor." Fandral and Volstagg chimed together.

However, Sif glanced at the other woman and heaved an annoyed sigh. "They usually draw. Thor will claim victory, but only because Loki allows it."

The two warriors looked at her askance, but Hogun nodded in agreement.

"It is true. Thor is unbearable if he loses; Loki knows that. He has spared us all many of Thor's tantrums by strategically losing a fight." The Aesir said quietly.

Natasha glanced between the four warriors; split into their two factions. It seemed that Sif and Hogun at least had an ounce of common sense each, although the other two were definitely lacking the small grey cells. Still, as long as half of the quartet could see which way the wind was blowing when it came to Thor's favour the other two would probably fall into line.

Black Widow turned back to the arena just in time to see Loki go flying backwards, although she missed the blow that caused it. The trickster appeared used to this happening, and used the momentum to twist in mid-air. The added weight of the shield aided the spin so that rather than falling on his back he succeeded in landing on his feet, the disc swung back so that he could immediately hurl it at his brother.

Thor ducked, but was taken by surprise as the shield boomeranged back and caught him a neat blow across the back of his shoulders, throwing him forwards. He recovered in time to see Loki readying to catch the weapon and threw Mjölnir into the shield's path, throwing it off course. However, he mis-judged the aim so that the shield sailed straight back into their group of friends.

It skidded along the wooden floorboards before sticking firm right infront of Evie. The girl immediately tugged it free and hugged it to her chest.

"Mine now!" She called down.

"And how am I meant to fight now, young lady?!" Loki called up to her, hands on his hips.

"Improvise!"

The prince glanced at his brother, who had also paused and was watching the interaction with amusement. Once he saw Loki looking at him, Thor walked up to him, prepared to call it a day and concede that in this instance it probably was a draw.

However, he got as far as; "That was a –" And holding his hand out to shake Loki's before the trickster swept his legs out from under him with a well-timed and well-placed kick.

The thunder God fell heavily onto his stomach – winded and shocked. Of course, he was a warrior and his instincts were such that as he still tried to work out what had just happened, his body was already trying to rise and combat the threat. A dagger placed against the soft spot at the base of the skull put paid to that as a heavy weight dropped onto his back and stopped him from rising.

"Yield?" Loki asked cheerfully, digging his knee into the small of Thor's back.

There had been a time, not so long ago to the two immortals, when such a victory would have rendered the thunder God incandescent with rage. However, even though his friends were on their feet and protesting loudly, Thor himself merely laughed and released his grip on Mjölnir.

"That, I believe, was cheating."

"Neither of us called an end to the match, therefore the match is not technically over. You know the rules, Thor." Loki's voice was full of laughter, more so now that he was pretty certain he wasn't going to be smashed in the face once he got off his brother.

"A fair point." Thor struggled again, but he was well and truly pinned, especially with the dagger to his head. "Oh fine, I yield!"

Up in the stands bickering had broken out between Thor's friends and the Avengers, but Fury sat off to one side, preferring not to get involved. Instead his attention was focused on the brothers down in the practice arena.

Nick Fury had kept himself to himself since their arrival in Asgard. Whilst the other humans had tried to interact with the people they met, and immersed themselves in the new culture, the Director wasn't there to have fun. Obviously the first instances of arriving in the city had been mind-blowing, but he was a soldier and one used to being in charge of every situation; he hadn't let awe overtake rational thought. Whilst the Avengers had pretty much been treating the trip as a sight-seeing holiday – and to be fair it pretty much was for them – Fury had been assessing everything from the very beginning.

Asgard was currently friendly with Earth, but as the Director of Shield, it was Fury's job to scope out absolutely anything that could be useful should that situation ever change. He wasn't there to make friends, he was there for the sake of his planet's security, and currently he was watching one of the biggest security threats walking around in the arena.

It was one thing to accept that Loki maybe wasn't entirely the bad guy anymore, but it was another thing entirely to have to trust him. If it was up to Fury, he wouldn't let any of the Avengers beyond Thor near the trickster, and certainly not Evie! However, he had no say in it, and wouldn't ever actually venture his opinion on the matter since he could predict exactly what Stark would say in retort. And it wouldn't be pretty.

One big thing that was very apparent, though, was that the Loki they were watching banter with Thor was a million miles away from the Loki they had seen during the invasion. Fury didn't think he would ever forget the cold madness he'd seen in those green eyes when they'd first met. The icy gaze of someone who really didn't care about repercussions or pain or the lives of others. Loki had been a twisted, fractured thing.

It didn't take someone of Fury's calibre to tell the difference between then and now. He was well aware that Loki was an extraordinary actor, but no-one could fake the aura of calm that had wrapped around the prince. Red-cheeked and eyes alight with the excitement of the fight Loki had a big smile on his face as he climbed back up the steps to re-join them. His gaze briefly met Fury's and for that transient, unguarded moment the Director could read probably far more than the prince intended him to.

There was still a deep well of pain that Loki was doing an excellent job with hiding, but that had surfaced in that brief moment when he didn't think anyone was looking. However, despite the pain he seemed to be content as he elbowed his brother in the stomach. The madness had gone from his eyes, to be replaced with a warm calm. Fury was an expert in reading people, and right now he was reading a person who was healing and finally finding themselves again.

Loki was entirely unaware of the psychoanalysis going on as he sat back down, fist bumping Tony in the process. He rescued the shield from Evie and after checking that it was still sound (Mjölnir was a heavy hitter after all) passed it back to Steve.

"My thanks; I would have been in trouble without your intervention."

The captain smiled uncertainly at the polite, yet well-meaning, statement. The fact that Loki had actually checked the shield over after the fight before returning it almost meant more than the words. He hated to admit it, but Loki had gone up in his esteem for making sure the weapon was pristine before giving it back. Good manners cost nothing after all.

"It's always interesting to see someone else using it; I might be able to borrow some moves."

"Have you ever considered using a second weapon in tandem? Other than a gun, I mean."

"Not really, what would you suggest?" Steve's body language subconsciously relaxed as his interest was engaged.

"Well, I am most used to using a spear or axe if I have a shield, but those are a little redundant in the modern world."

As he said it both Loki and the super-soldier turned to look at Tony.

"What? You guys want some sort of modernised Viking weapons? I can do that!"

The inventor's over-enthusiastic statement was met with groans from the rest since they knew exactly what he was like when on a technology binge. Evie smacked him around the head which made Loki snort with laughter.

"Alright, Thor. I have complied and beaten you to the ground, can we now leave? You know I hate being here." The trickster turned back to his brother, still smiling from his daughter's antics.

"I refuse to take our guests to the library!"

"I am not suggesting the library! I was thinking of going riding, actually."

That made Thor grin. "You really have missed Sleipnir, have you not?"

"It has been a long twenty years." Loki looped his arm around Evie's shoulders, pulling her into a hug. "I have missed all my children during everything that has happened."

"I'd tell you to stop being mushy, but I've missed you too much for that."

Tony huffed at his daughter's words. "Think yourself lucky, she never lets me be mushy!"

"Vanish for seven years and you can be as mushy as you want."

"Fair enough."

Bruce leant across Steve and Clint to break up the bickering with a polite smile.

"I think getting out in the fresh air would be good for all of us. This whole fighting thing isn't really…my sort of thing." Before Loki could look alarmed at the implications that could have for the Hulk, Bruce continued. "And besides, I'd love to meet your son. Our legends say very little of him besides his appearance; I'd love to meet the face behind the myth."

Loki recognised the tentative out-reach for what it was. He had little to nothing in common with most of the Avengers as far as he could tell, and this was the first serious attempt one had made to bridge that gap.

"I am sure Sleipnir would like that. He rarely meets humans and always enjoys people's reactions to seeing him for the first time."

"Does he really have eight legs?"

"Of course." Loki said it UHulH,'as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, although to him it sort of was, really. "I have some x-rays if you are really interested in how that works."

Bruce's expression scrunched up in confusion. "How did you x-ray an eight legged horse?"

"World War One equine field hospital; he stepped on a caltrop and although I could remove it I wanted to be certain where the damage was. All it took was casting an illusion over his extra legs. I had to hide the x-ray immediately after, since all eight showed up, which I hadn't expected, but I kept it."

"What were you doing in World War One?" Clint butted in, far more interested in this random anomaly than in anatomy lessons.

"At that point, hauling guns in the battle of Tannenberg."

"Which side were you on?"

Loki shrugged. "Russia."

"Reason being?"

"It was a split second decision and I was listening to Tchaikovsky when I made it. Besides, it didn't last long what with the over-throwing of the Tsar." He smiled slightly. "And it was cold, I liked the cold, it never seemed to cause me the same problems it caused everyone else."

It was an innocent little comment, so Loki was completely taken by surprise when Evie, Clint and Bruce all chorused:

"The cold never bothered me anyway!" Then burst out laughing.

"Okay, what did I miss?"

Tony threw his arm around the trickster's shoulders. "Just a little flick by that old company known as Disney. You're behind on the times; they've made a Despicable Me sequel too."

Loki's face genuinely fell. "Oh, you are joking! I missed that?!" He stood up, prompting Tony to do the same. "Right, you need to fill me in on the way to the fields." He turned to Bruce. "Doctor Banner, will you join us? And that invitation is open to anyone else bored of watching testosterone fuelled grudge matches."

Bruce readily nodded, quickly followed by Steve – who had been interested in the sparring, but was drawn by the thought of horse-riding. Natasha was slower in deciding to join them, but when she did, did so silently, leaving Clint to slide over on the bench to sit closer to Fury so that they could continue watching the Aesir fight and discuss the tactics they saw,

It was a given that Thor was going to follow his brother like a puppy.

Leaving Hawkeye and the director sat in the arena with Thor's friends; the rest left the grounds and stepped out into the corridors leading away towards the fields. Tony still had his arm around his partner's shoulders and was explaining to an increasingly dismayed Loki about how he'd missed various important films over the years that he had been imprisoned.

"- I mean, Jackson always said he'd never do it, and then BAM! Three Hobbit films! Well, not really bam, more like a rumble really since it took them ages to sort everything out, but it was so worth it! Ooh! And there are new Star Trek films!"

"For goodness sake! Next you will be telling me they are bringing back Starwars!"

"Uh…About that…"

"Seriously?!"

The light-hearted and friendly atmosphere was abruptly shattered as the air infront of them shimmered and a mirage of Heimdall appeared. This was apparently not an unusual thing given the way the Aesir reacted, but it made the humans jump – although Natasha hid it well.

"Heimdall, what brings you here?" Thor's smile had faded, giving way to the much rarer frown that usually only surfaced when things were going very wrong. It made the Avenger's realise that this appearance heralded bad tidings.

"The chitauri are approaching. We have only minutes before they arrive." The guardian was stoic as he broke the news; his expression not reflecting the seriousness of the situation.

"What?!" Thor's exclamation was deafening as he subconsciously stepped closer to his brother. Loki had his arm around Evie's shoulders as the teen clung to him, staring at Heimdall in horror.

"No! Möðhy!" It was fair to say that losing Loki the first time around had given Evelyn some serious psychological scarring. It had taken years for her to stop having flashbacks, and even now the nightmares still occurred. She usually held it together if there was an unexpected trigger, but the chitauri were the trigger, and there was no way that wasn't going to get a reaction out of her.

Loki didn't question his daughter's terror – he was feeling it himself to be honest – and simply wrapped his arm tight around her. She was shaking against him, the same wide-eyed look on her face that he'd last seen when the chitauri had snatched him all those years ago. She had stared up at him with the same frozen look of dread then too.

"How many are there?" Thor had seen his brother freeze, and taken the initiative.

"Three ships, a few thousand soldiers."

The thunder God turned to the younger prince, concern harsh on his face. "Loki, are you sure you can deal with that many?"

It took Loki a few moments to register the question and actually formulate a reply. "I believe so." He was quiet and the tone in his voice told Thor that he was anything but certain.

"I will still fight with you, should you wish me to. You do not have to do this alone."

"Yes I do." Loki met his brother's gaze intently. "Thor, I have to do this on my own. How would you feel if someone were to take your revenge from you? And besides; I have already called Holmgang."

The older God nodded slightly, not expecting any other sort of reply. His approval seemed to bolster Loki somewhat, who turned back to the mirage.

"Heimdall, inform the Allfather of what is happening, we are coming to you." His arm was already around Evie, and Tony was in reach for him to grab the man's shoulder. It just took a quick flick of his fingers and the trickster teleported the whole group to the observatory.

Tony had experienced teleportation before and although it was still odd, it didn't faze him, Thor was obviously used to it, and so it was Evelyn and the other three adults who were taken entirely by surprise. However, there was little any of them could do beyond simply holding tight to the nearest person and closing their eyes against the nauseating spin of dark and flashes.

They took barely a couple of seconds between the training grounds and the observatory. Bruce staggered away from the group, but held up a hand with the okay signal when Steve started towards him in concern.

"Seasickness, I'm fine."

Heimdall looked unsurprised at their arrival, his burning gaze fixed on Loki.

"I know of your wish to face the chitauri alone." He said sternly, "But be well aware that if there is the slightest sign of failure I will not hesitate to join the battle. I will not sacrifice Asgard's safety for the sake of a prince's pride. Fail us, or betray us, and the might of Asgard will fall indiscriminately on the whole battlefield."

It was a harsh thing to say, but in a unique way seemed to be exactly what needed to be said. Loki appeared to snap out of his freeze, at any rate.

"I see. Well, we cannot say any fairer than that I suppose." He met Heimdall's gaze head on. "But needless to say; insult my loyalties again and being turned into a statue of ice will be the least of your worries."

There was a flash of something that may have been amusement in Heimdall's eyes. The two understood each other even if everyone else seemed alarmed by the exchange.

"You have something of mine, gatekeeper, and I will need it back for this to work."

"I suspected as much." Heimdall picked up an object behind the podium and held it out.

"Oh, wow, uh, that was never in any of our discussions!" Even Tony took a step back as his partner accepted the chitauri scepter. "Why do you need that?!"

"It has lost most of its power with the tesseract safely ensconced in the vaults." Loki ran his hand over the glowing blue gem as he reaquainted himself with the weapon. "But its strength is its merit now. If it can withstand Mjölnir, then there would be little else that can destroy it. In addition, the small amount of power that remains does not require the tesseract, and I intend to use that." His eyes gleamed in the light from the gem, an unsettling and unnatural blue as he brought the sceptre up close to his face. It was a mercy Clint wasn't with them; he would have gone ape-shit.

Tony was biting his lip, looking uncertain. "Uh huh. 'Cause you're looking rather…uh…you're having a 'burdened with glorious purpose' moment, dear."

"I said that once. Once! And you were not even present!" Loki spun the sceptre and in doing so his armour materialised around him. It was pretty much the same attire the Avengers had last seen him wear in battle, although he had forgone the helmet. He seemed calmer now, the fear that had come over him banished to the background as he took control of the situation. It was a technique learnt over the millennia; how to damp down terror, push it to the back of one's mind when faced with the prospect of a fight.

Battle-calm.

Thor knew the method – he was well versed in it himself – and recognised the expression that came across his brother's face as Loki settled into the mind-set of a battle.

The trickster spun on his heel and stalked out of the observatory onto the Bifrost, leaving it up to the others whether they would follow of not. Predictably it was Tony he found immediately beside him, the man's expression drawn and anxious.

"Can you send Evie back to the main city? I don't want her anywhere near those things. They used her once to get to you, who says they won't do that again?"

"Believe it or not she will be safer here with us." Loki glanced at his lover warily. "Should this go ill, Heimdall will activate the Bifrost. Push her through if you have to, I cannot imagine she will leave willingly, but if this does not work, get her out of here."

Tony nodded, visibly swallowing.

"She won't like that."

"No, but she will be safe and that is the important thing. I assume the Bifrost site is monitored?"

"Shield are sitting on it in camper vans."

"Good." Loki looked up at the stars, scanning across the sky. "I would ask you to go too, but I cannot imagine you would do so."

"Hell no!"

A faint smile crossed the trickster's face. "I did not think so. Nevertheless, I fear for your safety as well as our daughter's."

"Pah! Don't worry about me, I'm bullet proof."

"Only in your suit."

"Well, that isn't a problem at least." Tony held his arm out – the non-frostbitten one – and indicated the small raised bumps running down his wrist. "I've updated some systems in the past few years. It assembles itself, or…" He flicked his hand out to mirror something similar to a martial arts pose. "It can hone in on me."

For a moment amongst all the fear and worry and tension, Loki was able to smile and feel a surge of awe in the man. "You mean to imply…"

He didn't get chance to finish, and then didn't need to. The Ironman suit had started to zoom across the distance between their rooms and the Observatory from the moment Tony had activated the micro-implants and within moments the armour was assembling around him. He fielded the faceplate, though, rather than letting it slam him in the face.

"I'll keep Evie with me; I've tried off against those bastards before and the suit came out tops. They won't lay a hand – or mandible – on her." Tony flexed his wrist and the thruster on his palm hummed in readiness. "You there, Jarv?"

"Reading you loud and clear, sir."

Loki nodded tersely, glancing at his brother as he did so. "Thor, will you cover Tony?"

"Of course."

"What about us?" Natasha's question drew the other's attention back to the fact that she, Steve and Bruce were there too. However, they were only dressed in their normal civilian clothes and they hardly looked like much. Other than the Captain's shield they didn't have a weapon between them. The woman appeared to realise this and narrowed her eyes at Loki. "We're not going back, before you say any nonsense like that."

"I would not dare dream to suggest it." The prince said with a faint smile. He eyed the sensible trainers Natasha was wearing. "At least you did not wear heels."

"You think I can't fight in stilettos?"

Loki didn't deign to reply – mostly because he was certain that the infamous Black Widow could fight in any footwear she could think up. Instead he chose to concentrate and summon up a collection of the various firearms he had seen the woman use during their brief acquaintance on Earth. She didn't seem surprised – although she must have been – when the weapons belt materialised around her waist.

"Your priority is to keep out of my way." Loki directed the words at the whole group of them, although his gaze fixed on Thor when he said it.

"They approach!" Heimdall's warning was crisp and clear. Thor took it as his cue to begin ushering the others back and directing them which enabled his brother to stride out towards the end of the bridge and focus on what was going to happen.

Loki had a plan. And he would be the first to admit that it was…not the best plan he had ever constructed.

His strengths were trickery and cunning and currently his entire strategy hinged on fire-power and brute strength. It wasn't perfect, it wasn't what he wanted, but it would have to do. Loki knew that he only had to say a word and at the very least his brother and lover would both be by his side. A louder word would have the might of Asgard's army behind him.

However, that wasn't how this was going to go. Should the chitauri land, they were strong enough to cause Asgard some serious problems – worst case scenario being an extremely bloody battle with heavy losses and that was if the bastards didn't win.

No, Loki had a plan and that plan would insure the chitauri wouldn't set foot on Asgard. Thor would probably be disappointed that the big fight was going to boil down to a handful of explosions, but that was what would ensure the general safety of the kingdom. Well, if the Norns were smiling, that is. Loki knew he would have to swallow his pride and let Thor help if a force actually managed to land.

"Here they come!"

Tony's shout coincided with a sudden burst of bright light. The end of the Bifrost shimmered in what to the three Aesir was unmistakably a teleport of some kind. Of all the people grouped there, Loki was the only one with any idea of just who would be coming through ahead of the main force and so was the only one not surprised.

The Other was not typical of the chitauri. Infact, Loki had always had his suspicions that the creature wasn't actually from that race at all. He – it? There had never been anything to define if gender was even an option – was taller than the skeletal warriors, and far more humanoid. There was more of a face too – at the very least a face that could hold expressions a human could read.

He was as ugly as Loki remembered too.

Standing taller than the trickster, The Other was decked out in what could only be described as armour, although it was like no armour any of them had seen before. Organic in appearance it was slick and oily, like some diseased thing twisted into sharp shapes. His eyes were hidden but the slash of a red mouth twisted into a feral grin.

"So here you hide, little princeling. Cowering in your mothers skirts like the craven you are." The voice was the same as ever and the deep hiss had Loki steeling his mind against the dark memories it drew up. He wasn't a person prone to flashbacks, and didn't want to experience his first in the same moments that he was meant to be facing an army.

The Other didn't seem to be expecting a reply as he took in Loki's armour and the sceptre in his hands.

"You arm for a fight. Surely you know there is no way you will escape this."

"And what is it I am meant to be escaping?" Loki kept his voice cool and level.

"Justice. You wronged us, Jötunn, and we demand retribution."

"You have had your retribution! Seven long years of it!"

The Other's mouth widened into a sneer as he paced forward a few steps from where he had landed – apparently entirely unconcerned about anyone else present intervening. "You betrayed the chitauri and our race barely survives because of it. Our justice system demands your death; these past years have merely been…" His grin stretched. "A stay of execution. A little time to allow us to fully understand the Jötunn species. After all; we needed to know exactly how immortal you are."

"You bastard!" Tony got it out before Loki could say a word.

"Stark, do not get involved."

However, the warning was too late as The Other's hidden gaze had already moved to Tony and Evelyn.

"Ah yes. You were spoken of by those who captured our prisoner. The man who glows. You did not do much good then, and will not do so now."

Tony's face twisted in fury, but the alien turned back to Loki and continued before he could spit back a reply.

"And it is so fitting, is it not, Fallen One, that the same people who witnessed your last capture should be here now." The Other gestured at the four humans and two Aesir. "I do so hope they needn't be hurt this time."

Loki's grip tightened on the sceptre as his lips pursed into thin tight line.

"Enough of this. Where are the others? Where is your army?"

"Waiting for my signal. They need not appear at all if you co-operate with us." The Other's harsh grin vanished. "Surrender to us now and we won't raze this realm to the ground."

"You do not possess the power for that, a group of mere humans stopped your armies last time. You cannot hope to stand against the might of Asgard!"

The Other glanced at Tony again, a smug expression blooming across what was visible of his face.

"We were not as knowledgeable then. When you were snatched away from us our army was once again heavily broken by a weapon the Man of Red Armour hurled at us. This time, however, enough of us were outside the effects to be able to examine it during our search for you."

Loki felt a thrill of sudden horror run down his spine. Part of him wanted to laugh it off and call the creature's bluff because surely, surely the chitauri hadn't been able to extrapolate the workings of a nuclear warhead from nothing more than its detonation.

And of course he knew that they could. The bastards were space scavengers and all the more resourceful for it. It couldn't have been so hard for them to find a radioactive element during their hunt for him through the Nine Realms. The Norns knew Muspelheim had enough. Even Earth had more than its fair share.

Chitauri technology made nuclear…

Loki had an unfortunately over-active imagination and it wasn't hard for his minds' eye to see just what such weapons could do. A quick glance at Tony's ashen face told him that the inventor had the exact same mental image of the Asgard's golden spires being engulfed in a burgeoning mushroom cloud. Loki couldn't begin to wonder how bad Stark was feeling knowing that he had unwittingly gifted something with that firepower to the chitauri.

These thoughts flitted past in nanoseconds but something of it must have shown in his expression because The Other laughed harshly.

"Your choice, princeling. Surrender and we will leave Asgard in peace. Resist and the chitauri will take down all that you care for." He swung to point the long pole-axe-type weapon he held towards Evie and Tony. "Starting with those two."

Thor moved towards the pair, but Stark was already infront of his daughter, blocking her from the creature. His faceplate was still up so he was able to meet Loki's gaze again as the trickster seemed to freeze, caught in the ultimatum.

Heimdall seemed impassive, but to the two Aesir it was obvious that he was now focussed on the younger prince; his earlier threat to Loki now more important than ever. If Asgard's safety was at risk…

Loki could feel the golden gaze on the back of his neck and for a fleeting moment almost wished he had worn his signature helm after all to avoid it. In the end, though, it hardly mattered. All that was important was the creature infront of him and the decision he was faced with.

"Well?" The Other tipped his head to one side with an arrogant sneer. "I believe it is simple enough; you will die no matter how this turns out. All that remains to be seen is whether the rest of this realm will go down with you."

"Well then." The trickster said quietly. "I suppose that does not leave me with much choice."

"Loki-"

"It is a simple enough concept, Tony." Loki didn't even bother to turn, never taking his eyes off The Other.

"But-"

"I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions in this matter, Stark." The trickster raised his hand to silence his lovers protest, angrily gesticulating at him. The Other bared his teeth in a mocking grin, evidently knowing a little of human culture – presumably from Loki himself – to assume that the hand signal was a form of insult. Coupled with Loki's body language it certainly looked like he was swearing at the man over his shoulder and since it shut Tony up there was no reason to assume otherwise.

Except that the humans knew what it meant.

I'm okay.

Forefinger curled in a circle to touch his thumb, the signal was universal to the humans at least. Loki was confident that despite what it looked like; he was still in control of the situation.

It kept the Avengers quiet.

"So, it seems I can do little else but capitulate to your demands." Loki's unflinching statement didn't betray the fear he was feeling as he said it, although everyone must have known that he was rightly terrified. "After all, the greatest art of war is to know which battles to fight, and this would be one Asgard could not hope to win."

"We are in agreement there, then.

"But." The single word held a lot of intonations and subtle threat. "Do not believe that I will simply lay down my arms and follow you meekly into torture and death."

The Other would have been a fool to assume that it would have been the case, although he contrived to act disdainfully surprised at any rate.

"And just what would you propose that you are able to do? Your feeble powers are hidden from you, your body is still broken. What do you wish? You are weak as a babe." The Other's hateful gaze fixed on the chitauri sceptre that Loki held. "That will not aid you now; you have nothing!"

"I have strength enough." The trickster moved fluidly from his confrontational posture to a fighter's stance. "Strength to stand and fight you."

"You wish to fight, after all?"

"Just you. A warriors' fight to the death. I win and your armies leave never to be seen again; you win and I will either die in the fight, or go willingly with you." Loki's phrasing seemed odd in its way – as if he would ever allow the chitauri to go free – but his opponent didn't allow anyone the chance to interrupt or question.

"As you wish, Godling. I trust farewells have already been said; you shall not walk away from this."

The Other bared his sharp teeth again, but although his mouth was drawn into a grin it was a threatening gesture rather than a humorous one. The pole-axe in his hands hummed as the blade began to glow a dull angry red. It was a disquieting sight that had overtones of a Sith Lord's lightsaber, and not in a good way.

In Loki's vast experience most hand-to-hand combat began with the two opponents sighting out each other's weaknesses and form and that was what he mentally prepared for. However, it was certainly not the way The Other had been trained to fight.

The creature gave no breathing space or warning, instead he simply leapt and attacked.

Loki had to take a few steps back under the sudden onslaught, fending off heavy blows aimed at his trunk and head. The style was not unlike Thor's, but far far swifter than the thunder God could hope to be. There was great power in those long sinewy arms and it drove Loki further back as he focussed purely on defence.

The sceptre was unfamiliar in his hands – it had been nearly two decades since he had last wielded it – and there was a flash of regret that he hadn't thought to familiarise himself with it sooner. However, he didn't have the luxury of time for such thinking as he had to block a hard blow aiming to take his head off at the shoulders. Reaching instinctively for his magic didn't help as he was met with that terrible blankness that had been a constant companion for all his years as the chitauri's prisoner. He had known it would happen, but it was still a terrifying feeling to reach for his power and find it entirely cut off from him once more, as if he was already back in that wretched place.

"You seem hesitant, Godling, forgotten what a blade feels like in your hands? Mayhap you only remember the feel of a blade slicing–"

The Other was cut off with a grunt of pain as the butt of Loki's sceptre caught him in his mid-section – supposedly where his stomach would be – and forced him back a step. The prince swung the weapon round in a large arc, hoping to take advantage of the mis-step, but his second attack was countered with little difficulty.

It was like a dance, wild and chaotic, but a dance nonetheless. It was one thing to practice in the arena, spinning and twisting and all whilst knowing that the fight would never result in serious harm.

This one was meant to end in death and that made all the difference in how Loki found his deportment.

The trickster had never fought The Other before. He had fetched up against the chitauri, but they hadn't been anything like this in battle, not to mention that it had been a long time ago. It was true he had killed that one lone one during his captivity – a feat that he still could barely believe he had pulled off – but that had been mostly luck and the element of surprise. This was a seasoned warrior who wasn't even really a chitauri. There was no way of knowing what his fighting style was, nor any strengths or weaknesses. All Loki had to go on were the few conversations they had exchanged many years ago.

He had hoped that the creature would be slow and ponderous; the large body looked like it should have been. However, the speed with which The Other attacked was frightening. Loki had managed to land a single hit, but found himself on the defence and blocking blow after vicious blow rather than being able to form his own counter-attack.

The chitauri sceptre was holding its own at least – and so it should be if it was able to match up against Mjölnir – although the blade seemed vastly inferior compared to glowing edge The Other wielded. Sparks shot up each time the two weapons clashed, bathing the combatants in a crimson light as they swirled and circled across the Bifrost's surface.

First blood was drawn all too quickly and not from the person the watchers wanted to see bleed.

Loki stumbled back with a livid gash appearing down his cheek, eyes wide with surprise that the blow had been landed on him. He heard his daughter cry out behind him and from his peripheral vision saw Tony restraining her. The brief glance also showed that more people had arrived – Heimdall had apparently alerted the Allfather as to what had happened and now the king himself was there, along with the elite royal guard and Thor's infamous band of friends.

Great. An audience.

He knew that the presence of the Allfather meant that back in the main city the full army would have been mobilised; out of sight, but ready to act.

The Other grinned as blood ran in a thin line down the trickster's cheek and began to drip.

"I have missed seeing you bleed, princeling." The comment was accompanied by the glowing blade skimming through the air at head height and causing Loki to duck.

Two more strikes and the prince was sent reeling back another few steps, crimson erupting across the green of his sleeve where his armour didn't fully cover the cloth. He heard his brother shout his name, but didn't have a chance to respond or acknowledge the call. The sceptre was humming in his grip, but he didn't dare use the limited amount of power it had left stored inside – he needed that, should he actually survive this fight.

The two combatants spun and clashed under the menacing smear of the void across the sky. Ducking, weaving, slashing at every opportunity. Loki's face was drawn into a furious scowl of concentration whilst The Other had his teeth bared in a rictus grin like a death-head. Once upon a time the trickster would have been concerned that his father was watching – that a large portion of Asgard's finest were watching – but he was barely being given breathing space, let alone time enough to be concerned about such trivialities. This wasn't about form, or style, or impressing anybody. This was about winning, pure and simple.

Win or die.

And risk the chance that the chitauri wouldn't just nuke Asgard anyway.

He had to win because the alternative wasn't worth thinking about.

"You look tired, Godling, would it not be easier to just surrender?"

In a word, yes, it really would be. Loki hadn't been ready earlier in the day to spar with his brother, and he certainly hadn't been ready for this confrontation so soon. His arms ached from the repeated battery against the sceptre and his knew his legs were shaking under him. It would be obvious to everyone that he was nowhere near full strength. Yes, surrender sounded worryingly good, and was absolutely not an option.

"Just shut up and die already!" And it appeared that his wit had fled, leaving him only with comments more suited to a human than an Aesir prince.

"You first, runt."

The Other swung his blade towards Loki's neck, a move that the trickster evaded by inclining backwards just enough so that the sharp edge passed a hairs-breadth beneath his chin, but didn't actually touch.

However, as the prince brought his sceptre up to push the blade back from his face he left his abdomen vulnerable.

The pole-axe spun in The Other's grip faster than a human's eye could follow. The blade that had been angling in towards Loki's neck was suddenly swept upwards, meaning that the main body of the staff was aligned to thrust straight into the prince's unprotected stomach.

It had been the one wound that had still been causing him so many problems – hindering his walking and posture alike – and it seemed that the creature was well aware of that fact as the butt of the weapon drove into the compromised flesh.

Loki doubled up with a sharp cry, unable to stop the instinctive response to the fresh injury over the already-wounded area. It left his back open and meant that The Other was able to deliver a heavy blow to the back of his head.

The prince dropped, his sceptre flashing mockingly as it fell from his hands.

There were cries – horror and anger both – but they were silenced as The Other stood tall over the fallen trickster.

Loki had rolled onto his back, his eyes dazed as they tried to focus on his opponent above him. He reached out wildly for his own weapon before the sharp blade pressed up against his chin made him still. Blood began to well up under the edge and trickle down his throat. Somewhere behind him he could hear Evie screaming and knew that none of them could help; he had called Holmgang, and that meant that he was alone to this fate.

"You lose, Godling. You lose." The Other pressed down on the blade, watching as the prince choked and the small scratch became a deep gouge. A trickle became a torrent as blood began to pour out of the wound and Loki's eyes filled with terror. "Did you honestly believe you would ever escape us?" He laughed, deep and guttural.

The trickster tried to move again; perhaps to reach his weapon or else just simply trying to get away, but the blade dug ever deeper, holding him in place. His chin was painted scarlet, his breath a broken wheezing sound that bubbled in his broken throat.

"Did you really think you could win? You are nothing! You know nothing! You are-"

"Behind you."

The Loki on the floor – drowning in his own blood, throat nearly entirely severed – flickered, then dissolved in golden light. At the same moment The Other stiffened, almost frozen to the spot as Loki materialised behind him, weapon in hand and the blade pressed up to the creature's back. The gem in the sceptre glowed brightly.

"Do not feel bad; Thor always falls for that one too."

And so saying Loki stepped back, entirely unconcerned as he lowered his weapon and allowed his enemy to turn to face him.

It was only when The Other turned that it was possible to see the blue glimmer under his helmet where his eyes were. The same blue as the sceptre, and as such, the same as the tesseract.

Loki visibly relaxed when he saw the glow, breathing a deep sigh of relief.

"Loki!"

He glanced back to see Tony looking ashen and Evie terrified. Behind them even Odin seemed shaken. Infact, it appeared that the only person who didn't appear horrified by his near-death was Clint – having seemingly arrived with Thor's friends – who simply looked furious that the sceptre was being used in such a way again.

"Brother?" Thor took a cautious step towards him before Loki held up a hand to stop him. Said hand was shaking slightly.

"Do not come any closer. I am holding him, but only just." The trickster's eyes closed and the gem in the sceptre glowed brighter for a moment. The Other swayed but didn't move from his spot. "He is trying to resist."

"What are you intending to do?"

"End this." Loki made a complicated movement with his free hand and once again the sceptre pulsed; it was evident that he was borrowing power stored inside the weapon. A darkness grew next to him, about shoulder height and just about big enough to reach into. The humans – even Tony – had no idea what the strange little void was, but both Thor and Odin knew the pocket dimension when they saw it, and that it was basically a carry space for the trickster. A bag-of-holding, as it were.

"You have a plan?" Thor looked concerned, extremely so, given that he had almost had to witness his little brother's decapitation. "What of the armament they spoke of?"

Ah yes, the chitauri's foray into nuclear technology. Loki was mostly certain that his idea would work. But only mostly. He prodded The Other with the blade of the sceptre.

"I would suggest everyone brace themselves. Heimdall," He turned momentarily to the Watcher. "I will hold you to your promise. If this goes ill…"

"I will do my duty."

"Good." The prince turned back to his prisoner again, eyes narrowed and calculating. "You. Call forth your army."

"What?"

Tony's indignant cry was echoed by some of the others present, but the trickster ignored them as he watched The Other carefully. Without the tesseract it was hard to say if his hold over the creature would be strong enough. As it was, he received a curt nod in reply and The Other lifted his wrist up to display a complicated looking vambrace with an array of lights covering it. They seemed to be more functional than decorative as he pressed a series that evidently sent a signal of some form.

"It is at this point that everyone should probably cover their eyes. This is going to get very loud and very bright." Loki didn't take his own advice, staring up into the firmament above the observatory expectantly.

The starry sky suddenly broke like a dropped mirror.

One moment there was nothing, the next it was twisting and writhing as three huge ships fought into existence above the Bifrost. A fierce wind swept along the rainbow bridge like a hurricane, billowing the Aesir cloaks and making hair stream. The noise was unbelievable.

They were the same ships that had been orbiting the planet Loki had been found on – and the same Tony had seen when he had shot through the worm-hole. They didn't look like they should be able to stay in the air; large spiked constructs that spun slowly, the size of small towns. Had they actually come through during the battle of New York they would have dwarfed the skyscrapers.

"Holy shit…" Clint's voice sounded tiny as the shadow fell over them, marking them out as miniscule as ants.

Even Loki looked taken aback at just how big the three were. It was debatable if Asgard could have held their own even without the nuclear technology the chitarui held. There must have been thousands of soldiers on each one.

"Loki…?" Thor actually sounded uncertain.

"Silence, Thor." The trickster was already moving. He had reached into the pocket-space opened beside him and pulled out three silvery spheres, each roughly the size of a tennis ball. They hovered over his palm, ominous despite their size, their surface shimmering and twisting in on themselves like something alive. To someone with a science background they looked like balls of mercury.

"Oh crap…" Tony felt like someone had walked over his grave. He knew that substance. He knew what it could do.

It shouldn't even be possible to have that much of it in one place – the stuff technically couldn't exist outside of a laboratory. Apparently Loki had found a way around that. Figures.

Now the trickster's warning about covering their eyes made sense.

"Don't look, birdy." Tony already had an arm around Evie's shoulders, but now he pulled her round so that he could shield her with the suit. She was protesting – wanting to be able to see Loki – but if Tony was correct about what the prince was about to do then to look would be to risk blindness.

And then Loki threw the small balls, one after another.

Well, that's what it seemed, but God or not there was no way that any of them should have soared out of his hand with that power. There seemed to be a silver streak left behind as an after-burn as they flew like darting comets. Magic must have been behind the velocity because even Thor would have struggled to hurl the things high enough to hit one of the ships, but Loki had apparently had no trouble at all.

They vanished from sight long before they actually reached their intended targets, the huge bulk of the nearest ship enough to make a whale look small, let alone a sphere the size of a tennis ball.

Tony turned away just in time.

The explosion was surprisingly quiet, for what it was, at least to begin with. Rather it was the light that took everyone by surprise. Sheer, blinding light, so dazzling that it was beyond bright. There were cries of pain from some of the Aesir who hadn't deemed Loki's advice worth listening to, and a shout of surprise from Bruce.

Tony risked a glance – raising his face plate into position to at least shield some of the blinding glare. Even through the polaroid filters and red warning beacons it was only just possible to make out Loki standing as a black silhouette against the radiance. Beyond that there was just painful light.

It was impossible to see what was going on, but no-one was even trying to guess. The wind that had whipped up was roaring stronger than a hurricane, sweeping across the Bifrost. Thor had Mjölnir anchored to the ground, and even then he was struggling to keep his footing. Steve had rammed his shield down into the rainbow surface and was crouched down beneath it, bracing Clint with his free hand as the archer grabbed at his arm.

Natasha had already lost her footing, only to be caught by the Hulk who hugged her tight to his chest as he bowed down into the wind to stay upright. Beside them Tony had dug spiked crampons down into the ground, the suit locking in place so that Evie was safely caged in his arms. Even so her hair was whipping around – the band holding it in a ponytail long ripped out by the fierce wind. It was possible that she was screaming, but then it was very possible that they were all screaming.

And then the noise finally decided to make an appearance – so sluggish behind the light, sound always travelling just that bit slower.

The explosion was louder than anything any of them had ever heard. A hundred nuclear warheads couldn't have compared.

Eardrums burst, royal guards were dropping their weapons as they fell to their knees, hands clamped over the sides of their heads. The humans had worse to contend with as fragile capillaries couldn't take the strain of the sonic overloud and broke apart. Even Captain America had blood pouring from his nose. For others tears were running crimson as blood vessels in the eye ruptured.

A former-weapons expert, Tony knew exactly what was happening; Hell, anyone with a small knowledge of explosives would know that they were being hit by the blast wave. The ships must have been further away than they had looked – despite their size – because realistically the Bifrost and its occupants should have been blown apart from the force of the detonation. As it was the high pressure concussion wave was likely to cause serious injury to the humans, and not leave the Aesir in very good shape either.

What had Loki been thinking.

It was as that despairing thought flitted through Stark's mind that there was an absolute cessation of everything.

Light, sound, pressure. They didn't even fade, just went from being the only possible things in existence to absolute absence. For a very long moment it was as if the universe itself must have ended.

And then it was as if the noise and glare had been keeping everything else at bay as pain rushed in from every direction to fill the void left. Even the Hulk had sagged down to one knee, Natasha limp in his arms.

Only Odin and Thor were left in any state to be able to see that the explosion hadn't actually gone, but now a shimmering barrier blocked them from its effects. Evidently whatever device blocked Loki's magic had been destroyed and now he was able to use it to shield them all. The trickster was clinging to his sceptre, using it as an anchor as he tried to straighten up. Glancing over his shoulder he saw the sorry state that everyone else was in – which must have meant he had received the same treatment – and managed to wave a hand.

Tony could literally feel the capillaries in his eyes and nose close up and stop bleeding. The pain shooting through his chest vanished and he was able to straighten up, breathing freely again. Evie stirred feebly in his arms, rubbing her own ears before looking around in confusion. Around them the other Avengers were in similar states of bemused recovery; still covered in blood but the blast wounds healed.

"Oh…wow." Steve's soft comment drew everyone's attention to where the super soldier was still crouched with his shield, now staring upwards in awe. Following his gaze drew similar exclamations from the others.

The explosion was still going on above them, but hidden behind a rippling, shimmering barrier that flexed and arched over them. It was now possible to actually see the damage wrought to the three ships. And it was astonishing.

More than just being blown apart, they were disintegrating. Explosions usually left debris, but they were simply crumbling into nothing.

"Dad…What…?" Evie's voice was tiny. "Was that…what did Möðhy do?"

"Antimatter." Tony sounded equally quiet, although anything would sound quiet after what had just happened. "That was antimatter."

More antimatter than should have been able to exist in their universe, and consequently possibly the biggest annihilation event since the Big Bang itself. Loki hadn't been joking around when he'd said he knew of something more powerful than any nuclear bomb.

The ships were all but gone now – antimatter and matter meeting and cancelling each other out in violent bursts of light. There wouldn't be any remains. The chitauri had been wiped out.

Loki was still standing – although only just, by the look of it – The Other silent and obedient next to him.

It was time to end this.

The trickster turned, the sceptre in his hand glowing again.

"Your turn." His voice was soft, but it carried easily enough on the now-silent bridge. For a moment it was debatable whether he was just going to take the creature's head off at the shoulders, but then he lowered his weapon.

The shield around them slowly vanished away as the final glare faded in the sky and the prince looked out towards the dark swirl of the void. Then he nodded towards the edge of the bridge.

"Jump."

The Other swayed for a moment – the blue glow under his helmet flickering.

"Jump." The venom in the single word was unmistakable.

Then the creature turned and obediently trotted off to the edge of the Bifrost. Loki followed close on his heels, his grip still tight on the sceptre in case the tenuous hold should break. As it was, he needn't have worried.

The Other strode straight to the lip of the bridge. There was no dramatic pause or moment of hesitation – he merely reached the edge and then…Just kept on going.

One armoured foot hit empty air and then the rest of the body followed. It was almost graceful as he tipped forward and then tumbled. There was no screaming, or flailing, or panicking. He simply fell towards the void silent and still as a statue.

Loki stared down, watching his once-tormentor slip away. The sceptre felt heavy in his hand and he hefted it before changing his grip on the metal. The blue stone glinted mockingly. It was the last thing left from the chitauri now, and in a sudden rush of anger he knew that he never wanted to touch the wretched thing again.

One moment it was in his hand, the next he had sighted and then hurled it down at the falling body. The weapon flew straight as an arrow, uncompromised and true until it thunked heavily into The Other's chest and speared him straight through.

Moments later the body fell from sight, swallowed whole by the void.

Loki fell heavily to his knees, cloak and armour slowly dissolving away again. He could feel blood dripping down his face as he braced his hands against the ground, trying to steady his breathing.

It was over…

Over.

Twenty years of the chitauri's legacy and they were gone. Every single one of the wretched monsters. Gone, dead, obliterated.

The ground felt odd beneath him; the rainbow surface slippery and unusually cold. When he opened his eyes he saw that his hands were deep blue. The blood covering them was startlingly red against the colour, and even more so compared to the hoarfrost spreading out around him. He had no way of knowing if all of him had turned, or if only his hands were affected.

Loki tried to call his Aesir glamour back, but his magic was curling weakly at the back of his mind – still suffering from being locked away and then overused in such a short space of time. The sceptre had helped – using the remaining power – but he'd had to rely on his own reserves after they were returned to him, and it had been far too much too soon.

His skin was staying a stubborn blue.

"Loki!" It was – predictably enough – Thor who called to him first. Thor, who's running footsteps slowed to a cautious walk as he approached the kneeling trickster.

"Brother…Are you well?" He actually thought to keep his distance.

Loki genuinely didn't know how to answer, but his silence seemed to tell the thunder God enough. Thor's boots appeared in his vision then the blonde crouched down so that he was eye level with the younger prince. His hair was stringy with blood, and more was running down his face but he was smiling nonetheless.

"The next time you tell me you have a situation under control I may not believe you so much. That did not look like a controlled situation to me."

"I won, did I not?"

Thor huffed with quiet laughter. "Yes, and just look at the state of us all." He wiped away a dribble of blood from his nose. "You said things would be 'very loud and very bright'. Even for you that was an understatement."

"It worked."

"It did." The thunder God conceded. His gaze moved, roaming over his brother's face before making eye contact again. "Blue suits you, actually. Although I am glad your eyes were not that colour when we were children – you would have had an advantage in scaring me in the middle of the night."

Loki's breath caught in his throat. For a brief moment he had actually forgotten that his true skin had come to the surface.

Thor had never seen it before, and if he hadn't commented on it, there would have been no noticeable reaction on his part. The prince who had once vowed to kill all Jötunn. Of course, he had long known of what Loki really was, but even that couldn't have prepared him for seeing it.

Perhaps he was concussed.

"Thor…I…"

"I presume you used all magic available to you in that fight, including the glamour?" Thor waited for his brother to nod before rolling his eyes. "And you wonder why I did not want you doing this alone." He smiled and reached out to cup the back of Loki's neck in his usual fashion.

Loki's very blue neck.

"Thor-!"

But the thunder God simply grinned. When Loki glanced down his hands were returning to their normal colour. Apparently – and thankfully – there had been sufficient magic left to keep up the charm that kept his lethal temperature at bay. Combined with Thor's warm paw on his skin it was enough to kick his glamour back into working.

"There we go. Back to your usual ghostly self. On second thoughts, that blue was rather an improvement."

The trickster smiled weakly, only to be pulled into an almost too-tight hug.

"Damnit Loki! I thought I had lost you again! I thought that monster was going to kill you!"

"I said I had it under control."

"If you were looking to send Father into an early Odinsleep you nearly succeeded! We all thought he had you!" Thor's words were muffled into his brother's neck. "If it weren't for that wretched oath, I would have run to your aid in a moment!"

"And that would be why I called it." Loki had been well aware that declaring Holmgang had meant that not only was no-one allowed to help, but no-one would be able to help either. The ancient rite had called down a spell powerful enough even to stop Thor. "Now come, help me stand because I am currently doubting the integrity of my body."

It was a movement they had used from the moment they had first started receiving real injuries in weapons training. Thor looped Loki's arm around his shoulders and then rose up slowly, taking as much of his brother's weight as the trickster would let him. It was telling just how bad Loki was feeling if he was willingly admitting that he needed help.

"How badly are you injured?"

"Nothing that will not heal in its own time. Is everyone else alright?"

"Not to begin with, but you managed to heal us all."

Loki managed a thin smile. "Do not tell anyone, but you have the sceptre to thank for that – I cannot usually heal that well."

"Your secret is safe with me."

The Younger brother actually chuckled quietly at that. "I rather doubt that. Now, unhand me, I can walk."

Thor looked like he didn't believe the younger God, but did as he was asked. He didn't move away though – hovering close in case his brother wasn't quite as strong as he obviously hoped. As it was Loki managed to remain upright, possibly through sheer bull-headedness alone.

The large group of people who had been witness to the demise of the chitarui were now dispersing. Odin was already ordering the soldiers away – presumably to tell the rest of the army to stand down – and Heimdall was staring intently into who-knows-where with an expression that made it quite clear he was hunting down any survivors of the explosions.

The Avengers had clumped together and all were covered in blood. Some – Bruce, Tony and Steve mainly – were in better shape than the others for obvious reasons. Despite Loki's quick healing spell, no-one forgets the feeling of their ear drums rupturing any time soon, and although the injuries were gone the memory of receiving them was all too fresh. Had he not healed them it was arguable that some would have already died of the internal wounds the blast-wave had caused.

And they knew that.

Loki had won, certainly, but he had vastly underestimated the damage his methods would cause and that had hurt people.

Again.

Once more he had started out with the best of intentions and ended up with his plan rather getting away from him and hurting the people closest to him. There was some sort of irony in there, although he was too tired to try and find it.

"So, was that exactly how you planned that going?" Fury was looking as nonchalant as a man smeared with blood could.

"I admit it could have gone better." Loki said with a small smile. "However, it was an apt demonstration of the 'ant, boot' analogy. Do you not think?"

The Director scowled, possibly to hide his amusement. "Don't you go all Ultimate Power on me again!"

"I would not dream of it."

Fury inclined his head slightly. "But that was a damn fine job." This time he actually allowed himself to smile. "Worrying, but a damn fine job."

Loki would have replied – possibly thanked him for what was a pretty big compliment from the stoic man – but he was cut off by Ironman bearing down on him. And Stark was not looking impressed at all.

"Tony…"

"Do you always play possum in a tight spot?" The man demanded.

"I…What? I do not understand that reference."

"Playing dead, dumbass! We thought you'd got yourself killed!"

"Well I-"

"And antimatter?! How did you even do that?!" Tony wasn't waiting for answers. "You almost wiped out the whole bloody lot of us! Did you even think through what those detonations were going to do?"

Loki was wide-eyed in the face of his lover's utter fury, not expecting quite that reaction.

"I had it under control."

"Eventually! What did…" Tony stopped and took a steadying breath, staring at the God. His gaze took in the gash on Loki's cheek, the way he was hunched over, one arm tucked protectively across his stomach. "Look, you scared me. Scared all of us, I think. When you said you were going to take all the chitarui out in one go I don't think we expected something quite that…"

"Apocalyptic." Evie emerged from behind her father, looking tiny against the Ironman suit. Her eyes were huge, the green especially vivid given how pale she was under all the blood and muck. When she looked at Loki there was the one thing he had never wanted to see aimed at him.

Fear.

His daughter was frightened of him.

"Evelyn…" He reached out a hand to her and she visibly flinched back.

Tony saw the absolute pain and horror flash across Loki's face at the rejection and put a hand on the girl's shoulders in reassurance.

"It was an over-calculation, Evie, everyone has those moments."

"Most people don't nuke the place when they over-calculate things."

"I am not 'most people'." The trickster said quietly.

The girl glanced up at him briefly, then looked back down. "Guess not."

Loki felt like there was a vice in his chest; a twisting drilling pain running straight through him as his daughter refused to meet his gaze. She was scared of him. His own little child and she was scared of him.

Monster.

"Evelyn, I…Would it help if I explained what I actually did?" It was a shot in the dark but he knew that his own fears as a child and teen had been centred on things that he didn't quite understand.

"Maybe." That answer was more sullen than afraid, which was at least hopeful. "Dad said it was antimatter. I already know what that is." Evie bit at her thumbnail, then finally raised her head again to look Loki in the eye. "How did you do it?"

That was something, at least. He could answer that. "I can create pockets in space. A sort of extra dimension which I can use to carry things with me. A concept one often finds in video games."

"Infinite bag of holding."

"Yes, that. I borrowed some knowledge from your father and used one of these dimensions to simulate a synchrotron. From there it was simply a matter of using magic to speed up the production of the antimatter." Loki could see the teen beginning to look more interested than concerned and felt a wave of relief wash over him. "I created three balls of it, and wrapped each in a magical shield to stop them from reacting until I needed them to. Does that make sense?"

Evie nodded slowly. "You never tested it, did you?"

"There was no time."

"Probably should have tested it. On Earth we call that overkill."

"I reiterate; it worked."

"Yeah, I guess." The girl's eyes moved from the deep wound on Loki's cheek to the huge stain across his sleeve. "Hurt like hell though."

"I am sorry Evie, it was never my intention for anyone to get caught up in that."

Finally, and to Loki's everlasting relief his daughter smiled slightly. "Well, I can't talk really. I nearly got Uncle Thor sucked into a jet engine and shredded when I was little."

"I think that is a story I would rather like to hear." He tentatively offered his hand out again. The girl once again refused it but this time in favour of bypassing it entirely and just hugging him tightly round the middle. It hurt, a lot, but he wouldn't have asked her to let go for anything in the world.

Now it was over.

The chitarui vanquished, The Other dead, and his daughter in his arms.

Now it was over.

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