Hawkeye had started coming around the evening of the battle, but he hadn't fully woken up until the next morning. Laura was next to him now, talking with him. The burn on his arm was a bad, second degree burn, but they'd given it some medical attention. Once he'd been able to sit up, his kids had swarmed him, the boys not trying to best each other for once.

Loki had been even more withdrawn after revealing more of himself than he preferred. Several of the Avengers seemed a little bit more wary, if not irritated, with him. Him and Thor had worked with Heimdall to transport the dead frost giants back to Jotunheim. The yard surrounding the house was horribly churned up. Not to mention the pile of ice and blood stained grass.

The warriors had made short work of introducing themselves, Sif and Hogun being the more serious of the bunch.

Volstagg and Fandral were quite enjoying themselves together. Tony got along very well.

"With your metal armor you're a very formidable opponent against the Jotuns." Volstagg said, twiddling his fingers at Tony "I've not found many mortals capable of such a feat."

"Have you...fought alongside many mortals?" Tony asked, hand moving questioningly "I'm not saying you're wrong, because most human beings wouldn't stand a chance." He paused for a small smirk.

"Not many." Fandral admitted, leaning back in his chair with one leg crossed above the other. He'd eyed Black Widow with apparent interest since he got there. She had given him returned flirtatiousness with ease, although for those who knew her, the sarcasm was clear.

For the first time that day, Loki came inside. He was following Thor back in, head held high, although he looked at no one.

"Loki." Hogun said with a slow nod at the former prince. Sif acknowledged him with the same gesture.

Loki's eyes flicked to them for a moment, but he continued to follow Thor without saying anything. Volstagg glanced at Fandral, who shrugged.

Hawkeye sat up and looked at the God of Mischief for a second. Clearly, Laura had informed him of the incident. Nathaniel was climbing on a kitchen chair to see his father, toes pointed eagerly.

"So I think we need to address the issue we're all are thinking about." Captain America said "If the Jotuns come back we need a better battle plan."

"Worked for me." Tony replied with a small shrug.

"We'll stay here until the problem is resolved." Sif told him evenly. Captain America glanced at her stoically.

"How did the Jotuns know exactly where to come?" he asked generally "Loki." he said, looking at the man steadily. The room seemed to tense as if they sensed Captain America was about to speak to what they had all seen. But the soldier didn't. "You mentioned the sceptor."

Loki returned the look, eyes prepared for an argument.

"My only theory is that whoever wants the sceptor is trying to dissipate any defenses on Earth. The Jotuns most likely saw a portal and enemies to fight, but had no power over where the portal opened." he said, tilting his head forward slightly, before looking away from the group.

"But who has the power to open portals?" Banner asked "That seems like a lot of...responsibility."

"Whoever they are, they can't be very good at it." Tony replied with a shrug "They can't keep it open for more than ten minutes."

"Well I'm sure it would be hard to create something to connect realms." Banner said, speaking only from common sense and not knowledge "At least I hope it is."
"Unheard of, for the most part." Volstagg replied.

Even though the questions were asked broadly, they seemed to hope for an answer. Loki didn't offer one to them. Even though it has been blatantly obvious to the Asgardians that Loki was indeed a frost giant, some of the humans weren't quite sure. Either way, they'd been tiptoeing around the God of Mischief all day.

"Is the portal completely closed?" Tony asked casually. He looked behind him "I mean, we're not going to turn around and have a while bunch of them waiting outside are we?"

"It's closed." Loki said.

"It would have to be closed, otherwise the frost giants would still be coming in. They only know one thing: attack." Volstagg told them.

Thor purposely didn't look at Loki, but either way his younger brother's face remained neutral at the comment.

"It doesn't look too bad." Laura said, holding up her husband's arm to examine the burn.

"Well, it's healing a lot faster than I would expect." Hawkeye said, pulling the skin back slightly. For someone that had been in lethal danger just the evening before, he was certainly quite casual about the whole thing. He glanced towards where Loki had been a few moments previously "And I don't think that's because we treated it quickly."

"Whatever he is, I'm glad he was actually able to help you. No one else knew what to do." Laura said, leaning forward.

"What do you mean whatever he is? Immortal?" Hawkeye asked, almost with a laugh at his wife. His smiled faded when he saw that she was serious. They were interrupted by Volstagg's boistrous laugh. Him and Fandral were still in the same place.

"Hey...Fandral?" Hawkeye asked, head turned to side as he tried to remember the name. Fortunately, the pompous soldier turned to him, eyes expectant.

"Yes?"

"Uhh...so about Loki. Is he...?"

"Of Jotunheim?" Volstagg asked, answering for Fandral "Yes, he is. We didn't know about it until he left Asgard. Though he was always keeping secrets."

Captain America walked out of the kitchen, looking at the Asgardians. Tony looked on between them for a moment, waiting for someone else to speak.

"He did not know, Volstagg." Hogun told him. Volstagg shrugged as if he agreed with him.

"So...frost giants, right?" Laura asked. She hadn't been present for many of the conversations about the Jotuns, but the name had been used enough around her for her to know it "What are they exactly?"

"They're Asgard's main foe." Volstagg explained "We used to fight them a lot more, but they haven't been active in a while."

Fandral nodded "And they're bacically..." He paused as he thought.

"Monsters." Loki spoke by the stairs and they all glanced over at him. He took a few steps closer, book clasped in a hand by his side.

"They're a race of monsters." he said, eyes hard and as he looked at them "The worst of the worst. Beasts. Killing is something that comes completely natural to them." He paused for a moment "Now if you have any further questions about my origins, I ask that you would bring them to me."

Silently, he turned around to walk outside, opening his book on the way out.

Hawkeye pressed his lips together slightly, looking at Laura. The three Asgardians avoided each other's gazes for a moment.

Once Black Widow had informed Fury of the news, he had essentially told them to return to searching, although in much more words. And after a long discussion via Tony's large screen, they had persuaded Fury that sending any SHIELD agents to them wouldn't be of any help since Hawkeye had nearly been killed with a single touch.

Captain America and the others had a conference afterwards, excluding Loki and the other Asgardians. They were currently trying to decide how to go about tracking the portal. Out of everyone, Black Widow and Captain America were the most peeved.

"Something like that could happen in any major city." Black Widow said "Except we wouldn't be there because there would be no warning."

"Well I'll point out that we did do pretty well against the Chitari." Tony said.

"May I also point out that we had a warning." Black Widow replied "And besides, that portal could be closed. We don't even have an idea of where this could be at any given time."

"Well we're lucky they showed up here." Tony said. He paused "Which is also a coincidence, like we've said." he turned on his toe to look at Thor taking a deep breath. Now they could discuss it without Loki in the room.

"So really, how did they know right where to come?" He asked before shrugging "Actually, right where not to come. Unfortunate on their part."

"We don't know." Thor said "But Loki doesn't believe it was an accident."

"Doesn't he?" Tony asked, looking playfully surprised. He looked back at the others "That narrows him out of the equation."

"He warned us they were coming." Thor said "Without that, the results would not have been in our favor."

"And he did save Hawkeye." Banner said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other with his arms folded "But that could just be classic betrayal etiquette. You know, set up a threat, then save us from it to make himself seem more trustworthy."

"But he's not flaunting it." Tony said, pointing at him with a pen "I would be flaunting it."

"Really?" Banner asked, looking at the others "Well that's no surprise."

"I meant if I were him." Tony responded with a roll of his eyes.

"The more we treat Loki like he is a traitor, the higher the chance gets." Thor repeated this to them, lowering an arm definitively "Now, I agree we still need to keep watch like we have, but if we suspect him of each thing then we're never going to gain his full help. If we show faith we may be able to have him employ better methods."

"Or get played as fools." Captain America replied. He glanced over at Hawkeye, who had yet to speak "Barton? Do you have an opinion in any of this?"

Hawkeye took a deep breath "Well, I just don't think there was any reason for him to help me if he was already fighting to stop the frost giants." He put out his hands "I mean, he would already have helped save us from a threat, he didn't need to go further."

"There." Tony held out a hand to him "Common sense."

"That doesn't mean we should let our guard down." Hawkeye replied, looking at him "But personally right now, I'd rather have it been a different solution than simply banishing Loki from helping us."

"No one suggested that." Black Widow responded.

"I agree with Hawkeye." Captain America said, to everyone's surprise "Keep our guard up, but I don't suspect Loki of letting the frost giants in. Currently."

"I don't believe Loki had anything to do with it." Thor said, with the same steady low tone "He already mentioned that other beings want a path onto Earth. They are trying to remove defenses before they make a move."

There was silence for a moment before Tony spoke.

"Just so we're all aware, I am not flying back out into space to see who's behind this."

Thor walked out to the warriors and Sif. They were standing by the guards stationed on the porch, talking.

"Ahhhh...Thor." Volstagg greeted him merrily "Finished up with your secret meeting?"

"It was not secret." Thor responded with a small chuckle.

"Private then." Volstagg reiterated ""But either way, I wasn't really that offended. You work with quite the solemn bunch."

"They are solemn now, but they aren't always like that." Thor replied.

"That seems to be the same for him." Fandral said, gesturing over at Loki, who was standing farther out in the field "You're quite liberal with his bounds."

"Heimdall is keeping watch." Thor responded.

"Prison didn't treat him well." Hogun observed.

"Yes, I haven't seen him so down before. Granted, he was always the quieter one. Until it came to practical jokes." Fandral added.

Thor stared after Loki and let out a deep breath "That's not all that's troubling him."

With that, he set his hammer down and stepped down off the porch to start walking across the field.

They all stared after him silently. Only when he was out of earshot did they speak.

Sif shook her head "Thor pities him."

"No he doesn't." Volstagg said with a bit of abruptness "He loves him. Thor still cares for his younger brother."

"Do you not?" Hogan asked, turning his head to look at him.

Volstagg sighed "I try not too." He looked after the God of Thunder "And right now I'm debating on whether Loki actually loves Thor."

"We shouldn't care for a traitor." Sif replied.

"Sif." Fandral said "Loki was our friend too. He saved our lives many times and we saved his. Surely you haven't forgotten that."

"He betrayed Asgard." Sif replied, with a bit of annoyance "And tried to kill us!"

The group was silent for a second as they remembered the horrible fight between them and the Destroyer.

"Loki always felt less than Thor." Hogun said, his voice calm and serious "You know he craved Odin's pride more than anything else. He said so himself."

"Odin never treated him as inferior to Thor." Sif said.

"I always thought it was obvious that Odin favored Thor." Fandral said with a small shrug "But Frigga spent more time with Loki."

"He was raised with the idea that he was merely second choice to be king." Hogan said.

Sif didn't reply after that, looking at the ground thoughtfully.

Volstagg glanced at her "We're not saying Loki doesn't deserve his punishment. After what he did on Earth, I would have imprisoned him too."

"They're coming back." Fandral said, warning him to stop the conversation.

Thor led the way with Loki following him, expression impressive. Instead of stopping to chat with the others, Thor intended to go right back into the house, but a loud rumble behind them stopped him in his tracks.

The Bifrost had landed another person on Earth. He stood erect and with fierce pride. The warriors all took a few steps forward and dropped to one knee, arm crossed against their chest.

Captain America appeared in the doorway, having heard the noise. Thor and Loki stared at Odin in surprise, mouths open. Thor then copied the other Asgardians in the respectful motion. Loki almost seemed to consider doing the same, but decided against it. He kept his eyes away from Odin even as they stood up.

The king of Asgard walked forward, Gungnir grasped in his left hand.

"Father." Thor said, walking towards him. Loki hung back by the house, chin raised a bit.

"Jotunheim has invaded Earth." Odin said, observing the still melting ice around them.

"A portal was opened for a time and they did attack." Thor replied, falling in step with his father as they walked towards the house.

"Father, why have you come here?" Thor asked. He was greatly worried that this meant Odin was having another unreasonable phase.

"I wish to have words with the protectors of Midgard." Odin responded.

Captain America and Tony both watched with a little bit of foreboding.

Odin nodded slightly at them as he passed. He didn't greet Loki at all. The king stopped in the living room, facing all of the Avengers. Loki and the other warriors came inside, all watching him expectantly.

"I am Odin, King of Asgard, Allfather of the nine realms." he said, surveying them.

"Well, welcome." Tony said, holding out his hands slightly.

"You have Asgard's thanks for defending this realm. Frost giants were never meant to come here again." Odin continued, only slightly acknowledging Tony's greeting.

"Thor." Odin said, looking at his eldest son "What do we know about this trespassing?"

Thor almost glanced at Loki, but decided it was best if he explained instead.

"The Jotuns are entering through portals created by another being. These portals change position, so we cannot find where they are until they are open."

"Are the Jotuns able to control the portals?" Odin asked "If so, this realm could be in very great danger."

"When they came, it did not appear that they could choose when it opened or closed. It closed before others had entered." Thor responded.

"Good." Odin replied. He looked at Captain America, assuming him to be the leader of the group.

"Does the rest of Midgard know about these invasions?" he asked.

Captain America hesitated a moment before speaking.

"No. We don't want to cause panic when we might be able to stop the attack before it happens." he said. Odin nodded, seeming to accept the answer.

"Thor, you mentioned that there are beings behind the opening of the portals. Why would they target Midgard of all places?" he asked, looking at the other Asgardians.

"This realm is by far the most vunerable." Volstagg said.

"Not anymore." Odin replied, shifting his staff.

"Then why are you here?" Captain America asked, tilting his head a bit.

Odin returned Captain America's look "As protector of the nine realms, it is my right to interfere. I came to find if you had found a way to prevent another attack like this from happening."

"There isn't a way." Loki said from behind him. The king turned around to look at his former son. The hidden Jotun looked back at him, holding his gaze boldly. Thor looked in between them.

"What do you mean there's not a way?" Odin asked "There has to be a way or the nine realms are finished."

"We cannot track where the portals are until they are already opening." Loki replied.

"You mean you can't." Odin said "Since no one else seems to be able to identify a pathway at all."

Loki said nothing in reply to that until Thor spoke.

"We believe that they want Loki's scepter." he said. Volstagg looked at the other warriors with a scowl.

"The one that remains on Earth?" Odin asked.

"It's not a weapon that should be taken lightly. Many beings would kill if necessary to get it." Loki said.

Odin turned fully to face him "Is that why it was left?"

Loki narrowed his eyes "I wouldn't exactly have been able to collect it."

Odin continued to look at him, eyes serious "That was not a denial."

"No." Loki replied.

"Loki, I can recall the first time Jotuns crossed realms boundaries unexplained." Odin went on "Heimdall couldn't see it then either."

"Couldn't he?" the former prince asked, although his voice was quiet "I'm sorry, that must have been a mistake on my part."

Odin tilted his head warningly.

"Don't let your wit be the cause for your return to Asgard. How can you expect us believe it is not you opening these portals to allow the frost giants in?" he asked "After all, you have done it before."

Loki waited in silence for a moment, gaze not wavering. Then he opened his mouth to respond, but the king spoke first.

"Do not deny that." he said. Thor winced. His father was a rational, calm man normally, but he'd become sharper at times after Frigga's passing. The God of Thunder had faced that several times these past months.

Odin gave a small glare at his adopted son.

"Loki, you are a traitor and a prisoner of Asgard. Because of that, you should know you are beneath any of the mortals here. You renounced your right to your place and status a long time ago." Odin said, his voice unexpectedly cold. He looked at Thor momentarily before returning his burning gaze back to Loki "I do not want to hear from you that these attacks cannot be prevented. Rest assured, any attack can and will be, with or without you. We have done as well without your skills at this point. You know as well as I do that the only reason you are alive is because of Frigga. She was rewarded for her charity by her own untimely death. As our law declares, you should have died for your crimes, but were saved by the queen who was then killed protecting her kingdom. The man she welcomed as her own son couldn't even be there to defend her like he should have been. It is fitting to say that your life is now a disgrace to hers." Odin's words were filled with bitterness and grief disguised as anger "Loki- Laufey's son-you had better learn to be lonely because I intend to carry out what Frigga wished."

Thor pulled his head back, shocked at the name that had just been used.

"She permitted you the comfort of a prince, but I feel this should not be continued. Clearly, it has maintained your arrogant and foolish character." Odin growled.

"Father, not now." Thor interrupted, knowing this could very well bring chastisement upon himself. But he didn't want Odin to spit out punishments while he was like this. The words seemed to bring the king out of his anger and back to reality. The staff moved in his hand slightly and the heat still rested in his eyes.

Loki stared at his adopted father, having not moved an inch. His face was hard, as if immune to the harsh words, but if one took a deeper look, his eyes showed differently. Everyone else in the room was silent, eyes lowered to the ground or on one another. It seemed to stretch out for several minutes.

"Thor, come with me." Odin said, picking up Gungnir.

Thor glanced at Loki for a second, but his brother was looking down now, lips pursed slightly. He hadn't defended himself. After a moment, the God of Thunder followed his father outside.

Loki remained where he stood and silence hung in the room until it was broken by Sif.

"You're Laufey's son?" she asked breathily, eyes slightly wide.

Loki glanced swiftly at her, face enraged. Each one of the warriors were looking at him with a look of horror on their faces. After a moment, without saying anything, he turned to walk out of the room.

"Who is Laufey?" Captain America asked, watching him leave.

Sif waited until Loki was gone before replying.

"He was the king of Jotunheim."

The warriors knew Odin's outburst was due to his grief for the lost queen, but they had yet to see him lash out quite so darkly. Thor on the other hand, had been dealing with this since Frigga's death. It occurred less now, luckily. But Thor had no way of explaining any of that to Loki.

After the king and Prince had spoken, Odin had returned to Asgard. It still wasn't clear why he'd come to speak with them. Most likely because in the past, Asgard had been the one to defend Earth from the Jotuns, but now that the Avengers here, it was no longer the case. But that was unlike Odin in many respects.

The lighthearted mood of the warriors had vanished and there was a sober atmosphere among them all. Volstagg and Fandral were both very quiet for them, seeming to be thinking about something. Laura had listened to the whole thing from upstairs and had only come down a little while ago to get the general opinion about dinner. Eventually, she had decided to make it for the solemn group. Even Tony seemed to be rather taken aback. The God of Michief had gone outside earlier and had yet to come back in again.

Even as it got later into the night, Loki stayed outside. Thor watched him from the porch, face grieved. A few of the others looked out every so often as well, but not to check that he was still there. The Jotun stood near a crackling fire, facing the trees beyond, as unmoving as ever.

Loki fingered a healing scratch on his hand absentmindedly. Behind him were the lit up windows from the house, but if he just looked forward and listened to the fire, it was almost as if he were back in Asgard, staring off his balcony. Creatures flew above the treetops, wings fluttering so wildly they could have only been bats. The stars were slightly brighter tonight than they had been the previous, having been cleared of any clouds. Loki could see his breath when he exhaled.

The moon was reaching its fullest point, although it still had several days to go. It didn't offer much light for the forest ahead, which was pitch black.

He could hear someone approaching long before they got close. He glanced back, eyebrows going up a little bit.

Laura walked forward, a plate of food in her hand.

"I brought you this." she said, her voice a tiny bit uneasy "In case you wanted something."

Loki just have her a small nod and resumed his watch. Laura set it down on a log next to the fire and hesitated a moment before speaking again.

"I'm sorry about what he said to you." she said, eyes reflecting the flame of the fire. She rubbed her hand uncomfortably. Loki looked back as she continued.

"I don't think a father should ever speak that way to his son. You're still family. No matter what's happened."

Loki's eyes flicked away briefly before he focused on her again.

"Thank you. Laura." he replied evenly.

She nodded at him, eyes a tiny bit watery, surprisingly. He turned back to the wall of darkness without another word.

As she walked back to the house, the other warriors had joined Thor on the porch. Even Sif, whose heart was usually as hard as her face, seemed to realize that she couldn't turn her cheek away this time. For the first time, Loki just seemed sad.

"Odin didn't really mean it." Volstagg said, quietly "At least, most of it."

Thor didn't know what to say in reply, so he didn't do anything but look over at his friends.

When he turned his gaze back to his brother, there was now another figure standing beside him. Thor's brow furrowed and he took a few steps closer. It was a woman, white and transparent. One that he recognized. Tenderly, it appeared to be stroking Loki's hair with a light hand.

Thor took in a deep breath and swallowed. He didn't know whether his younger brother was aware of their mother's presence, but if he was, he gave no sign of it.

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