They did what they had become good at; ran. Loki and Emma made haste in the dim warehouse, running along the messy aisles between the twisted racks and skipping over the piles of stuff. They heard loud noises coming from the direction they were heading, making it undesirable to continue, but they moved on until they were nearly out from the maze of a shambles. Relieved, Loki grinned since he recognized those fighting grunts of his brother anytime.

Suddenly, not even stopping his running, Loki savagely snatched Emma into his arms and spun around while something large flied at their way crushing through the shelves and passed them. She screamed in fright but he held her safe, covering her from the flying splinters. In the shadows of the murky hall, she caught a sight of a man landing against a shelf behind them. Loki kept carrying her forward, and she saw the man crawling slowly out from the wreckage.

At first, Loki noticed the arm carrying the hammer, and then he saw Thor emerging behind a corner. "Thor, what the hell did you do? This was your demonstration of finesse? Subtlety? The whole place looks like after bilgesnipes mating!"

The thunder god grinned, seeing them both unharmed, and his brother being his-own-always-eloquent-self. "It is good to see you too being all right. Loki, did you get it?"

"Yes, of course." Loki nodded and lowered Emma on her own feet.

Emma grabbed from Loki's cape, staring at the man who had nearly crashed onto them. He was already standing next to his landing spot, the white star and stripes of his uniform briefly reflecting the faint light in the dark.

"No way…" She gasped in disbelieve, as though her childhood hero would have come haunting her from beyond the grave. "Oh, holy fuck! Is he real?"

Thor glanced at his tough opponent, patting Loki in the shoulder and urging him to move. "Very much. And he is overly keen to his country, not liking me braking things. We must leave! Go! Go! Go!"

Loki clasped her hand in his and had her in tow, sidestepping Thor and running ahead towards the lights of the corridor, Thor following on their tail. After reaching the corridor, Loki punched his fist into the retinal scanner, causing an immediate lockdown. The heavy doors were shutting close as soon as Thor too dashed into the corridor and all three kept running, but Captain America didn't let them leave without a parting gift. As his last resort, Steve Rogers sprinted after them and threw his shield at them.

The star-shield narrowly shot through the closing doors like a badass super Frisbee. It hit Loki on the back, tipping him off balance and while bouncing off from him it grazed Emma in the chest with force making her falling backwards, as it then slung on Thor, jolting him against the wall. Then it ricocheted back where it had come from like a ball in the billiard table, getting stuck in the closed door.

Emma found herself lying on the floor on her back and groaned brutishly when her inner demon was ready to take control and she fought hard not to let it win. The aching in her chest left her as the fractured ribs healed from the shield's blow and she forced herself on her feet.

Slightly out of breath and with a great deal of nervousness, she realized she was alone and trapped. The doors in the middle of the hallway had slid close between her and the Asgardians, sealing her off in the suddenly blocked end of the corridor.

Loki pounded behind the sealed doors, shouting her to step aside as Thor was going to break the doors, but she didn't hear him. While crawling up, her attention was captured by the nostalgic paint-job of the star-shield that was stuck on the other door. She returned to it with a childlike enthusiasm as though she had rediscovered that old lid of a saucepan her grandfather had painted for her.

Behind her, Thor smashed his hammer through the doors and started to tear them open, calling for her, but she was too busy with her discovery.

Astonished by the shield, she ran her fingers over the white star, many happy memories flooding into her mind. She yanked it off from the steel door, putting her back into it. The shield wasn't so heavy as it looked like and she armed herself with it just to try it. A width awestruck smile spread on her face. It was way lighter than steel. It could have been made of vibranium. Oh god! It could have been the real Captain America's shield!

"Excuse me, ma'am. Would you please give me my shield back?"

With a small start, Emma stepped back, lowered the shield she had in her left arm. She looked down at the masked man who peeked under the steel door he had heaved up ajar just for barely managing to shove his head and right arm through. His left hand and right knee were holding open the other set of doors and he looked very much uncomfortable like a beetle stuck on his back on the floor. He had exerted his strength to force and keep the doors open.

Emma stared down at him in a bit better light still not believing what she saw. A girlish blush rushed on her cheeks but she tried to think reasonably. He did have the looks of the Captain America but so could have anyone wearing those clothes and a half mask. "You're all right there, buddy?" she asked cautiously.

"Yeah!" he puffed, appreciating her concern. "You're one of us, ma'am?"

She shrugged. "Sorry, no. Just a tourist. But you tell me, is this shield made of vibranium?"

Steve Rogers grimaced, trying to push the door up. "Yes, ma'am. Would you mind of giving me a hand?" he asked grunting with a laborious voice.

"I knew it." Emma gasped, ecstatic. "This is Steve Rogers's shield!"

He grunted under the heavy weight. "Well, yeah. I'm Steve Rogers."

Emma snorted and took a closer look tilting her head. "No, you're not!"

"I am!"

She shook her head, frowning. "Nice try. Your cool outfit fooled me there. But you're not. I can't believe SHIELD would go tarnishing Rogers's name like this. The real Captain Steve Rogers died in 1945 while saving our country. And if he would be alive, he would be…um… 93 years old and very much pissed off right now. You're not him, just a cheap copy. You're as fake as silicone boobs. Did they borrow you from Vegas or what? Can you do Elvis too?"

Steve Rogers stared at the blonde offended. "What?"

"I mean come on. You don't even sound like him and your jaw is wrong shape. And that mask? Oh my god! I had so totally forgotten about it. It actually looks pretty stupid." She grinned for the memory when she was a desperate little fan-girl.

"Hey, I'm not much fan of the mask either but..."

He noticed that the Asgardians had made a man-sized hole on the other doors and he had no time for debating with pretty girls. He tried to wriggle out under the door. "Come on! At least hand me the shield, please."

Loki poked his head in through the new doorway and saw her talking with the man. "Emma! What are you doing? We must go!"

Emma shrugged at the man, clasping tighter on the shield in her arm, and moved backwards. The thing made her feeling invincible just like when she was a kid holding the painted lid. She wasn't going to give it up. It was her holy grail. "Sorry but some wannabe SHIELD jerk don't deserve this. It's mine now."

Rogers watched her go with his mouth agape, his grip on the door nearly slipping. "Hey! It's the only one of its kind!"

"Finders keepers," she winked at him before climbing through the hole with Loki's aid. "That'll teach you not to throw you shit at people!"

"Watch your language, lady!"

… …

"We could have already left Earth with the Tesseract. But now we will have to fight our way out of here just to take you to safety," Thor scowled at Emma as all three of them were running along the corridors side by side.

"It is not her fault!" Loki barked at his brother, defending her. "You take the Cube and go home, Thor. I will see that Emma and your woman get safe. SHIELD will hunt us as long as the Tesseract exists in Midgard."

Troubled, Emma glanced at both of the men while running between them. She didn't like the idea of fighting. They could have had use for some good luck for a change. Oh, how she was praying for a miracle.

As they rounded another corner, there was a new barricade waiting for them in the middle of the hallway with a big ultrasound cannon and six agents behind it. The only problem was that five of the men were already down and the one still standing was coming at their way, taking off his helmet.

"Hey! Didn't you boys find your spaceship yet?" Logan asked in an annoyed tone, revealing his face from under the helmet. He was happy, though, for finding Emma in one piece. She was the only reason he had infiltrated into that damn place which had been surprisingly easy since the place was in chaos because of the Asgardians already.

"It is not a spaceship!" Loki and Thor shouted in unison.

"Logan!" Emma exclaimed, running to him with the shield. Her judging gaze swept over the agents on the floor and lifted back on his face.

"Didn't kill anyone. But I tell you, they're not gonna wake up happy," Logan said nodding towards the unconscious bunch. "What's the deal with the shield, kid?"

"I found it. It's mine."

Thor approached the claw-man. "Logan, where have you left Jane?"

Logan greeted him with a frown. "I ought she's not bullet-proof so I left her waiting in the jet. Sorry, bub. My mistake."

Thor looked mortified. "Well… that was… right decision."

Loki encouraged everyone to keep moving with a gesture as it sounded that they had a follower. "No time to talk. We need to move."

They were all hurrying forward and Logan led the way. He was like that miracle Emma had been praying for. He had found another way out and soon they made it to a loading bay inside the facilities. SHIELD wasn't going to let them get away easily. There were groups of armed agents guarding every exit but what could they do to a mutant-god team who were hell-bent to get out from the place, running through the gun firing like it wouldn't have been nothing.

Armed with the shield of her old hero, Emma rushed safely through the loading bay that had turned into a battlefield, Loki, her very own hero by her side. It didn't felt real at all. It felt like a game, a backyard play, a paintball fight, the bullets hitting the shield and bouncing off. She felt invincible and fearless and hell yeah, she was running with the big dogs now.

They headed for the vehicles parked near the loading docks and jumped into a black Humvee, Logan and Emma inside the car, and Loki and Thor hopped on the back on the cargo bed. Logan thrust out one of his right hand's claws and shoved it into the ignition switch. With one twist of his wrist he switched on the ignition like a pro car-snatcher and the engine roared.

Breathing heavily, Emma pulled the door close and turned at him, tossing the shield on the back seat. "Nice. You've got to teach me that."

"Buckle up, kid! It's gonna be a hell of a ride," Logan informed and the Humvee was already in motion, heading into a long underground tunnel.

The gun firing rattled against the side of the car and Emma sank in her seat, her heart skipping a few beats. Thankfully the whole thing was bulletproof and they were safe inside it.

She checked through the rear window at the brothers who hanged in back there, Loki sending his energy blast at their opponents and Thor clearing all the obstacles out of their by swinging his hammer and breaking barriers and the remaining vehicles so that SHIELD couldn't follow them. Then the truck vanished, Loki's illusion hiding it from the mortals' eyes as though it would have disappeared into another dimension.

Logan drove like a daredevil, as if this was something he did everyday, and Emma could actually see a sated smirk lifting the corner of his mouth.

Soon they were out from the tunnel, smashing through a fence that did nothing to stop them and speeding along the road under open sunny sky. The SHIELD base had left a few miles behind.

Emma glanced once more over her shoulder. Loki and Thor were still on board and she slumped back on her seat, heaving a breath. "How the hell are we going to get back to the jet?" she asked more than worried from Logan, recalling Thor's menacing words about 'if something happens to Jane'.

"That shouldn't be a problem," Logan said and kept watching the road ahead, squeezing the wheel so tight that it was a miracle his claws didn't pop out.

"Yeah? You must be the most optimistic dad I've ever met." Emma smiled. "I'm glad, your mine."

Logan smiled too. "That's the first time some one calls me an optimistic." He gave her a quick fatherly glance. "Now, don't you go soloing again."

She watched him, finding it still hard to believe that she had a father, the one who had already risked so much for her sake. "I'm sorry, Logan. Anyway… thanks for coming after me."

He smacked his mouth. "No problem."

The blast came out of nowhere. The pieces of asphalt and dirt flew in the air rattling and pattering against the windshield. The flashing explosion in front of them was immediately followed by a violent shake.

Accompanied by Emma's scream, the car rammed straight into a small crater that had suddenly appeared on the ground ahead where a second ago had been only smooth road.

The crushing pain in her chest was the first thing she registered after the impact. Her beast-side was raging inside of her nearly breaking through the surface and she roared to keep it under control, and it was getting harder to calm down. Then her surroundings spoke to her, they had stopped moving, the sound of the engine had ended. Her gasps and Logan's grunts next to her confirmed that they were both still alive. The pain was easing fast and she moved a bit to unbuckle herself from the seatbelts, taking a note that Logan hadn't followed his own guiding. He was missing the seatbelt and his body leaned against the steering wheel. The windshield had cracked into a spider-web looking patterns.

"Logan?" Cautiously Emma touched his shoulder. "Logan!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine… soon," Logan groaned aguishly, shoving himself back into his seat and stretching his sore neck. He had a bleeding cut on his forehead that healed in a few seconds. "Oh, goddamnit! I'm getting too old for this shit."

Her heart throbbing like crazy, Emma glanced around her and opened the door, checking their situation. The truck had smashed into a three feet deep hole on the ground at full speed and the Asgardians had flown out from the cargo bed and landed on the road, four car lengths away from the damaged Humvee.

… …

"Anyone copy from SHIELD? Fury? Agent Romanoff? I'm on your backyard beating up the bullies," Tony Stark spoke through the patched communicator system while descending from the sky with his renewed prototype suit. "Anyone?"

Natasha's groan answered inside his helmet. "Stark, what the hell took you so long?"

"Oh, Natasha. I'm glad you asked. You know, I takes potent to last…"

Natasha's voice was harsh and pained as she hissed, "Shut up, Stark! They got the Tesseract! Loki got it. Stop him! Whatever it takes. Bring him down. As a last resort, Fury will nuke the whole damn place if they'll try to escape the premises with it."

"Ah… Are you serious?"

"Why else do you think the whole campus is evacuated?"

Tony gulped. "Wow! No pressures then! Thanks for sharing that."

"And Tony…" Natasha was quiet a moment, considering her words. "Emma Morgan has chosen her side. I guess she means a great deal to Loki. Use her as leverage against him."

… …

Loki's eyes almost blazed with the absinth green flame, as he crawled back on his feet on the hard asphalt and threw his cape out of his head in a huff. His looks were fierce as though he really wanted to inflict serious pain to someone and enjoy the process, and that someone ought to know he deserved it.

With a quick relieved look, he saw Emma and Logan scrambling out of the damaged vehicle and he glanced at his brother.

By his side, Thor too got back on his feet, and they both turned sourly at the metal man who was coming down from the sky like the judgment day with his infernal rock music pealing and weapon arsenal activated.

The brothers' gazes met briefly. "Together?" Loki asked with a sorry tone, regretting the last time he let his brother down with the metal man.

Thor gave him a surprised smile even that was something he had been waiting for his brother to say. "Always together!"

A set of mini-missiles were already on they way and Thor lifted his hammer in defense, shooting lightning bolts out from his weapon that triggered the missiles to go off. A big blast followed, the force of it tossing the brothers on the sandy ground on different sides of the paved road.

Ironman landed on the road between the crushed Humvee and the Asgardians and approached the brothers, ignoring the mutants farther away behind him.

Stark showed his face, opening his helmet. "Sorry, I'm late. I'll make it up to you. Now, give back the Tesseract and I'll go easy on you! Or… face the revenge of AC/DC. I made that up on my way here. You see AC stands for Agent Coulson and DC is… well, a short of Washington D.C. And it's also a one hell of a rock band. So, what's it gonna be, Beavis and Butthead?"

Pushing themselves up again, Thor and Loki exchanged meaningful glances. They had a long history of fighting together and both knew what that glace meant. Loki's last throwing knife hit bluntly at Ironman's chest-blade, leaving only a small scratch on the armor. It was only a distraction as Mjölnir rocketed at Ironman, throwing him further away from the Humvee.

As the alien hammer returned to Thor, Tony Stark kept his balance with his rocket thrusters and repulsors. "Okay. You made your point. My turn!"

Without giving a break, Stark kept firing his weapons at them, forcing them taking defensive position. The sky above them was getting darker and hollow rumble of thunder warned them about a violent storm rising.

The battle looked like it would go on forever, Loki and Thor fighting together as one against the meal man. Watching it from a vantage point, way too close, Emma and Logan scurried for cover behind the truck in the hole.

Logan grimaced as Loki took a nasty hit from Ironman and fell on the ground again. "Do you think your pals need help?"

Her body winched with every blow Loki received, emphasizing with his pain. Thor had his hammer, Ironman had his armor. Loki had nothing!

Emma let out an uneasy whine. "He needs… something," she murmured and her eyes caught up with the star shield lying down on the floor of the backseat. She pulled the door open, grabbed the shield with her and ran in front of the car.

When she was a kid, she used to keep throwing that old saucepan lid as a Frisbee, ending up breaking a few car windows and stuff, but she had become good at it. This shouldn't be much different, just a bit bigger Frisbee, that's all.

She shouted out his name to get his attention and Loki sought her out with his gaze while agilely getting up. "Loki, catch!" she yelled and used the opportunity for throwing the shield to Loki as Ironman was busy with Thor's counter attack.

Slightly puzzled, Loki snatched the flying shield with one hand but armed himself with it, finding it soon the most welcomed gift, as Ironman's next blasts lost their power over him. He rewarded Emma with that lovely smug grin of his in the heat of the battle, as he smashed his foe down in return with the shield, sending the metal man crashing on his back.

Emma whooped in excitement as though her favorite player in the game had finally scored a touchdown. "Yeah! That's my guy!" she smirked, slapping on Logan's arm.

With his thick brows furrowed, Logan glanced up at the darkening sky as if asking for some heavenly back up. "We need to go, kid."

From under the sounds of thunder and Ironman's blasts, the roar of a jet's engines approached them. A Quinjet was coming down fast and skimming foolhardily across the battle zone with obvious means of landing nearby. The air current created a minor sandstorm around them until the jet was down on the ground and it happened pretty quickly.

"Shit!" Emma gritted her teeth, eyeing at the jet and circling on the rear of the truck, unsure which way to run.

Logan snatched from her arm to stop her. "No, no. It's OK. Head for the jet!"

Emma glared at him. "Are you crazy?" she cried out as if that had been the most insane idea ever. But then she noticed that the rear hatch of the jet opened and the figure of Jane Foster emerging into the opening. "What? Is that… Jane? Wait! That's our ride? Did she fly that thing?"

Logan smirked wryly. "Guess you're not the only one who hears voices inside your head," he said referring for Charles's telepathic guiding. And on the basis of the expert 'drifting style' landing it highly seemed that it had been Charles who had landed the jet using Jane Foster like an avatar in his control.

Once more Ironman sprang from the dirt where he had been tossed by the Asgardians, rising in the mid-air like an unwanted phoenix from the ashes and hovering then lower on the ground, Jarvis granting him an update of his surroundings. With his right hand weapons aimed at the brothers and left towards the mutants, he gave a short round of warning shots that stopped Emma and Logan from running at the jet.

He opened his face visor and spoke casually, as if it had been just one of his speeches to his fans, making a clear statement. "Thank you for your attention people. Now, we could continue this for whole day, I guess. But I don't have all day, neither do you. Trust me. Look, I don't want to be a bad guy here but you're practically making me one. So, let me make this very, very simple for you," Tony Stark said, glancing at Emma who had stopped running in a fright. He had a bead on her with his new laser. "Loki, you give back the Tesseract or we'll get to see how your pretty girlfriend heals from a laser burn. You try to attack me again, I'll shoot her. I don't want to hurt her but I'll damn well shoot her down. You get it?" he continued, turning back at the Asgardians.

Loki lowered the shield he had been carrying, casting a worried look at Emma and seeing a red laser sight spot on her chest. "Wait…" The whisper passed his lips. This couldn't be happening! Loki felt his chest tightening with the mix of rising wrath and worry. He was looking a way out of it, a way to safe her. He couldn't let anyone hurt her.

The god of thunder let his weapon hang on his side, his grim stare challenging Ironman. "Tony, stop! I still consider you as my friend and I don't want to fight you. But if you hurt her, you will loose that advantage."

Gulping, Emma stared at the red dot on her chest and lifted then her gaze at Ironman. "Stark is bluffing!" she exclaimed with defiance, glancing at Loki and meeting his greatly concerned look.

"No, I'm not," Tony declared. His weapon gave an electric charging sound as the laser was activated. "Loki, I don't do tricks. I'm an engineer and a scientist. I believe in cold facts. On the count of three, if I don't see the Tesseract I'll scorch her, okay? One!"

"The hell you are!" Logan grunted angrily and stepped in front of her, hiding his kid behind his broad back, shoving his claws out. "Stay behind me, Emma!"

"Logan, no!"

"Oh, cute, Freddy Krueger! Not a good move, though. I'm just gonna shoot her through you. Two!"

"Wait!" Loki shouted, stepping forward and dropping the shield. Heaving a troubled breath, his emerald gaze focused on Emma, he conjured the glowing cube in presence with both hands, holding it then with only one. "Here, take it!"

"That's it?" Stark asked sounding disappointed for the size of the thing, but his meters went wild with the energy readings.

With a few hasty steps, Thor moved next to his brother, clasping from Loki's forearm as he was going to place the cube on the ground. "Loki, we cannot give it up now. For the sake of the Nine Realms…" Thor begun and his hand went for the cube but grabbed only air.

Loki shot him a furious glance for messing up his perfect illusion that could have fooled Odin himself. "You idiot!" he hissed in murderous undertone.

Thor looked stupefied, realizing his error. "I am… sorry."

"Oh boy! Now you blew it. Three!"

The laser hardly made a sound as the beam shot out from the metal man's weapon, hitting its target.

One sharp blast, one small second. While standing only 6 feet away from Logan, behind him, Emma saw a tiny hole emerging in the back of his left thigh with the red beam blazing through. The blue jeans around the hole smudged with blood. On the very same second, the laser beam already burned through her thigh, vaporizing her flesh in a heartbeat and she cried in pain, collapsing on the ground.

Returning his gaze from Emma to the metal man, Loki's horrid face darkened with a great shade of malice and his pulled his hand free from Thor's grip.

With a grimace Stark watched at his laser's victims. "You all right there, honey? You heal, right?" He turned back at the Asgardians, receiving a report from Jarvis that there were two fighter jets approaching the area. And according Natasha, that could mean only one thing; Fury was prepared to nuke the place if he fails to get the Tesseract. "Look what you made me do! Next time I'll go for her head and we'll see if she can grow it back. The Tesseract! Now! Or we'll all get hurt."

Stark's unfair act worked like a catalyst of violent events that seemed to happen all at the same time. At first, the star-shield that came out of nowhere, hit Ironman on the left arm, making him loosing his aim at Emma and the next thing, a hard blow threw him off balance as Loki attacked him shrouded by his illusion.

A huge flashing lighting bolt struck straight at Ironman from the dark sky, immobilizing him for a few seconds, Stark however remaining unharmed inside his suit. He was knocked over by Mjölnir and Thor was already on him, crushing his suit with his hammer.

Instead of a full damage report, Jarvis told him unexpected news; "Power; 400 percent capacity." With that knowledge, Stark blasted Thor off him, sending him flying in the air, and got back on his feet, seeking out Loki with his high-tech gadgets, switching all powers to the laser.

In Logan's bloodline the pain brought out the beast. While quickly healing from their injuries, both father and daughter stood back up and launched themselves towards the metal man for a payback like a pair of predators, their animal-side in control and claws out.

And Loki was seeing all this behind his illusions. Having no time to think, as Ironman was aiming at Emma and Logan again, the Trickster put all at stake and rushed to them. With an energy blast, he tossed the mutants aside and closer to the jet, hiding them momentarily with an illusion for their own protection and taking their place on the line of fire. And the fire came within a heartbeat unmercifully, red-hot beam of laser burning through him, burning a hole through his flesh with a fury of thousands suns, making him want to scream. But he suffocated his cry, at least he tried. Asgardians never cry out in pain! It was something unspeakable, so excruciating and savagely burning that he felt his Jotun core nearly melting even the red beam had ended.

Thor shouted out for his brother, distressed, and dying for a revenge on that fool who had harmed his younger brother. He launched into a battle with the Ironman again, not sparing him from the full wrath of the thunder god, taking the fight further away from the others. And the Air Force's fighter jets that rocketed high across the sky got their share of Thor's fury as they flew straight into a violent storm. The massive lightning bolts spread all across the sky as though hunting the aircrafts and striking on them, causing severe malfunctions and forcing the pilots for leaving the jets and ejecting out.

Loki's cry of pain made Emma shudder, as she was crawling on her feet near the X-jet where he had tossed her for her own safety. She registered Jane's presence near her but paid no attention to her while only staring at Loki who fell on his knees in agony. She cried out his name in panic and hurried to him, knowing that it had to be severe if the big bad Trickster god would fall.

Logan was closer and got to him first, kneeling down next to the alien boy who lied on his back on the sandy ground visibly unconscious. He could smell the strange but slightly metallic stench of the alien blood, at least that's what he assumed it to be, and burned flesh. "Come on now, tough fellow!" Logan grunted and gave the boy a slap on the cheek as an encouragement to wake up.

Somewhere far away, beyond the great desert vale, the fighter jets crashed on the ground and exploded without the mushroom cloud.

Stinging tears running from his eyes, Loki gasped for air and it looked a painful achievement, regaining consciousness which he had lost due to the scorching torment in his body. He felt paralyzed, not wanting to move at all.

With dead-scared eyes Loki looked up at Logan, his mouth trembling with pain as he asked; "H-how bad is it?"

Speechless and remorsefully, Logan checked at the neat, half inch diameter hole on Loki's clothes and his body, a bit to the left from the center on the level of the lowest rib-bones. Logan could tell the laser had burned through him and it had made a nasty job. He knew the exact feeling.

"Ah shit…" Logan murmured. He didn't look happy. "Just a flesh wound, son. You'll be OK."

Loki snorted. It sounded more as though he would have been suffocating. "Leave the lying to me, Logan."

Emma was almost there and Logan pulled Loki's black jacket over the nasty damage. She didn't need to see it. Logan watched down at the wounded Trickster god angrily who had saved him and his kid from another massive laser burn. "Why the hell did you go playing a hero? You know we heal fast. Shit! Apparently you don't, you poor bastard."

His grimace wasn't recognizable as a smile even Loki tried hard to smile. "Fool me, huh? That was the last time I try to impress you." He clutched on Logan's wrist, hearing Emma approaching. "Promise me… that no one would hurt her."

Logan nodded, hating the feeling that he wouldn't survive out of this with dry eyes. "I promise."

"Loki!" Emma dropped down on her knees beside him, opposite Logan, and ran her hands over his face and chest. His beautiful pale skin looked even paler with cold sweat on his forehead, and she was scared to death for his sake. Her god of mischief couldn't give up. She refused to believe that anything could stop him. "Loki, baby, you have to get up. Jane brought the jet. We need to go."

He took her hand and squeezed tight, looking into her blue eyes with sad longing. "I will be fine. You go with your father. Get out of here before more of them comes," he said with difficulty, mere breathing causing him agony.

She shook her head, close to tears. "No! I'm not leaving you here. You're coming with us. Please, get up," she begged, her voice trembling too. "This is my fault. If I wouldn't have come after you, you'd been already home and safe…"

"No," Loki swallowed, as it was time for another confession. "I was never going to go back…"

Logan stepped aside. He couldn't stand by and watch his kid's emotional suffering that reminded him too much of his own lost when he had had to let go of Jean. This wasn't fair. Life never was.

Returning like a huge cannonball, Thor and Ironman smashed on the road in front of the hummer, their heated fight still going on, both looking like they had taken some serious damage.

Emma hunched over Loki covering him from the flying pieces of asphalt while Logan saw his opportunity for a payback. Acting swiftly, Logan charged at the battling big boys, taking an advantage the moment Ironman was his back towards him and too busy fighting with Thor. The shoulder-guns automatically registered Logan's approach but he blocked the shots with his claws and disarmed the metal man from his weapons, his adamantium claws then ripping the metal armor like he had been scaling a fish. Stark faced no chance of fighting back against two pissed off guys who wanted his head. And soon his armor was completely shattered, only some sparking scraps of it hanging still on him. Logan retracted his claws and punched him hard on the ground and Thor made sure he would stay there by placing his hammer over his chest.

The crushing feeling of despair struck Emma the moment she saw the gaping hole in Loki's lower chest that he had been trying to hide from her. She caressed him gently, his face, his hair, stubborn tears streaming down on her cheeks. And Loki lied still, holding her other hand and watching up in her eyes, finding some strange comfort in her sorrow, finding it somehow beautiful that someone cared for him this much to cry for him. It was an insane notion, just like everything else had been between them two from the very beginning.

He could tell he was dying. The Jotun in him didn't deal well with the fiery burn inside of him. He felt her hands turning ice cold and he moved her palm over his wound, sucking in a breath with the cooling sensation that eased a bit his pain. "I am sorry, Emma. I would have kept the Tesseract. I would have…"

"It's okay. I kinda figured." Emma sniffed her tears, just wanting to hold him. What he had done, what he had been planning to do, none of it mattered anymore.

He forced a painful grin. "I am sorry. I fucked up… big time."

She gave him a small, helpless smile. "You'll be all right. Just do your magic. You can heal yourself, can't you? Please, try."

Jane ran from the jet carrying a first-aid kid and met Thor as he stormed next to Loki, Thor touching her quickly on the arm before kneeling down.

Seeing his brother severely wounded, Thor let out a suffering groan. He hadn't realized it was so bad. "No, Loki. You fool. What were you thinking?" Thor's hand went straight behind Loki's neck, holding him in the brotherly loving way.

Emma watched at Thor with a pleading look. "Can you safe him?"

Thor clenched his jaw to remain brave on the verge of tears. "Not here. I must take him to Asgard at once. We can heal him there…"

Loki let out a feeble whimper of protest. "Not Asgard. I-I… I cannot go back. Thor, let me stay here…" he whispered and his eyes turned at Emma, his hand squeezing hers. "… with my Valkyrie."

Emma gasped with a flood of tears, caressing his face. That pet name didn't feel any right now. He wasn't ready for Valhalla yet. "Loki, you must go home so they can help you. So that you can return to me," she sobbed, feeling a stab in her heart.

"Will you still wait for me?"

She gave him a tear-filled smile, stroking his hair as though there hadn't been anyone else around. "I'll wait for you as long as it takes, my king. I need you back in my life. We'll walk together on that beach hand in hand and dance all night just like we dreamed. So, you make sure you'll come back," she whispered with a hope of an encouragement and saw that her words brought a peace in his uncertain mind.

Thor was breathing heavily as if counting seconds. "Loki, the Tesseract?"

Loki let his other hand drop on the ground and conjured the glowing cube on his palm. Wielding magic took its toll on his already weakened state and Emma felt his hand and forehead turning cold, freezing cold, his skin slowly taking his natural pale blue tone. Her voice trembled hard as she called for his name.

Thor saw it with his own eyes for the first time as the Jotun features slowly manifested on his younger brother's face and he gasped, stunned. It was really true, what Odin had told him. "Loki, stay with me! I am taking you home, my brother."

The thunder god snatched the cube and lifted his eyes at the thundering sky, calling upon his Father to help them, shouting for Heimdall to bring about the connection to the Bifrost through the energy of the Tesseract.

The answer for Thor's request came across the space. The Tesseract was beginning to glow brighter and sparking as if it would have been turned on and Thor dropped it as it was getting too hot for him to hold with bare hands. He summoned Mjölnir, freeing Stark, and placed the cube on the side of his weapon, holding it instead.

Thor glanced at the people around him, especially Jane. "Everyone, move farther away! You do not want to get sucked into an endless void of space. Jane…"

Jane nodded in understanding, seeing how desperate he looked because of his brother. "Go!"

Logan and Jane stepped backwards as told, but Emma didn't want to let go of Loki.

The emerald eyes were turning all red as he gazed his love one, Emma holding him as if he was her dearest treasure, she assuring him that everything was going to be all right. With trembling lips, she kissed him goodbye, the skin of his lips feeling so cold against hers, his touch on her cheek freezing her tears.

"Emma, you must move back!" Thor cried out harshly.

The first energy wave released from the Cube, painting an image of a distant galaxy in the air high above them like it would have been a beautiful illusion and Emma could feel the radiating glow of the cube becoming unbearable.

"Come on, kid!" Logan dashed at his daughter and pulled her away from the deities, Emma's fingers finally parting from Loki's hand, leaving her crying after him.

"Don't let go! I am taking you home, my brother," Thor uttered even more worried. He took a better hold of his brother and with other hand held the hammer and the cube, nodding in goodbyes for the mortals around him.

Another vast energy discharge burst out from the glimmering cube, opening the Bifrost and creating a large sparkling tube-like energy stream straight upwards. And with it, the Asgardian gods were carried away, as though a divine force had picked them up back into the heaven, leaving the others standing stunned under the slowly clearing Nevada sky. The thunder was over and everything became quiet around them.

Emma, Jane and Logan all stared up as if trying to follow the Asgardians go, but there was nothing to see anymore. The Bifrost was closed on their end. The deities were gone as though they had never even been there, and in her heart Emma felt like Loki had taken a part of her with him. A large part, a part which she couldn't go on without.

As the silence fell upon them, her world shattered in tiny pieces with the uncertainty of his fate. That same profound helplessness had filled her eight years ago when she had returned home which wasn't hers anymore. She felt like she was that kid again who had lost everything that mattered and she cried, screaming out her pain as if she had lost her mind into the darkness. And that darkness was unforgiving towards those who had hurt her, bringing out her beast. This time she didn't even try to hold it back. She embraced it, welcoming that dark primal side of hers to take over. Tony Stark would pay for what he did to her, for what he did to her Loki!

Jane took a cautious step backwards, checking her surroundings. Their ride, the X-jet, looked its normal-self again and Emma's clothes had changed back to the grey sweater and sweatpants, Loki's illusions gone. "Maybe it's best for us to leave here while we still can."

Logan agreed with a nod, watching at his kid's emotional turmoil with sad eyes. "Ems? I'm sure he'll be okay."

He reached out to touch her shoulder for some comfort but she turned towards the road and launched herself into a run like a cheetah, her icy claws thrusting out from her clenched fists as she was going for a kill. Realizing that she was running straight at Stark who still lied on the road beaten, Logan rushed after her to stop her from doing something she would regret for the rest of her life.

With a groan, Stark pulled the remains of his helmet off his head. His suit's A.I. had died and with it his connection to SHIELD was gone. As he was slowly crawling on his feet, he noticed the Captain America running towards him along the road and he snorted, annoyed. "Great! Just a bit too late, Cap. About seventy years!"

The moment he registered another running steps coming right behind him, Emma already had him. She sunk her claws through his thigh, twisting her wrist and snapping off her hard ice spikes, leaving them inside his stabbed leg. She was deaf to his cries of pain and Logan's shouts to 'stop', as a new set of ice claws grew instantly replacing the broken ones. The monster, she'd let herself become, settled nothing but ripping him apart. But then strong arms pulled her away from him.

Logan caught up with her and grabbed her from behind, holding her like a raging kid in a big scale temper tantrum. There was nothing easy with it. She put up a good fight, kicking and screaming and roaring, him trying to restrain her making her fighting back harder as if he had been her enemy. He knew that rage all too well and he didn't come out of it without bleeding as her claws cut him.

Logan growled but held her tight, dragging her away from Stark. "Emma! Stop it! Stop! You said you don't want anyone getting hurt here today!"

He didn't get through to her. He noticed the new guy with stars and stripes approaching them fast.

"Emma! Ems, listen to me," Logan spoke to her ear over her shoulder, trying a softer approach. "Loki wouldn't want you to do this. You hear me, kid! Calm down now, Ems. For Loki's sake."

"Yeah? If you ask me, I think this is exactly what Loki wants her to do!" Stark grimaced, aching and curling on his side on the road and breathing his pain out as if he'd been in labor.

Logan gave the man a murderous glare. "If you have a dead wish, bub, I'll be more than happy to fulfill it!"

He eased his hold on her a bit and continued to talk to her, sensing that his words were sinking in and expelling her beast. "Think about Loki! He does not want you to do this. He would want you to calm down. Killing this asshole won't change anything. Trust me, I know. He ain't worth it. Let it go!"

She stopped fighting back. Her claws drew back in, her mind slowly returning from the darkness. "Let go of me… please," she said through gritted teeth, her voice quiet and trembling. "Hands off me or I'll kick you, Logan. I hate being touched!" she warned raising her volume and Logan let go of her.

Not sparing another glance at Stark, she turned and trudged towards the jet and Jane with heavy-hearts like in a fog and Logan followed a few feet behind. She walked past the star shield that lied dusty on the ground, paying no attention to it. It meant nothing anymore. Some steps later she noticed a lonely throwing knife on the side of the road and she picked it up gently and carried with her, keeping it flat against her heart. It was the only concrete thing that was left of her Trickster in this realm besides her claws.

Steve Rogers slowed down his running pace and trod to them in a swift, military manner, observing his surroundings that looked like a real war zone. At first he went to Stark. "Mr. Stark? You're hurt. Where's the Tesseract?"

"Gone! Just like the Asgardians who took it. For such a legend you were legendarily no help at all, Cap!" Stark sneered, shoving himself into a sitting position. Staring at the nasty ice spikes sticking out from his left thigh, he groaned again and glowered at the mutants. "At least try to be useful and go get them, Wardog!"

Rogers followed the mutants closer to the jet and picked up his shield from the ground on his way. "Wait!" he shouted like an order after them.

The father and daughter stopped. Logan was the first one to turn and face the soldier, clenching his fists and heaving a tired sigh. "Turn and walk away, bub. Don't wanna make this any nastier."

Rogers couldn't help but noticed the blood-stained holes on the thighs of their trousers. And the blonde girl, he had seen earlier escaping with his shield, had lost that lively twinkle in her blue eyes as though something dramatically severe had happened to her.

He took a step closer, confused. "Are you two injured?"

"Not anymore. Your buddy here used me and my kid for a target practice," Logan stated pointing his finger at Stark accusingly. Then he made a fist and popped out his claws. "Not a smart move. So, if that was all, we're leaving."

Staring at the steely claws, Rogers swallowed but stood his ground. He was even more confused as he recognized a familiar face from his past, years and years back. "Howlett? James Howlett?"

"Don't know who you're talking about."

Rogers pulled off his mask. "I never forget the faces. You haven't changed a bit. It's me, Steve Rogers. We served together in Germany back in 1945, fighting against Nazis in the Howling Commandos …"

Logan frowned and pulled his claws back in, having no recollection of that. "If that what you said is true, then help out an old brother-in-arms and let us go."

"Look, I should probably bring you in to settle this matter," Rogers said calmly watching them both. "Director Fury is going to need some answers."

"There's nothing to settle," Emma whispered weakly, her gaze wandering in nothing, her fingers caressing the knife against her chest. It was wonder she had paid any attention to their talk. "Loki and Thor just wanted to go back home. Fury got his war… people got hurt, when it all could have been avoided…" She closed her eyes and sucked in a breath. "There are no heroes in war," she continued in a given up tone and looked the man in the eye. To her, he could have been the real deal, but it meant nothing at all anymore. "SHIELD's nothing but Hydra with a fancy wrapper. And I hate Hydra. So, if you're gonna bring me in, you're going to have to kill me some many times that I'm really dead. I swear, I'm not gonna make it easy for you."

With her feeble tone, it sounded the most powerless and heartbreaking threat Steve Rogers had ever heard. She had said the magic word; Hydra. It sounded that they had a common enemy. Rogers glanced behind him at Stark and the mess around him, then turning back at the mutants with an encouraging nod. "Go! Get out of here!"

Logan nodded his head as thanks to the soldier and then they left without another word.

When they were in the jet with Jane and the rear hatch closed behind them, Emma stood still feeling numb, unreal and bitter. "Why didn't you let me kill Stark?"

Logan hesitated but touched her shoulder. "That asshole might have deserved it. But I didn't want another death on your conscience."

Emma burst into tears and hugged her father, holding him tight and long. She really needed a hug and it felt the only right thing to do. And Jane saw it wiser to give them a moment of privacy. Clearly this wasn't your normal kid/parent conversation.

"You're not alone, kid," Logan said, closing his arms around Emma. "Listen… Your boyfriend Loki is an annoying dick. And annoying dicks always shows up again wrecking my day. He'll be back."

… …

So, Loki turned out to be a hero after all. Please, don't hate me for putting him going thru a rough patch. Our Trickster will survive, right?

Thank you for reviews, favorites and follows. I'll be a bit busy within the next month but I'll try to write and update as soon as I can again.