Chapter 2
~ ~ A few days earlier on Asgard ~ ~
Loki snarled when Thor barged into his private quarters uninvited once again and told him their father wished to see them both. To be fair, he would not have invited the oaf in, if he had been asked. But it still was beyond him how Thor never seemed to have learned the fairly simple concept of knocking.
"He is not my father!" his eyes glittered angrily at Thor's insistence to ignore his true origin and his voice contained all the venom possible. After Loki's attack on Midgard and having been defeated by the Avengers, Loki had unsurprisingly been brought back to Asgard. Surprisingly though, Frigga had stood up against her husband. Loki did not know what words she had for her youngest son's defence, but the result had been that his life had been spared. Not just from the execution he had been certain to receive but also from a sentence of eternal imprisonment.
Instead, he had been confined to the palace, banned from leaving the kingdom altogether as well. Of course, Loki would not have difficulties to leave Asgard, if he had desired, but something had kept him in place.
Now he wondered momentarily if Odin had changed his verdict about him to be summoned again before the throne. His confinement to the palace had been installed over two years ago and Loki had not once gotten a glimpse of the Allfather. His only frequent visitors had been Frigga and Thor.
Loki knew though that he had little choice in following this summon. If he ignored it, he would just be brought before the throne in chains again. It had been humiliating enough to be dragged in front of the throne after his defeat by the Avengers, he would not let this occasion repeat itself.
He got up from the comfortable chair next to the large table in his study reluctantly. Numerous books were distributed over the surface, describing magic far older than Odin himself. He highly doubted that any of these old books had seen much use for the last centuries. Odin's father had already disapproved the overuse of magic in comparison to brute strength and thus, magical abilities had started to die out on Asgard.
Although Thor had the look of hurt in his eyes, he obviously had chosen to ignore his scathing comment and was uncharacteristically patient for his brother to get moving.
Loki was suspicious immediately. The hurt look in the blue eyes was expected, the patience however was not. Something was clearly going on. He knew without a sliver of doubt that he was still persona-non-grata on Asgard. The glares he received whenever he dared to step foot in his chambers were testimony enough of that. While patience may be something uncharacteristic for Thor, Loki knew that he only needed to wait long enough for the disdain to die down though. Two years were not enough time for that though. He knew he needed more patience until the population of Asgard would focus on other things again.
He raised a brow at the God of Thunder in silent question, crossing his arms over his chest to emphasise his point and let his expression darken gradually with each passing second.
Thor sighed under his breath and his shoulders slumped visibly, while the pain in his blue eyes seemed to deepen.
Loki sneered even more at what he had dubbed Thor's "kicked puppy"-expression in his mind. It was beyond him why Thor even still insisted on continuing to visit him. He had made it crystal clear that he cared little for his company during these last two years and yet, the God of Thunder remained unfaced. It was also unclear to him why Thor stubbornly held on to the concept of brotherhood between them, when they were not related by blood. He had expected for the other god's mind to change if he ignored him long enough, but it had not happened.
"Just come" Thor's voice was a little too pleading, once he finally opened his mouth, for Loki's liking, just confirming that something was wrong. Loki's mind immediately went through different scenarios in record time. His features darkened further as all he came up with was disaster awaiting him.
"Did something happen to m…" he stopped himself before he could finish the slip of his tongue and corrected himself immediately "…Frigga?".
Thor shook his head in the negative and it was obvious the words to chide his younger brother for his continued refusal to call Frigga "mother" was on the tip of his tongue. Surprisingly, Thor remained silent though.
Loki felt trepidation settle in his mind uncomfortably. In all of his previous experiences, surprises rarely if ever had ended well for him.
He followed Thor through the halls of the palace silently. He knew there were servants just out of sight watching them move through the halls. For a second he was reminded of the countless times Thor and he had been summoned before Odin's throne before during their shared youth, mostly to be chided for one thing or another. His mouth pulled into an outright sneer as he recalled Thor mostly getting out of everything with just a few ruffled feathers, while he himself had never gotten out with a simple slap to the fingers. Loki shook his head slightly to clear his thoughts. If he looked back on his past too long, the anger would only resurface ever so hotly at the injustice he had been faced with through his whole existence.
His trepidation only grew when he spotted Frigga standing next to Odin on the platform in front of the golden throne. The queen seemed relieved for a moment to note their appearance and the slight smile she gave them both, belied the redness of her eyes suspiciously as if she had been crying not too long ago.
Loki felt the urge to climb the steps to the throne and comfort her. He could not recall a single occasion of seeing the woman he called mother ever crying outside of her private quarters. He resisted his urge instead and forced his features into well practised impassivity, hiding all of his own emotions instead as he stopped in front of the platform next to Thor.
His impassivity cracked though when Frigga immediately descended down the steps and towards them. It appeared that whatever reason Odin had to summon him, had been more about Frigga as the king remained on the platform alone.
Loki's brows furrowed in open confusion when the queen first hugged Thor and then pulled him into a hug as well. It was unusual for the Allmother to bestow physical contact in the throne room like this.
"My sons …" Loki would not admit it out loud, but his heart gave a little lurch at still being included in that "… you two must travel to Midgard" the queen said and the shaky quality of her voice confirmed his suspicion of tears having been shed not too long ago.
The furrow returned to his brows, while Thor only nodded. Loki had the burning suspicion that Thor already knew why they would make this trip. The God of Thunder had never truly mastered the art of hiding his emotions, showing them unfiltered usually. The lack of surprise on his face was enough proof to show Loki that Thor already had spoken with Frigga and Odin without him there. It angered him a little, but he would never say that out loud.
"And whatever for?" Loki inquired in a reserved tone, taking a visible step away from Frigga and Thor. Within his mind he was already spinning plans on how to utilize this trip out of the palace to his own advantage. Maybe it would be the chance he had waited for to slip away. He did not know where he could go though. He was sure Thanos and his minions were still searching each and every planet for him. Loki knew that only the impenetrable protections of Asgard had kept him safe from retribution against his supposed failure these years ago. His internal musings were cut short though upon the next words spoken and all his planning paled into nothing.
"To find our sister" Thor answered the question, slightly turning to face his younger brother and Loki was unable to decipher the emotions within his blue eyes.
Loki blinked at the blonde in astonishment. Frigga's crying made even more sense now. He knew that a newly born princess had been abducted from the palace at the time of Odin's war against the Jotun. It was public knowledge that Heimdal had been tasked with locating the lost princess. But after centuries of futile effort, the princess had been declared dead officially a long while ago. He had asked Frigga about the princess in his own youth when he had seen her mourning her loss in the privacy of her quarters or gardens, but he had never received details.
"Heimdal has spotted traces of fitting Seiðr on Midgard mere hours ago and it remains" Odin spoke up finally in a neutral tone "There had been hints before, but they vanished too soon to pursue."
Loki thinned his lips and glared at the older god. He was once again only being seen as nothing else but a mere tool and anger started to boil hotly through his veins. Thor obviously needed his knowledge of Seiðr to find the supposedly lost princess of Asgard then.
He opened his mouth to make a scathing comment, but was interrupted by Frigga stepping right in front of him and one of her hands gently reached out and touched one of his cheeks. Loki suppressed the almost instinct-like reaction to shy away from the touch and let the queen be instead. He would go for her, not for the king.
He nodded his agreement once at the queen in silence and gave her the ghost of a smile in answer of her relieved expression while tears still gleamed within her shining eyes.
Only a short while later, they were walking to the Bifrost to be transported to Midgard.
He did wonder why a child of Asgard had been abducted to Midgard though and just how the supposed princess had been hidden from Heimdal's all-seeing eyes. Neither could he imagine how the princess's life must have been like among mortals. Or had she been to other realms and only come to Midgard recently? Loki's mood had soured considerably when Heimdal informed them of the location of the magical signature.
Of course, their location would have to be New York, the very city in which Thor's bunch of Midgardian friends had gambled together and formed the Avengers. Thor had been near ecstatic to hear that he could as well meet up with them when they were on Midgard.
Loki grumbled under his breath at the typical stupidity Thor was displaying. If the staff in the palace in Asgard was already unwelcoming towards him, Loki could only imagine how hostile his welcome in the tower of Iron Man would be. He was well aware that all of the Avengers were likely to harbour a deep hatred for him at this point. Not that this was something entirely new to him anyway. Of course, now that he was back to full strength, there was nothing for him to fear, none of them would pose any threat to him, but he was still not looking forward to seeing them either way.
He had learned early on in his life that he could not count on those around him. He may have grown up alongside Thor, but there had always been stark differences between them. He would have never counted on Thor choosing the trickster he assumed to be his brother over one of his dear friends. Obviously, the other god now failed to consider what the reunion with the Avengers would be like for Loki or he simply did not care about it.
Loki almost forgot his sour mood when Frigga personally hurried behind them before Heimdal could activate the Bifrost for them.
He was surprised when the queen merely nodded towards Thor and the God of Thunder gave her a smile in response, taking a few steps away and conversing quietly with Heimdal, giving them some privacy.
Loki furrowed his brows in mute question at the woman who had raised him. He still cared for her dearly although he had tried for centuries now to not openly show his feeling for her.
"Do not fret, my dearest sweetling" the queen's voice was as sweet as her words and her blue eyes filled with pure love "There is a crossroad ahead of you, fledgling".
Loki's green eyes softened visibly at the old term of endearment the queen had favoured for him during his childhood. It had been so long ago that he had last heard her say it, that the memories had gotten faint. It surprised him to hear them being used once again and while something in him flared up with the need to push the queen away and denounce his feelings for her, he could not.
He knew that the queen was able to look into the future, but what she saw was not certain yet as the future was fluid and always changing. He itched to ask her after what she had seen, but the look in her eyes bound his tongue. It was better not to know.
"Take care of your brother" the queen said switching the subject while the trickster remained silent, mulling over her riddled words.
Loki huffed under his breath again and rolled his eyes "He is not my brother". There was a lot less venom in his words now than there had been before, but the bitterness had returned to his eyes.
Frigga's mouth pressed into a displeased line and she shook her head with a sigh escaping her lips. She had let her hand sink from his cheeks and gave one of his shoulders a squeeze.
Her visible disappointment felt like a hot flash of pain in his chest, but Loki refused to take his words back.
"We will see each other again soon Loki" the queen assured and stepped back from her younger son.
The God of Mischief ached to reach out to the Allmother and envelope her in his arms, like he had done so often in the past when he had still assumed to be of her blood as well. Since the reveal of his true heritage, he had pulled away from her as much as he could as his past feelings were poisoned and clouded by the deep sense of utter betrayal, so, instead he only nodded and turned over to Thor and Heimdal without another word. He did not wish to see the disappointment and probably hurt linger in the queen's eyes.
A second later the Bifrost was activated and transported them to Midgard, right on top of Tony Stark's tower. Loki had not forgotten the destruction he had brought to this very building upon his last visit. Their visit now left a branding of the Bifrost on its wake. Momentarilly Loki wondered how often Thor had already visited the Avengers recently as he had not actively tried to keep tracks of his actions.
"We should directly depart" Loki cautioned the God of Thunder, hoping against sense to hurry him along. He had no intention of spending unnecessary time among the Avengers. Heimdal had showed him the Seiðr he was supposed to look for, so that he could track it down. He remained standing still for a moment, letting his own Seiðr run freely through his veins and focussing it on the trail of the unfamiliar Seiðr. It took him only a few seconds to catch it. Worryingly, the trail was already getting weaker. If they waited for too long and he lost the trail, they had no hope of him being able to locate it again. He would have no trouble ever locating Thor as he had grown up with the other god and was attuned to his Seiðr, no matter if Thor instrumented it actively or if it remained dormant. Someone who he was not so attuned to, was much harder to find though.
"How strong is it?" Thor asked his younger brother, accustomed to Loki's look of concentration if he cast a complicated spell. He had received some tutelage on Seiðr usage as well, but he had never shown great promise at it, while his baby brother had excelled at that this field. Their father did not put importance into it either and he knew his younger brother had been scorned by many simply because he showed such proficiency in this field.
"Fading already" Loki commented in a tone which barely hinted to the fact how strenuous upholding the complicated spell really was. He quickly let his Seiðr wash over his body, changing his typical Asgardian garments to a simple black suit which would not stand out among the Midgardians.
Thor appeared slightly disappointed and maybe worried, but nodded his acknowledgement "I shall have to reacquaintance with my shield brothers later then".
Loki snorted slightly; he was sure Thor's shield brothers would thank them both if he could return to Asgard before that and not force his presence on them as well. "You need different clothes" he commented snidely. Thor was still dressed in armour including his trademark red cape and his beloved hammer in hand.
During their youth Loki had accompanied Thor to numerous quests, often enough to other realms as well. Usually, it had been Loki's task for Thor to be able to blend in at least slightly. While the trickster seemed to have no difficulties to adapt to his surroundings, Thor was usually conspicuous still.
"Could you just?" Thor motioned at himself with his hand and waited for Loki's reaction.
Loki's lips pulled into a smirk as he flicked his fingers and changed Thor's clothing. The God of Thunder had not given any clear indication as to what he wanted and the trickster used that fully.
Thor's features morphed into an exasperated expression as he looked down at himself and recognized that his younger brother had taken the opportunity and dressed him in a pink frilly kind of dress.
"Do you always have to be so vindictive?" Thor all but barked as his blue eyes narrowed with flaring anger.
"As much as I enjoy the view, Barbie" a voice suddenly spoke up behind them with genuine amusement, which vanished at the next words replaced with open hostility "What is Antlergames doing here?"
Both gods turned towards the voice and were faced with Tony Stark already in his Iron Man suit with Captain America and the Black Widow coming out of the door to the roof in that moment.
"Shouldn't you be rotting in some cell as far away as possible forever?" Natasha's voice was cold as she scrutinized the God of Mischief and her features did nothing to hide her disdain for the raven-haired god. They had not seen anything of the God of Mischief for over two years and it was clear they had hoped to never be faced with him again.
Thor seemed to disregard the tenseness completely and strode towards Tony and the other two with a large smile on his features, ignoring his state of dress for the moment as well "Man of Iron, Captain and Natasha, it is so good to see you. Are the clothes I left still here?"
Loki pressed his lips into a thin line and his green eyes were cold as he impassively watched the reunion. He could probably count himself lucky that the green beast had not joined the party as of yet. His Seiðr was sizzling on his fingertips in preparation if he needed to defend himself.
Thor explained the reason for their arrival quickly and the Avengers more or less begrudgingly allowed the God of Thunder and his villainous brother entry into their tower. It was clear though that none of them were happy about it.
"So, you mean to say that one of your blood has been living on earth for how long? Centuries?" Captain America turned to question Loki as Thor had vanished momentarily to get changed.
Unsurprisingly, Stark obviously insisted on remaining as Iron Man in case the God of Mischief decided to try something. Loki only rolled his eyes at the man in the iron suit. None of them had any idea of what he was capable at full strength. He had only shown them a sliver of what his potential thus far.
"Roughly half a millennium would be correct" Loki answered in a bored tone. He had to keep some attention on the spell keeping track of the unfamiliar Seiðr. He was beginning to feel the strain of the spell on his own Seiðr and was not paying full attention to the Avengers. If they had wanted to attack him, they already would have done so.
The trickster watched Captain America's reaction with some interest. For some unknown reason, the man appeared genuinely upset about his answer.
Thor returned only a moment later, dressed in blue jeans and a T-Shirt with a large print on the front.
"You can leave that here" Loki pointed at Thor's hammer decisively and when the God of Thunder opened his mouth to retort something, Loki shook his head "Your damn hammer is screaming attention, Thor, leave it here". The spell he was upholding was too complicated to also try and hide the hammer with an illusion. If it had been a normal hammer, it would not pose such a problem. But the thing was so full of Seiðr that only extremely strong illusions could hide it.
Thor rolled his eyes and let the hammer fall to the floor where he was standing, cracking a tile in the process.
"Geez!" Thony chimed in his robotic voice "Anything else you wanna destroy?"
Loki did not hear Thor's retort as he concentrated on the spell and felt the pulsing traces of Seiðr he had been clinging to die down all of a sudden "Damn" he muttered in frustration.
He had not noticed Natasha drawing a small gun on him as his hands had started to glow green in his effort to find the particular Seiðr again. Loki had found something, but he could tell even from a distance that whatever he was locating now, was not the source of the Seiðr and nothing more than an old echo.
"Please tell me that you did not lose the trace completely, brother" Thor's voice was coloured with an uncharacteristic desperation. They both knew that their mother would be heartbroken if they returned to Asgard emptyhanded and with no new information at all.
"We can't just let him run around the city like that" Natasha interjected and although she had lowered the gun for now, it was clear the assassin itched to shoot at the trickster.
"I am not interest in conquering your little meaningless world anymore" the God of Mischief drawled in a bored tone, hoping that it would dissuade the Avengers from following them, before he turned to Thor "We need to leave immediately". They had no idea what they would be facing if they located the princess. Loki doubted that bringing a bunch of mortals, no matter if they were enhanced or not, would do any good.
"We will return" Thor called over his shoulder on the way to the elevator, for once not arguing with his brother.
"I already feared that…" they could hear Tony's sarcastic tone fading as the door glide closed behind them.
The streets of New York were bustling with people as they stepped out of the Avenger's tower a few minutes later.
It took only a few more moments before people started to recognize Thor. Loki had cast a slight glamour over his own features, so the mortals would not recognize him and cause an unnecessary panic. He could guess that two years were in comparison to their own perception a rather long time, but it would be stupid to assume they had forgotten him.
Two young women approached Thor with their phones in hand, begging to take a picture with the God of Thunder. Thor obliged with a blinding smile, while Loki watched the proceeding with a deep frown. They were losing time and a small part of himself was angered by the scene as well.
Once the women stepped away from the God of Thunder, he cast a glamour around him as well. They would never make it to their location his spell pointed to otherwise, neither did he wish to watch such a scene again.
Loki did not really hold it against the God of Thunder that he was popular on Midgard. Of course, he was used to the other god outshining him. Thor had always been by far more popular and he knew that would never change. While Thor had found friends easily, Loki had only been begrudgingly accepted as a side-kick to his older brother. Old resentment hotly burned in his veins again.
"Thank you, brother" Thor disrupted the silence which had fallen between them, ignorant of the internal conflict of his younger brother.
Loki all but faltered for a split second in response at the unexpected words, before he controlled himself again "I am doing this for mother". The usage of the word "mother" was enough of an admission on its own and he kept his features carefully void of emotions.
He had to concentrate on the spell much more now. It seemed they were getting closer, but he needed to get more specific location now instead of a general direction. Sweet started to form on his brows at the exertion.
"Are you sure we are on the correct path?" Thor asked a while later in a dubious tone. They had long left the crowded and shiny part of New York, instead ending up in a much shadier neighbourhood.
Loki did not deign this question any answer at all. He hoped that none of the mortals were watching the narrow street too closely. He had to use much more Seiðr now and his hands got a prominent green glow from it. A slight worry for what they were going to face was the only admission to Thor's question he allowed himself. The princess should have grown up in the golden halls of the palace in Asgard and in the privacy of his mind Loki wondered just what this kind of environment must have done to her over the centuries.
Getting entry into the shady house was easy even without Seiðr. The main door was nothing but a sad joke at this point and would have opened for a mere mortal as well with just a little bit of physical force. The door to the actual apartment was not in any way better and a moment later they could enter.
Loki frowned as they stepped inside, checking once that his Seiðr had brought them to the correct place. It had. The air inside was stale as if no fresh air had been allowed inside for a long time. A glance around showed barely any furniture in the apartment and what was there was openly screaming poverty. Somehow the apartment was lacking a lot. It took Loki a moment to notice what felt off about it. There were no personal things indicating that anyone was actually inhabiting this sad rooms.
"Are you sure your spell isn't faulty?" Thor wondered as he looked around the room in utter disbelief and a hint of horror filtered into his tone. This apartment could not stand into deeper contrast than what they were used to.
Loki hissed his response through clenched teeth "Absolutely!"
He illuminated their surroundings with his Seiðr. Only with more light it was obvious that everything was covered in a thick layer of dust. He was no expert on the accumulation of dust, but it was obvious on first glance that no one had entered this apartment for a very long while, which also explained the extremely stale quality of the air around them.
Trudging footsteps on the hall called his attention though and before they could converse on how to proceed, the door to the apartment was opened once again and someone stumbled inside.
Loki recognized immediately that the young woman who had stumbled inside was the one they had been looking for. She was surrounded by Seiðr so powerful that it seemed to shine from her whole person. He had never been faced with such strong uncontrolled Seiðr though and knew to treat with caution now. Someone who had been instructed on the usage of Seiðr would never broadcast it so openly for everyone to see. He looked closer at the Seiðr surrounding her and noted it's interesting colour, while his own Seiðr had always had a green tint, the woman's shone pure gold.
It seemed to take the young woman a long moment to realize that she was actually not alone in the apartment but had uninvited company. Either she had no experience in fighting or she may actually be injured.
Loki spotted clear tracks of tears on her pale cheeks and blood on her hands. The black clothing had hints of Seiðr on them as well, so, obviously her actual clothing had been switched with Seiðr, just as he had done to his own Asgardian garments. Her features were pale and her greenish blue eyes were reddened by past crying, her light brown hair hung around her shoulders in untamed waves.
The fact that Thor spoke up to greet her, completely unmindful of the powerful Seiðr surrounding her, showed again just how little strategic thinking and finesse the oaf had from Loki's point of view and also confirmed how little the blonde actually had paid attention to their lessons on Seiðr.
The very moment Thor spoke up and called attention to their presence, the woman's eyes widened and she clutched her head as if suddenly in great pain.
Loki had never observed such a reaction though and he was puzzled about what was happening. He would have liked to give the God of Thunder a shake for his stupidity. Startling someone with uncontrolled Seiðr was like poking at a sleeping beast with a stick. A very sharp stick and probably right in the beast's eye.
Her eyes narrowed dangerously at Thor and the Seiðr around her seemed to transform into angry swirls "Just what do you think you are doing in my apartment?" her tone was firm and carried a warning with it not to make any sudden moves.
Surprisingly, Thor actually held his tongue now and his features showed his own confusion at the princess's reaction.
The young woman suddenly stepped closer to Thor, giving him a rather light shove, probably expecting him to topple over. It was clear she was used to mortal's company and probably had never came into contact to her own race.
Weirdly, while the absolute astonishment on her features that Thor was not moved even a fraction by her attempt would have been comical in any other situation, the hiss she let out and rubbed her forehead again was worrying to say the least.
The trickster was highly alarmed though by the woman's Seiðr just increasing in anger now and he doubted it would be much longer before it lashed out in defence of herself. It was clear easily that no one had really taught the woman on how to wield her Seiðr in a more productive way.
The woman's attention had been solely focused on Thor so far as if Loki had been invisible to her. He mussed if the young woman had even noticed his presence as of yet.
As the God of Mieschief stepped closer to her, hands held up in a gesture to show he meant no harm, her head whipped around to him immediately.
Her eyes narrowed down at him in a calculating gaze for a second, before confusion clouded her features. Before the woman could say something though, an additional figure materialized out of thin air just between Loki and the lost princess, grabbing both of them before either could react.
Loki's blood ran cold as he recognized the figure a second too late and immediately felt his Seiðr being bound. The Other had found him.
Their transport lasted only the blink of an eye and it was obvious the princess knew the Other as well as her eyes had widened almost comically as she stared at him.
Loki would have loved nothing more than to question the lost princess of Asgard just how she had gotten to know Thanos' vile advisor, but the princess's Seiðr seemed almost out of control now. He did not know their current location but a quick glance around told him that they were most likely on a transportation ship. He had the slight hope that Thanos was not among them.
He tested the magical barriers around the ship quickly and recognized with a huff that he was unable to use a simple spell to get out of the ship, he would need some time to work around the barriers which had been cast.
He would like to have a few words with Asgard's lost princess. Suspicion was loud in his mind. It could not be good that the woman was known to The Other and by extension most likely Thanos as well. There was no explanation why The Other had taken both of them though, if only he would have been the target.
"I can explain" the woman offered, inching away from The Other gradually. Her words clearly proved that she indeed knew The Other. Loki did not like the desperation suddenly in her eyes though. He had had little choice in working with The Other and Thanos and he wanted to know how this alliance had come into place for the princess.
The Other turned to the princess and his lips pulled into a sneer "That will not be necessary. You have clearly lost what you have been given".
Loki could not make sense of The Other's words; it was clear by the expression on the princess's features though that she did understand them well enough. He watched in rapt fascination how the Seiðr around the princess morphed from angry tendrils to a kind of blast in a few seconds and he was swept from his feet by the unexpected unleash of power before the ship around him faded to darkness.