The Walls Between Us

by pietoraven36

The borders between the realms are becoming less reliable and Thor is trying to prevent any invasions from happening. Loki is in prison and the Avengers have assembled to prevent attacks. Unfortunately, familial conflict and unknown realms cause trouble. This story is mostly based on Thor and Loki. Please read, review, and enjoy.

43. A Law Overturned

Hello, my readers! This is one of my most favorite chapters I have ever written and I really hope you can appreciate it. Hopefully, it is not TOO quickly paced. This is only about half of what is to come :)

"What was Mazi doing when you left her?" the guard asked, looking down at Cooper intently.
Laura leaned to look at his face. His eyes flicked back and forth, unsure how to answer the stoic man asking the questions.

"Cooper, when you left the field, Mazi was still there, right?" she asked him, putting two hands on his shoulders.

Cooper hesitated a moment before nodding.

"Did she say she was leaving after you?" the soldier continued, although he seemed to have noticed the boy's nervousness and softened his tone a bit.

Svleiva had asked him to speak with the mortal child after her conversation with her husband. Even though Valder assured her that Mazi was in Adden's hands, she was worried her daughter may have left the pastures before they reached her. If that was indicated by what Cooper said at all, the guard had orders to go and track down Adden. Without Valder's permission.

"She said..." Hawkeye's son was clearly trying to think back, eyebrows in a thoughtful scowl "She said she wanted to ride the horses. I think she was going to ask one of..." he looked briefly at the guard. Wearing the same armor made them all look identical "...you guys to help her."

The man glanced up at Laura for a moment.

"That means she should have still been there." he concluded "You didn't watch her leave?"

"No." Cooper said and his mother consolingly brought him closer from behind "She was still sitting on the fence when I left."

---

"Where are the others?" Mazi asked curiously.

Without any idea that she was missing in the eyes of her parents, she was being escorted through the palace by Adden and two other men rather quickly. She could tell just from their expressions that something was wrong.

"We have enemies trying to invade Anaheim." Adden responded "Your parents are getting ready to face them."

"Are we going to them?" Mazi asked, sounding nervous now "We are going the wrong way for that."

"I'm taking you the long way." Adden responded "I don't want to risk us running into anyone."

"Are the guards fighting?" Mazi looked around, almost as if she expected monsters to start attacking from all sides.

"Yes." Adden put a finger to his lips "Now, let's be quieter. We do not want to let anyone know we're here."

Mazi fell silent at his words. The men surrounded her on either side, eyes very vigilant for any sign of moment.

"Are you sure we shouldn't take her straight to the safehouse with the other children?" one of them asked Adden quietly.

Their leader shook his head "No, Valder told me to bring her to him. And we can't risk leading any stray invaders to the others."

Mazi leaned around the men to peer down the long hall. That way led to the front entrance of the palace, but they were heading to the southern exit. They could most likely get out unnoticed that way, but that also meant that they had farther to travel to get to the king and queen.

"We don't have the numbers Adden." the same guard continued talking in his hushed tone "We need to get her somewhere safer. They'll be overrun."

"We'll do what they told us to do." Adden responded "Valder has other tactics in place. Our job is to keep Mazi safe right now. Not question the king's actions."

The man blinked, almost as if surprised. Then he just nodded. Adden rarely got so stern, but he imagined that the stress of the invasion was weighing on his mind just like all the others. He knew that Anaheim would not stand a chance if numbers were the only thing that mattered in battle.

"Is Hena with my mom and dad?" Mazi asked, keeping her voice just slightly quieter than normal.

"Yes. She's going to fight as well." Adden replied.

"Is everyone fighting? Is that why all of the alarms were ringing?" Mazi asked with wide eyes.

"There is a battle going on, yes." Adden said steadily "We're going to get you to your parents. Then we will decide if we take you to stay with the other children."

---

Captain America slammed his shield straight down on one of the Outriders that was sprinting right at him. In just a few seconds, he smacked another one away on his other side. These creatures were not hard to stun, kill, or toss out of the way, but they quickly became deadly when too many of them attacked at once. If their numbers were not held at bay, everyone who was caught in the middle would be quite literally trampled. Loki's advice to withhold mercy was certainly paying off now.

Thor alone was able to hold off the most at once, but he absolutely hated not having his hammer. It made every action he did just that much harder. Hena was using her power to enhance his own while she fought and he was capitalizing on that to its fullest potential. He almost seemed to have lightening pulsing at the tips of his fingers occasionally.

The Anaheimien soldiers were more prepared for this type of fighting than anyone would have guessed. They were outnumbered, but Thanos' weakminded followers were very outskilled.

And, for now, they were winning.

The Warriors stayed relatively close to each other. That was the way they had always trained and that is how they continued to fight to this day. They knew each other's techniques all too well. The Chitari didn't have their own individual motives, so they were predictable and easy to defeat. Thanos knew this. Therefore, he simply sent them in large quantities.

The only advantage Black Widow and Hawkeye had was the fact that they had fought these creatures before.

Along with that, Tony was much more helpful now that he had his suit back. In fact, he wasn't actually engaging in the fighting. Valder and Odin had given him the task of flying overhead to warn them of other incoming danger. When the Anaheimien soldiers had gotten their things that Thanos had stolen, he'd had their earpiece radios among his things. All of the mortals were connected, which helped to speed along any relay of information.

"You don't suppose that they'll send in any of those massive Chitari, do you?" Black Widow asked, using a long spear dropped by one of Thanos' warriors to flip an Outrider onto it's back and give it a quick death.

"I feel like I destroyed those all when I nuked their place." Tony said "Although, I thought I killed all the Chitari too. Apparently they had plenty more where the others came from."

"Hena and Thor seem to make a good team. They could probably take one down by themselves." Hawkeye said, doing a double take at the royal children fighting together.

"I mean, I took one down in about ten seconds, but I think that would be my limit." Tony replied.

"We might want to avoid that this time." Jarvis informed him, his computer automated voice reflecting the most concern it could.

"Do you not understand what fun is, Jarvis?" Tony asked lightly "Last time I flew into space okay? There are only so many experiences a human gets to have."

"If those things come now, we're going to lose a lot more men." Captain America sounded bleak. Just like they had on Earth.

"Do we have any word on the dead ancestors yet?" Tony asked "That would really help our chances of...living."

"Let them worry about that. You just need to let us know what Thanos is doing over there."

"Yes, Captain. I'd give you a salute, but I think that might distract me." Tony replied sarcastically. He began to fly a bit closer to the opposite side, eyes following every movement on his screen.

Black Widow grunted as one of the creatures tackled her to the ground. She jammed one of her hand tasers into its neck just as it began biting towards her face. The Outrider convulsed and fell sideways to the ground. It was still alive, but Black Widow let it be as she attempted to stand up. Her being on the ground had attracted a lot of attention. More of the Chitari were there in a second, raising their guns to fire at her.

But Hawkeye had also seen. It only took one explosive arrow to send the group flying in all directions. Then, he trotted over to her swiftly.

"Might want to stay on your feet, Nat. These things aren't playing." he said with a wry smile.

"I thought that's what WE were doing. Boy am I in the wrong place." she replied with a few deep breaths. Her lip was bleeding, but she didn't look to be hurt more than that.

"We always seem to end up in the middle of things." Hawkeye muttered.

"Well." Black Widow shrugged "I mean, we did accept this opportunity. It was in the job description."

"In the fine print that no one cares about." Hawkeye replied with a nod.

"I think I'll resign after today. Hopefully with all of my limbs. And face." Black Widow added.

"God knows you shouldn't replace your face." Tony mused into their ears.

He flew over Hena on his way out, briefly distracting her from her observation of the fighting.

"Do we want the scepter?" she asked, breathing hard as she turned her eyes to Thor. She blinked as she watched him throw one of the aliens to the side as if it were a toy.

"Only Loki knew how to properly use it." he growled, shaking out his arm "We would waste time trying to do it ourselves."

"Better in our hands than in theirs." Hena pointed out. She readjusted her grip on her knife, making Thor realize how similarly her and Loki held their weapons. He wondered if it has always been that way or if she had just picked it up from his brother.

"This is your realm." he replied "You don't need to ask me."

"You have the advantage over me in fighting battles." Hena responded honestly.

"Do you see Red Skull?" Thor asked, following her gaze intently. He hadn't seen the mutant since the start of the battle, but he would be more than happy to cross paths.

Unfortunately, the princess shook her head. Thor exhaled, jaw shifting as he walked forward towards the upcoming wave of Outriders.

---

Thanos clenched his fist and the purple stone in his gauntlet glowed brighter still. He narrowed his eyes in satisfaction. The portal was still maintaining its stability quite well. He'd prepared for this upkeep of power through numerous tests already, but being forced barricade Asgard's leaders on Anaheim had hindered their own traveling abilities. And, losing their opening was a literal guarantee that they would lose the actual fight.

The portal suddenly expanded from the surge of energy that emitted from the Infinity Stone. More and more of his Chitari were able to come through at once. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to bring the ships carrying them. Large inanimate objects were near impossible to transport without the Tesseract. Which, thanks to the dead God of Mischief, was clear across space in Asgard. Once this was over, Thanos fully intended to retrieve it and pay a visit to Loki in Helheim. The God's suffering was sure to be continuing there, but he wanted to make it slightly more personal.

"When and if you would like to enter the battle, I will gladly take your place in making sure our troops can enter this realm " Red Skull spoke from his side. They both glanced towards each other at the same time. But, Thanos' gaze was slightly more cold.

"No. I will remain in control of the gauntlet." he said in response. Then he looked away.

Red Skull didn't remove his gaze for a second. The moment he'd met Thanos, the Titan had both needed and wanted him. But, he'd never quite been able to get onto his good side like Loki had. Being from Midgard, he had little to offer when compared to a former Prince of Asgard. One of the reasons he'd hated Loki so much.

"Shall I leave then?" he asked, still waiting for a little bit more of a reaction.

Thanos glanced down again and then shook his head.

"No, stay here. I'd like you to take control of Thor when we get the chance." he smiled slightly. While that wasn't necessary, it was certainly an appealing idea. If they could just take the leaders of the other side one by one, the war would be over in a matter of hours.

---

A long blast from Gungnir immediately obliterated the group of Chitari gathering at the edge of their bunker. Odin lowered his staff, eyes narrowed. Not many of them were attempting to attack the leaders directly, but any that did were killed on sight.

Behind the Asgardian king, Svleiva was waiting anxiously for Valder to return. He'd left to join his daughter in fighting, but he had told his wife he wouldn't be gone for long.

Frigga was dutifully standing by for word from Valhalla and Odin remained with her. His days of direct combat were largely behind him, but he intended to join the soldiers when Valder returned. His queen would disapprove, he knew.

"Can you see Hena?" Svleiva spoke to the pair of them. It was the first time she had spoken since her husband left.

"Yes, she is with Thor." Odin was the one to respond to her "Valder hasn't reached her yet, but he is near."

"Thor will protect her." Frigga assured the queen. Even before his maturation on Earth, her son had been a fierce defender of those he fought beside. He and Hena had clearly formed a very close bond within the last few weeks.

"And she him, I hope. She should be able to magnify his strength. That will help." Svleiva responded. She exhaled and fell silent.

Neither of them had their younger children there. It was an incredibly sobering thought.

There was a call from down the slope and Hawkeye came trotting up. He had a few deep cuts that were bleeding, namely one across his forehead and lower left arm. But, other than that, he just looked winded.

"Thor and Hena wanted to know if you wanted us to go after the scepter." he said, taking in a few deep breaths "Red Skull...Red Skull has it."

"Not unless the opportunity arises." Odin responded, eyeing the mortal warily "No one should approach him on a whim."

Hawkeye nodded before turning his attention to the queen of Anaheim.

"Have Chitari been trying to get to the women and children?" he asked, revealing the true reason behind his return.

Svleiva tilted her head slightly "No, there has not been any attack there. Why? Have you seen them approaching there?"

"I saw some heading in that direction. Thanos wouldn't know that's where they are, would they?"

"He should not. Unless there is a fresh traitor in our ranks. Your children are safe." Svleiva assured him "But, you are injured. Let our healers help you before you return."

"I'm fine." Hawkeye turned it down with a shake of his head "I've fought a lot longer before without medical attention."

"Young man, you're a mortal. You will not last as long against these creatures." Frigga spoke now, although Svleiva nodded along with her.

"I've fought the Chitari before." Hawkeye reminded them, trying very hard not to bite back at the fact that she called him 'young man.'

"Yes and nearly died when you fought a Jotun. There will be more than the Chitari, I can assure you." Odin said firmly. He inclined Gungnir after his words.

Hawkeye scowled, completely ready to object again, but more of the Outriders were beginning to break their line. They were immediately halted, but he didn't like the idea of them getting so close to women and children hidden farther back. He was closer to them here.
So, he just nodded and let the Anaheimien maids pull him to the side and tend to him.

---

Hena took a few steps back from the fighting, trying to catch her breath. She was absolutely glistening with sweat. There were no breaks when they came into the thick of their enemies. She drew in a few deep heaves. She could keep fighting, but she hated the emotional toll that killing other beings took on her. While these beings weren't very sentient, they could feel pain and she didn't enjoy causing that.

She only had a few moments before one of them noticed her standing on the sidelines and immediately came for her. She kicked at it, but its staff sliced across her upper arm and she gasped. With two well-aimed strikes, she took its life and it fell to the ground. Gratefully, her blade didn't hold any blood on it, even when there were multiple killings in a row.

Hena put one hand on her forehead and let out a quiet sob. She wiped away the sweat, leaving a red streak behind.

"Hena." Thor slowly backed up until he was next to her, eyes flicking across the battle to make sure they were safe for a moment.

"Are you alright?" he asked, finally taking in her expression.

With a loud exhale, Hena nodded, getting ahold of herself.

"I just need a moment."

"You don't need to stay here." Thor told her, raising his arm protectively as another Outrider appeared to be running towards them.

"I need to be here more than anyone else. Thanos took away something I'll never be able to get back." Hena said, straightening herself.

"Then, at least go closer to your parents." Thor grabbed the creature to stop it and then twisted its neck to the right.

"No. I'll stay." she responded as it fell. The God of Thunder glanced her way with a concerned furrow of his eyebrows. She knew what he wasn't saying and she appreciated his worry for her. It was heartwarming to feel that he would protect her in Loki's absence, but that's not what she wanted. Not from him.

"There has to be a better way of stopping them all. We can't kill all of them one by one." she said, stating the truth even though she knew he also knew it.

"We'll find another way. If we can get my hammer, I'll be able to help much more." Thor told her. His eyes lifted to something behind her and Hena turned around.

Valder walked over to them and took his daughter in a light embrace. She hugged him back, immediately letting out a breath of relief. Then she pulled back.

"What's happening? Is everything okay back there?"

The king nodded "Yes, it's alright. We're handling them well for now."

"Any sign of Mazi?" Hena asked, sounding hopeful.

But, her father just shook his head worriedly "No, not yet."

"We'll keep watch for her." Thor assured him. Valder nodded gratefully.

"Are we going to lose this?" Hena asked her father honestly. She stared at him, wanting to hear what he actually thought. He always did his best to reassure his wife and children, but that wasn't what needed to happen now.

Valder hesitated for several moments, face creased with concern.

"Hena, if Thanos has the amount of followers that Loki claimed he did, we can't hope to defeat him without gaining some sort of an advantage. Odin and I have a plan, but this battle is not in our favor."

"I'll fight to the death." Hena said adamantly "He will not get to use me for his brutal conquests."

"No, he will not. But if that moment comes, I want you to leave. Your mother will take you across our border."

"I'm not going to run. Do you realize how terrible a life that would be? I refuse to let Thanos make me live my life in fear. I would sooner join Valhalla."

"We'll stop him." Valder said softly, although he wasn't at all confident.

"Or I will die trying." Hena replied, leaving little room for argument.

Thor didn't join the conversation, but, like Valder, he knew he wasn't going to allow the princess to get killed before he did.

The king moved protectively in front of her at the screech of a Chitari, but nothing was coming. Thor and Hena didn't react; they'd grown accustomed to the sound.

"The second group just went out." Valder slowly dragged his gaze away to look back at his daughter "We're pulling back the first. Both of you need to come in as well."

"What have my parents said?" Thor asked.

"Your mother is still communicating with Valhalla, but it will take time. Thanos is using the power he used to open the borders for other purposes now." Valder shook his head slightly "We can't afford to have our soldiers deplete themselves. Come in and then you'll be of more use."

"I need to get my mortal friends." Thor responded, but again the king shook his head.

"No, I have others sent to tell them."

Thor hesitated before nodding. As soon as the group moved, more of the Outriders followed.

---

Hawkeye released an arrow and immediately reached for another one in his quiver. His eyes narrowed as he moved his aim along with his target. A lot of the creatures appeared to be heading towards the safehouse, but they weren't showing any sign that it was their intended destination. He didn't want to give away the fact that he was protecting something in particular, so he kept his focus on the ones coming rather than the ones closest.

Svleiva had been extremely confident in his family's safety, which made him wonder if there was some sort of magic defending their hiding place. It wouldn't surprise him. Either way though, none of the kings and queens had objected to his staying behind to put his mind at ease.

"Is everything alright?" Frigga asked, examining her husband's face carefully. It had changed from the constant concern to one of deep contemplation.

Odin pressed his lips together briefly, unsure of what to say.

"Asgard is riled. Something has disturbed our realm."

Frigga drew in a deep breath. Being appointed king had made his ability to sense danger on Asgard quite powerful. That sensitivity had likely been diminished here on Anaheim, but she didn't doubt what he felt.

"What can you tell?" she questioned.

"Very little. But I am afraid that Thanos has sent more to attack there."

Frigga frowned "Heimdall would have warned them."

Odin's fingers tightened on Gungnir "We've learned that this is not always the case. He cannot see what Thanos doesn't allow him to. If our borders were weakened without my knowing, our enemies would have had simple access."

"Perhaps it is best that his army is divided." Frigga pointed out, although this didn't reflect her worry.

Odin did not respond verbally, but he nodded lightly. Unfortunately, they didn't have time to be worried about Asgard at the moment. Their realm would have to make due without their leaders for now.

---

Both Hena and Valder tried to reach out to Mazi with their minds as they made their way back to Svleiva. The block on the girl's power had been for her protection, but the king was regretting it now. Still, there was a chance that they could break through. Mazi had a habit of doing that.

Thor's eyes narrowed as he watched one creature in particular sprint in front of them. It didn't quite look like a fully developed Chitari, but it wasn't an Outrider either. He was starting to see more and more of them on the battlefield, which he took as a very bad sign. Thanos could simply be holding back a different group of these animals. Playing with the Anaheimien army until they wore themselves out. He stretched out his fingers, jaw clenching as he strained for his hammer.

"Hand exercises?" Tony's voice echoed over his suit. Thor looked up as his friend came to a landing beside him.

"What is Thanos doing?" he asked, closing his fist slightly. They hadn't seen each other for a while and the way Tony had approached made him concerned.

"Letting more and more in. Some big, some small, but there's certainly room for all." Tony responded, waving a hand towards the field.

"There has to be a way to close it." Valder said, eyeing the mortal with a smallest hint of annoyance "Or at least reduce its size."

"We have done that before, oddly enough. If only this were the Tesseract holding it open. Just poke it with the scepter, take a nuke out to space, and the battle is won." Tony shrugged. He retracted his helmet, eyes on Thor.

"Is Red Skull with Thanos?" the God asked, sounding very discouraged already.

"Last I saw, yes."

"Keep an eye on him. We may want to try getting the scepter from them." Valder broke in.

"I can do anything you want me to do, but I don't think we're really making any progress here. They're gaining ground every few seconds." Tony replied. He turned sharply around at a loud growl, but realized it wasn't for them.

"Hena, we need to get you back to your mother. Together, you and her may be able to help Frigga to allow Valhalla in. They know we could use the help." Valder reached out a hand towards his daughter to continue guiding her back.

Tony opened a palm and sent a long laser into several approaching Chitari.

"Well." he said with a grunt as he took off again "I'll try and keep 'em off your tail. Send up some lightening if you need help. I shan't be far away."

Thor glanced after him as he walked. In the end, he was grateful for his friends. But he didn't want them to be here. He'd dragged them into this. Something that had nothing to do with their world.

"Thanos would have gotten to them in time. Whether they were here with you or not." Hena said back at him. She beckoned him along with them. More of the creatures were heading towards them now. Tony couldn't hold them all off.

They were only about one hundred yards from Odin and Frigga when they were cut off entirely. Thor was knocked over entirely as an Outrider came at him from the side. He literally wrestled with it for several seconds, preventing its claws from ripping into him. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Valder and Hena were in trouble as well. There were no Anaheimien soliders around to help. They were all deeper in the battlefield.

Another one joined the creature already attacking Thor and for a moment, he was completely pinned down. They were snarling as they ruthlessly tried to give a lethal blow.

The thought of that reminded him suddenly of both Loki and Odin's advice for fighting. With a sudden surge of energy, he threw himself forward and both of the Outriders off of him.
He looked over at Hena and Valder and found that the princess was staring back at him. It was only for a moment, as she had her own battle to fight. She couldn't use her powers for herself, so she had used it for him.

He immediately headed over to them, but several Chitari were approaching and firing their weapons at all of them. He'd already been struck by a blast once before and wasn't looking to repeat it. If he could throw an illusion right now, he absolutely would. But, he'd never learned to do so.

Thor leapt to the right to avoid the oncoming spray of fire. There was debris that he could partly get behind, at least until he got his bearings. Dirt flew above and onto him as he got back to his feet.

Fortunately, a small group of soldiers had made their way over to engage with the Chitari. He watched as they turned around to follow the men, taking in quick breaths.

There was a faint roaring in the distance and his shoulders sank in absolute dread and terror. There was no way they would be able to fight off yet another army. He was already exhausted. Everyone was getting weaker. That sound meant the battle was far from over now.

The roar came again. This time it sounded much closer and he turned forebodingly.

Hena suddenly gasped and lifted her hands to her temples as if an overwhelming surge of power hit her. Her and Valder had fought off the ones attacking them and had both been standing in the same anticipation as he had.
As the creatures appeared over the top of the hill, Thor's eyes shot open in disbelief.

The Frost Giants he had heard were lined up across the ridge, but so was the whole Asgardian army. Heimdall stood with a Frost Giant at the lead of them. But Thor's heart nearly skipped a beat as he realized that this Frost Giant was half the size of the others and wore Asgardian armor.

The Jotuns let out another battle cry, this time joined by the Aesir as they looked at the war in front of them.

Odin stared incredulously. Thor couldn't remember ever seeing his father in such complete shock.

Loki motioned his warriors forward with a flick of his hand. Frost Giants descended like a wave into the fighting grounds without hesitation. Hawkeye stepped back from them, an arrow drawn protectively. They rushed past the kings and queens and launched themselves at any Chitari they could see. The overwhelming assistance to the Anaheimien soldiers sent the frontline of the battle at least a couple hundred yards forward.

Heimdall and Loki walked down the hill towards the others and Hawkeye lowered his bow to peer at them. Hena immediately rushed over.

"Loki, oh my god!" she said with the same expression as Thor. But the God of Mischief stepped back quickly.

"Careful." he warned "I cannot touch you yet."

Hena looked at his blue skin briefly before raising her eyes to his face and he stared right back.

"I lost the bond. I thought you were dead...how are you alive?" she sounded so rattled, her voice was barely audible.

"People have a habit of burying me before I'm dead." he replied simply, turning to Valder, Svleiva, and Odin. Two Frost Giants remained nearby, eyes on Loki.

Heimdall approached his king, wielding a different sword than the one he used to open the Bifrost.

Odin looked on his lead soldier.

"Get the men into battle." he said "Now."

The man nodded and waved a hand to the massive group behind him. The Jotuns were still racing over the hillside with no signs of stopping. Ice had formed over that portion of the grass, giving them the terrain they were used too.

Captain America, who had been relieved of the incessant fighting just like Thor, walked over to see them. He breathed heavily, sweat glistening on his face as he just gaped.

"How did you open the Bifrost to Anaheim?" Odin demanded, skipping any greetings between him and his watchman.

"The council granted me permission, my king." Heimdall responded, although he had more to say than that.

"But, how did you come to know we were here?" Thor asked before turning to his brother in relief "You...they didn't kill you."

"No. They found that I was a Frost Giant and that was reason enough to leave me alive until I woke up to explain." Loki responded.

"Red Skull said he was going to tell them everything." Thor replied.

"I have no idea whether he did or not." Loki said, eyebrows going up. His red eyes didn't waver "They weren't friendly. But I revealed my true identity to them. Otherwise, they may very well have killed me. They don't care whether I have lived in their realm or not. Blood is the only thing that matters in their eyes."

There was sudden triumphant and jubilant uproar from the battleground. The Anaheimien army raised their weapons with yells of elation as the other realms joined them in the fight.
Valder smiled as he watched his men in their absolute relief.

From the other side of the courtyard, they could now see Thanos trying to understand exactly what was happening. He sent more of his creatures forward, eyes narrowed angrily.

"Loki told us you would be here." Heimdall said "Otherwise, I doubt we would have ever suspected."

"How did you return to Asgard?" Odin asked, now looking at Loki.

"I used the pathway connecting Jotunheim and Asgard. Fortunately, I knew right where that one was." Loki replied, without any hesitation "Asgardian guards found me and I asked them to take me to Heimdall." he let out a faint laugh "They were harder to convince than the Jotuns. I quite literally had to get on my knees to beg. That persuaded them to at least take me to the council and I conceded to that. Once I explained, they took me to Heimdall to confirm it. Then, I briefly managed remove the shield from his eyes and he was able to see exactly what was happening on Anaheim."

"And they overturned the law." Odin deduced with a raise on his chin in realization.

"Yes. I essentially...convinced the council to overthrow you." Loki said off-handedly with a shrug and glance away. The king's mouth curved up ever so slightly.

"Heimdall brought Jotunheim to Asgard and then sent us here." Loki continued. He glanced at Hena "I had to sever our connection, though I knew what it would imply had happened to me. It took too much to maintain it."

"But, breaking it would have been much harder. Could have killed you!" Hena exclaimed sharply.

"Yes, and it took most of what I had left. It was a risk." Loki conceded "But, then I was able to use that power to try and recover." he looked down at his icy blue hand "I suspect being in my true form helped."

Thor watched as Hena again swept her eyes over his brother, but they didn't show any unease. It was hard not to express his relief at her indifference aloud. Loki looked very different as a Frost Giant. Though his face was still recognizable, his eyes were red as blood and distinct marks lined his forehead.

"Thank you for bringing them." Svleiva spoke with heavy emotion in her voice. Relief, but still fear.

"Do you have a plan?" Valder asked.

"No." Loki responded, with a small mischievous narrow of his eyes as he turned back to the battlefield "But I have theirs." he held out a hand.

"Odin, if you would."

Thor blinked in brief confusion and unintentionally held his next breath.

Odin stared at Loki, although the Jotun was not looking back. Then, he raised a hand and definitively place it on his son's outstretched arm. The blue slowly began to leave Loki's hand and then traveled across his face until he appeared fully Aesir.

Odin almost seemed to hesitate before letting go, but as soon as he did, Hena reached to embrace Loki. He hugged her back with one arm, but as he did, Thor realized that his brother was nowhere near healed.

He still had the horrible burns all over his skin. They showed blue now that his skin was light and they looked very raw and painful. The cuts and bruises were still there and The God of Thunder suddenly realized that the second son of Odin may not be as fit for battle as he acted.

"Now. We need the get the scepter from Red Skull. Whoever controls that, controls the Chitari." Loki said as he released Hena. Suddenly, he faltered, voice catching in his throat as he took a step back.

Frigga had finally stepped into view.

Loki just stared, not one word coming to his mouth. In fact, he almost looked fearful. But her gaze held nothing but adoration for him.

"Hold fast, my son. We will have time to talk after." she said gently "There is a battle to fight for now."

For several long moments, he still did not move. Then he nodded affirmatively and looked back at the fighting. The war was much more in their favor now. From Thanos' intent observance, that might not be the case for long. More Chitari were approaching by the minute.

The Frost Giants fought with less unity than the other two realms there, but they also approached the enemies with less hesitation.

The group's attention was shifted to the Anaheimien guards stationed nearby that had left their post and were approaching Valder.

"They're sending forces into the palace." the first one said to his king. His worried expression showed that he clearly wanting to do something about this.

"Good." Valder said "Keep their attention there rather than on the common homes."

The soldier let out a deep breath before withdrawing again.

Thor looked over at the Jotuns just a few feet away. It was very hard not to stare. Their focus was clearly on Loki, but they didn't miss a word any of them said.

"Boy, have we got help."

They looked up as Tony flew over them. He stopped and simply hovered with flat palms and feet. Then, he lowered himself to the ground and let his helmet retract.

"Well, the Frost Giants changed sides." he said importantly, even though everyone was already aware. Then his eyebrows went up and he took a rather dramatic step back "And, we got our portal-sensing man back from the dead, good lord! What other goodies do we have?"

"A lot more than before." Captain America said, switching the hand he was holding his shield with and walking past his friend "We've got to go back in. There's still too many."

"Thanos is rallying more troops, Allfather." Heimdall said, surveying the God of Death. Then he looked at Loki.

"Do you think they're ready?" the Jotun asked.

"They've had enough time to prepare." Heimdall replied with a nod.

"Then, let's begin." Loki maneuvered his hands in a circular motion and in an instant, the Tesseract materialized.

Hena blinked in shock and stepped back involuntarily. It had so much power emanating from it. Even more than she had felt from the scepter.

The group stared at it warily. Loki would have had to enter the Vault to retrieve the Tesseract. But Heimdall was looking at the God of Mischief calmly, having been well aware that this was going to happen.

"Hena, I will need your help for this." Loki said, eyes flicking over to her.

"What are you doing?" Valder asked, taking a few steps forward.

"Thanos was going to use the nine realms against us. Now we get to use them against him." Loki responded with a hint of a smile.

"We sent word to each of our allies." Heimdall said, nodding as he confirmed what had already been said "They have prepared their troops for battle."

"And we'll use this to bring them here." Loki continued with an appreciative glance at him.

"Open a portal here and overrun them." Thor said, suddenly feeling much more hopeful about their chances in this fight.

"Yes. But, he has many more reserves than there are here." Loki responded "We can't assume an easy victory quite yet."

"Yeah, I definitely saw some new alien type things heading our way." Tony confirmed.

"He has not sent them out yet." Heimdall said "But he will once he sees his forces are being defeated."

Loki took a step back from the group, eyes fixated on the Tesseract in his possession.

"Loki, be careful." Odin warned him.

"Yes, I am aware this would kill me if I used it for this myself. But, with Hena helping, I should be able to handle it." the God of Mischief responded.

Frigga peered at the Tesseract "That power can help Valhalla cross over."

"I didn't know that you could open a portal to Valhalla." Loki replied, eyebrows up in surprise.

Frigga smiled. It was rare to shock him and sometimes she enjoyed seeing it, even as his mother "You cannot. But, the Tesseract is endless. And they could use that now to come here. Thanos does not know what he tampered with."

"Then hopefully this takes him by surprise too." Loki said, turning to face just slightly away from them. Hena quickly stepped over, as if worried he would start before she was there to help him.

"Things are going to get a lot worse when I use this." Loki warned "Thanos will see my using the Tesseract as a taunt." Then he partway shrugged in amusement and muttered "Which it is."

"Does he know you're alive?" Hena asked.

"Not yet." Loki replied "But, then again, he only heard my 'death' from passing word. He confirmed nothing for himself."

Hena hesitated a moment. She was confident in her skills until it came to another person's life.

"What do you need to me to do?"

"Just try to keep my personal power stable while I control this." Loki explained.

"Just stable? Or shall I increase it?" Hena asked. For her there was a significant difference.

"No, don't do that. The Tesseract will be doing enough on it's own." Loki responded with a quick shake of his head "Are you ready?"

"I'm not doing the hard part." Hena said with a shake of her head "Are you ready?"

"Most definitely." Loki gave a small smile in her direction.

"Bring Vanaheim first." Heimdall said "They were warned before the others."

"Be ready for our enemies to make an attempt to breach our frontline." Valder advised the others.

Thor glanced and then stepped towards the courtyard. He wasn't entirely sure what to expect from the Chitari. They already appeared to be fighting to the best of their ability. Odin and Frigga both walked closer to Loki as Anaheim's princess put her hands on him.

"I have you." Hena told him, sounding nervous.

"Don't worry. We'll be fine." Loki assured her, sounding like he was concentrating hard "Let's begin."

Thor watched as the Tesseract suddenly pulsed and he froze. The unpleasant sound reminded him of the attack at Hawkeye's home. He immediately felt the huge blast of pure energy in front of him and had to resist taking a step back.

"Doesn't he need something to stabilize the Tesseract itself?" Hawkeye asked, raising his voice over the loud noise. Very few heard him, but Svleiva looked at him curiously, wondering how he would know to ask that.

She didn't know that Hawkeye had been around Eric Selvig as he prepared a proper contraption for the Tesseract, even if he couldn't fully recall everything he'd learned. However, Selvig's machine had only been necessary because Loki was not personally handling the Space Stone and Hena had not been there with him on Midgard. The God of Mischief knew exactly what he was doing. Earth had little to offer in the area of Infinity Stones, no matter what they believed themselves capable of.

The mortal's question went unanswered as the Tesseract shot out a blue stream of light. It seemed to hit an invisible wall and then expand rapidly. Suddenly, they could see into another realm and a large group of soldiers waiting there. They began running through with loud battle cries reverberating among them.

Hogun raised his weapon in greeting and then turned to run with the members of his realm into battle.

Thor watched that momentarily, tempted to go with them. He felt a brief sense of gratitude for his friend. He was quiet at the best of times, but loyal to the end.

Loki stayed there for several more moments before very carefully beginning to withdraw his hands from the blue cube. Hena stepped back with him without removing her grip on his shoulder.

The Tesseract stayed where it was, continually being enveloped in the pulsing pockets of energy all around it. Loki continued to back up cautiously until he was far enough away to consider himself safe.

Odin observed the portal with a raised chin. He had only personally used the Tesseract once in his lifetime and this was a reminder as to why. It was far too powerful for any one being to control.

"Alright, you can stop." Loki said to Hena, placing one hand over hers without looking over. Then he turned back around to the others.

"Valder, pull our men back." Svleiva said, eyes creased with concern as she saw that their side was bow able to take larger and larger strides on the battlefield.

"They wouldn't come." he replied "This is their home as much as ours. They're under no orders to keep fighting."

Svleiva didn't respond, but from her large exhale, they could tell she wasn't satisfied.

"We need to go after Adden. He should be back with Mazi." she said, once again reminding her husband of this.

"Where is Mazi?" Loki asked Hena, looking over at her with slightly wide eyes.

"We don't know. She was on the other side of the palace grounds when Thanos came. Adden was sent to get her. They have not come yet." Hena responded worriedly "But we risk leading enemies right towards them if we send someone to search."

"Adden will have hidden her if he did not feel it was safe to bring her." Valder said, speaking to his wife as much as Loki.

"Thanos doesn't have her. He would be using that to his advantage if he did. It is likely no one even knows they're out there." Loki responded.

"We can put others to that task now that we have reinforcements." Odin said, with one glance at Anaheim's queen.

Loki surveyed the war with a slight smile "We'll have to-"

He was cut off as a voice suddenly roared his name from across the courtyard. It was filled with absolute fury.

And it was Thanos.

The God of Mischief had jerked his head up slightly, but he did little else to react. For a half second, he didn't move, eyes unfocused. Then, he smiled suddenly, gaze flicking briefly at the others.

"The secret is out."

Hena's eyes flew open as he began walking right up the small hill that kept the group concealed. She hurried forward and jerked him back.

"What are you doing?" she hissed.

Frigga had also already made her way over to them. She would have intervened if the Anaheimien princess had not.

"I'm giving him what he wants." Loki responded, simply, still smiling "He wants me to show myself. So, I will."

"No, you will not." Frigga said firmly.

"If I don't, he will change his approach and his plan in order to make me face him. Better I do it right off." Loki replied. He stared at them briefly before taking his arm back from Hena and leaving the women to walk up the hill.

"He is right, Hena." Valder said with a grim expression "He should face Thanos now."

"Not alone." Hena responded.

"He won't be alone." Thor said firmly with a swift glance at her.

---

Loki took the last few steps over the top of the ridge and stopped there to stare over at the massive Titan.

Thanos glared back, wishing more than anything that he could put the God of Mischief right back into his torture cell. Red Skull was still at his side, waving the scepter in anticipation.

Loki slowly held out his hands and shrugged, smirking at them ever so slightly.

"For a Frost Giant, you really enjoy playing with fire." Thanos somehow allowed his voice to carry across the battlefield without yelling.

"No, just your plans." Loki responded in the same manner.

"Is this your last stunt? To bring a few more realms here? They must really trust you if they think this will be enough. Once this is over, you are mine, dead or alive."

"Based on how your last attempt to kill me went, I won't hold my breath." Loki said, turning slightly to descend back down away from the God of Death.

Thor and the Warriors walked over towards him as they headed back out to the battle. Thor stopped by his brother and then Loki glanced over slightly.

"You're missing a hammer."

Thor's eyebrows flew up and he faced him fully "Do you know how to get it back?"

"I know who we have to kill to get it back." Loki corrected.

"Then, show me." Thor said.

Loki intended to respond, but he was distracted by Frigga examining the portal by the scepter. Odin had his army, Valder his, and Loki had Jotunheim. Now it was time for Frigga to bring hers.

"Are you going out?" Hena asked him. Loki shifted his gaze to her.

"Try and prevent me."

She smiled slightly, heart warming at how good it was to have him back.

With the battle much more fair than before, both the mortals and immortals went to line up beside the God of Mischief.

---

"They have Asgard's watchman here now." Red Skull reported to Thanos. He had a slight sneer on his face "They'll have a more detailed view of our activities."

"Heimdall should not have full sight. The restrictions from Anaheim are still in force. Bring in Ebony." the Titan growled in response "He should be able to limit their observance without issue."

"I'll have him sent." Red Skull obeyed, gesturing at one of his guards next to him.

"I want him dead." Thanos added and no one needed to question who he was talking about "I would rather lose Anaheim than let him leave this realm."

"Well..." Red Skull said thoughtfully "You said you wanted him to suffer. I would rather inflict that myself, but if you're willing to sacrifice a useful part of your plan, we might be able to make him really regret leaving us."

"What do you have in mind?" Thanos honestly didn't sound that interested. Nor focused on his servant. But Red Skull continued anyway.

"A few of the Chitari returned early from the palace raid. They reported seeing who they thought was Valder's youngest child. She was surrounded by guards and they disappeared in an instant once more of our soldiers arrived. But they left her alone per your orders to try and take Svleiva and her daughters alive. That, and they would have needed more to get around the Anaheimien guards."

Finally, Thanos looked down at him.

"She's not with her parents." he said in half curiosity and half realization.

"No. Far from it."

After several moments of contemplation, Thanos smiled.

"Yes, I think I can afford to deviate from that desire. Go and find Mazi, Red Skull. No need to bring her to me."

"Absolutely." the mutant replied, turning from his master's side.

---

A massive Frost Giant grabbed a Chitari and hurled it to the side before forming a long blade of ice on his arm and using it to kill several more.

Volstagg and Fandral shared a brief glance. They had only fought Frost Giants once in their lifetime, but the tales told on Asgard had been enough for an opinion to form. However, now they were fighting side by side and the Jotuns didn't seem to care one bit about their rivalry. They'd seen a Frost Giant save the life of an Asgardian soldier more than once. So, the Warriors were going to do their best to reciprocate that.

"Can anyone see where Red Skull is with the scepter?" that was Captain America just a few yards away.

"It's nowhere over here." Hawkeye responded over the earpiece "Unless he's invisible, which is very possible."

"Loki and Thor are headed across the battlefield, but I don't think it's for that." Tony responded "And I can't get to either of them without putting a red dot on their back."

"They're going to get his hammer back. Try not to give them up." Black Widow said, using an Anaheimien spear to stab one of the Outriders "But, if we can turn these Chitari around before they get back, I won't complain."

"Those aren't even the problem, it's the little guys that can skirt around everything you throw at them." Hawkeye replied.

"Then shoot, don't throw." Tony advised.

"Where's Hena?" Captain America asked, not giving any of them a chance to really acknowledge the joke.

"She went with Thor and Loki, but I don't see her there now." Tony responded.

---

Thor was slightly uneasy about Loki getting so close to Thanos' territory. But, his brother was leading the way without leaving Thor a chance to object. They were fighting their way across the courtyard to get to their enemies side. The God of Thunder didn't know who they had to kill to get Mjolnir back. He was simply following Loki. He was certain his brother would have gone whether he came or not.

There were always at least two Frost Giants fighting beside them. They defended their king in particular, and it actually seemed to annoy Loki at times.

"Why did you suppose that you would be able to convince Heimdall that we needed help over the council?" Thor asked as he kicked one of the Outriders and then slammed it into the ground.

"Because Heimdall would be able to see you." Loki responded, wiping his forehead as he stared at the upcoming opponents. But, they were diverted by both Jotuns and Asgardians before they reached the princes.

"Yes, but if you felt that the council members would have been easier to persuade, they could have gone to Heimdall for you."

"I decided to skip that step." Loki said. After a brief pause, he continued with a deep breath "I would consider Heimdall to be more of a friend. I thought he would be more willing to listen. But the council members went to him right after, so it didn't matter."

Thor didn't respond, but he was happy to hear that Loki still felt he could have gone to someone in Asgard for help, even if they would have been distrustful. His eyebrows went up as he saw his younger brother's hand flip his knife around and slide it into his armor.

"Let's go." he said.

"Every one of Thanos' men is going to be looking for you." Thor reminded him.

"Then, stay back if you'd rather." Loki retorted.

"That isn't what I meant." Thor growled back, narrowing his eyes.

"Well, if you meant anything else, then keep your mouth shut. I'll get your hammer back alone and you can go and help the others track down the scepter." the younger son sounded much more irritated than he did angry.

"Won't it be over here too?" Thor queried.

"That's possible, but I have my doubts. Thanos will keep it on the move. He definitely doesn't want us in control of his Chitari."

The God of Thunder nodded and went to follow his brother. But, he still felt uneasy about it. Then, after a few more seconds, he finally succumbed.

"Loki, you should stay back here." he said firmly "Thanos isn't going to let you get away if he catches you this time."

He waited for a response from the Frost Giant, but had to look over when he didn't receive one. Loki didn't move to say anything. Then Thor's stomach sank.

He definitively reached over and put his hand through the illusion to let it fade. With a frustrated growl, he looked ahead where his brother would be heading. Loki had known he'd protest his going. He had been gone the second Thor opened his mouth.

---

Almost all of Vanaheim was through the portal now, and Odin was preparing to change it to allow Alfheim in. Heimdall had informed him that had been the second realm he and Loki had warned. The light elves were peaceful much like Anaheim, but they would follow Asgard's lead without hesitation. They had more magical skills to offer than physical fighting, but that would only add to the natural abundance of it in Anaheim.

Valder had just returned from fighting and was approaching Firo, who was waiting for him.

"How bad are the casualties?" he asked, sheathing his sword as he arrived.

"A lot less than we would have expected, but our men have suffered the worst as you can imagine." Firo reported grimly "I think twenty are dead and we have several hundred being treated for their wounds. Asgard and Vanaheim have not lost any as far as I know at this time. It is hard to say for the Frost Giants. They will listen to us only if it is necessary to overcome a group of enemies together. Otherwise, they listen to their own and use their own strategies. Which, I won't undermine. They show no reserves with fighting alongside our men. But I cannot stop them from attacking, even if they are gravely injured. It is almost as if they have a personal vendetta."

"I doubt that." Odin spoke from a few feet away "Loki ordered them to fight with us and they do not fear for their lives as much as humanoid beings do. Only Loki would be able to convince them to be more cautious. But, that may not even be enough. It is their way." he then spoke directly to Anaheim's king "Order your men back. Let us take it for this moment. Your realm has suffered enough."

"We will need every possible soldier if we are going to defeat him." Valder responded with a shake of his head.

"Alfheim will come to replace them. It does not need to be permanent, but more will die needlessly if you don't force them to retreat." Odin said.

Valder very nearly narrowed his eyes over at the Allfather, but he knew that the older king was correct.

"Bring them in." he told Firo. His lead man nodded and hurried away to do just that. Valder turned to continue over to his wife. She was still flanked by her guards, looking very concerned.

"How are you doing?" he asked, glancing back at the fighting once.

"I am not fighting." Svleiva replied, although her voice suggested she wished she could.

"And you will not." Valder told her with a serious gaze.

"Our men are dying and I am not even there to defend them." she said with a hint of bitterness. She would never risk her unborn child's life, but hearing the report of her realm's losses had been painful "Can you see Hena?"

"She is fighting with our men, but Asgardian soldiers will take their place when ours leave. Loki wouldn't let her come with him to find way to get Mjolnir back."

"Well, I am grateful for that. But, he should not be going to Thanos' territory either. Actually, him in particular." Svleiva said. She looked over at Frigga with concern. The Asgardian queen had her chin raised as she stared across the battlefield for her sons. They had been sent to war far more times than Hena ever had, but she feared for them still the same. Odin had always promised her they would return and they always had. This time was different though. Winning this battle could determine the future of the universe. And that meant that any being would lay down their lives for the cause.

Svleiva returned her anxious gaze to her husband.

"Valder, please." she murmured "Let me go after Mazi."

He sighed "I will go for her soon. If Adden is going to come, it will be within the next several minutes. I will find her and bring her to you, I promise. But, you cannot go anywhere. I won't lose you. I can't."

"I can't lose her." Svleiva whispered firmly. He wrapped one arm around her head and pressed his lips to it.

The Tesseract's energy began to shift as Odin changed the destination of the portal. Within a few moments, they peered into a different realm and onto different creatures. They didn't move, unsure if they would be welcome.

"We're here to defend Anaheim." their leader stepped up first, looking at Odin as thought he needed to explain "Prince Loki came to us."

"Yes, he told us so. We are pulling back Anaheim's men and you can send in yours." the Allfather said with a nod at his ally.

The elves marched forward together, but their king stopped beside Valder to greet him.

"They'll come back." Odin said to his wife, finally acknowledging her fears. He left the inhabitants of Alfheim to enter as he spoke to Frigga. He took her hand to his lips "I thought you might have become more sensible from your past experiences."

Frigga shot him a look, only to find that he was staring at her in amusement.

"I've always been more sensible than my other half, but I am their mother yet." she said "And Loki...there is something awry, but I cannot discern it. I certainly do not want him going back to where Thanos can acquire him again."

"Neither he nor Thor will let that happen." Odin said.

"They cannot always prevent it. Loki has always been the more rational of the two of them, but he..." she exhaled "Even if he doesn't show it, he is determined to prove himself. And that puts him in a dangerous mindset."

"He's brought enough to help us." Odin responded.

"It's never enough for him." Frigga said with a shake of her head.

---

"There are Frost Giants here." Mazi exclaimed, staring at the battle in shock.

Adden followed her gaze, able to see that there was more than that. And, he was very surprised to see that they were all fighting on Anaheim's side. They had steered quite clear of the battlefield and only had a few times where they'd had to fight a few straggling Chitari.

"Does that mean Loki is here?" Mazi asked, looking up at Adden curiously.

The guard hesitated, mouth opening slightly. He had no way of knowing that was true. Loki was still dead as far as he was concerned.

"I don't know. We'll have to see what's happened when we get to your parents. Other realms have come to help us as well."

"Is Asgard here?" Mazi asked with a sudden excitement.

"Yes, I believe so. It seems that they managed to bring the nine realms here. That will be to our advantage."

"Then we will win." Mazi said definitively.

He smiled briefly, even though he wasn't as confident "Yes, we should."

"Adden, there's more fighting in our path. We'll have to wait or go further around." one of his men said, glancing at him.

Adden looked ahead at the large group that had convened ahead. There was both friend and foe. But, they were mostly concealed where they were. It would be foolish to move now.

"We'll wait here." he said finally "I just hope Valder and Svleiva don't send someone else to find Mazi."

---

Loki crept along the rather ruined wall that rested between the palace and the commons. He briefly glanced back, gaze contemplative. He had neatly evaded Thor and now it was time to do the same to Thanos. He was well hidden right now as the attack on the citizens' homes had been scaled back. There were a few of the Chitari that were skulking around the commons, but they were too far away to raise the alarm if they saw him.

Loki continued to walk quietly around the outer edge of Thanos' makeshift garrison. The gauntlet glowed purple from his fist, which clued Loki in to how he was keeping the portal open so long. He also knew the Titan would like nothing more than to get the other infinity stone across the battlefield. The Tesseract had always been his most coveted one.

To Loki's frustration, Red Skull was nowhere to be seen. He wanted to turn the Chitari around before a bigger portion of them were dead. Thanos would send as many of the clone soldiers in as he needed before pulling more reserves.

Then his eye caught exactly what he had come for. The tall, ugly, spindly beings were waiting silently just a little ways behind Thanos. They stood like statues, expressionless and still.

Loki raised his chin to get a better vantage point. He reached out to touch the wall. He drew a deep breath as his hand trembled until it made contact with the stone. He waited after that, ensuring that he was still fully in control. Then, he looked up with narrowed eyes, face hard with determination.

There were Chitari patrolling the perimeter and two were coming his way now. They were unlikely to see him unless they purposefully leaned over the wall to check. But, Loki was prepared for such an eventuality. Once they were close enough, he heaved himself over the wall with one leap and sank his daggers into both of them simultaneously. Thanos looked over just as Loki pulled his knives from their chests. Neither of the creatures had a chance to make a sound. They were dead instantly.

The Titan's eyes had widened slightly in disbelief. He immediately looked around for others, but once he saw that it was just Loki, he let his gaze fall to the God of Mischief. He smiled slightly, turning to face his former servant.

"Well." he said quietly "Loki, I did always like your spirit."

"I'm glad I had the priviledge of misleading you with it." Loki replied with a very sarcastic dip of his head.

Thanos clenched his fist, making the Power Stone shine even brighter. Loki immediately flinched, eyes closing briefly as the familiar wave of pain came over him. He glared up at Thanos, jaw tense.

"Not as triumphant now, are you?" the Titan growled menacingly. But, the effort of holding open the portal didn't leave a lot of energy for the stone to keep a hold on the God of Mischief.

"If you would like to have a fast death, I suggest you take your own life. Now." Thanos said. Loki's gaze flicked to something behind him.

"Thank you for the recommendation. I suggest you do same." he replied.

The tall, dark creatures stepped out from behind Thanos and raised their hands towards Loki. They hovered there for a moment, before they suddenly started trembling slightly.

Thanos lowered his head a bit, eyes narrowing.

The God of Mischief still stood in the same place, as if completely unaffected.

That was when Thor came flying in, arm outstretched as he led with the hammer in his hand.

Thanos raised a fist to knock him away, but suddenly remembered that the heir of Asgard shouldn't have Mjolnir. His hand vanished right through the illusion. By the time he looked back to Loki, his former servant was gone.

Thanos did a quick sweep of the area around him with his eyes. He started to back up with his last two precious dark slaves when he spotted movement out of the corner of his gaze. He turned to it and would have sent Loki flying backwards with a sharp hit if the Silvertongue had been tangible. The more chaos created, the better chance the God had of getting to him.

Multiple Chitari were coming towards him, weapons drawn to fire upon the next assailant. But Thanos didn't react to the next illusion that appeared. He waited for it to vanish. He looked around swiftly as others appeared soon after.
Finally, with a narrow of his eyes, he squeezed his fist shut and the power stone lit up.

Every image disappeared except one to his left. Loki gripped his temples in pain, taking a few steps back.

The portal that the Chitari were using immediately began to shrink, but Thanos didn't care. He walked towards the God.

"I know it isn't much compared to what you've been through, but I can only imagine the terrible memories this feeling must bring back." he said menacingly.

He did it again and this time Loki dropped to his hands and knees, jaw clenched in terrible strain. He let out a tiny moan before managing to vanish from that spot. Thanos released the power he held over him. The portal had been about to close entirely and then it rebounded with the massive surge of energy that returned.

"I'll lose Anaheim before I lose you, Loki." he growled.

The God of Mischief materialized beside darkness-infused beings, desperately trying to kill them before Thanos could use the stone again. His first knife struck the first one. With a disgusting gush of blood from its throat, it fell, but he only managed to wound the second one before he was grabbed and thrown to the side out of pure fury. His back collided brutally with the rock wall, knocking the breath from his lungs. He barely managed to catch himself with his hands as he fell to the ground. Finding his bearings, he hastily tried to conjure himself away, but lost concentration as the pain overtook him again.

Thanos walked towards him, maintaining the stone's power the whole time. He could only keep the portal at a small size, but he also enjoyed every second of torturing the skin-colored frost giant.

Loki raised his head, trying to think through the pain. He'd felt worse than this, but it didn't matter. This is what was happening now. It was making every injury that he had begin to hurt. His hands just shook. Desperately, he reached out with his powers, jaw clenched. But, the last of Thanos' servants held him in place.

For a moment, the intensity of the stone increased, then faltered. Thanos completely let it go as thunder sounded over the battlefield.

Thor lifted his hand as Mjolnir shot across the sky and straight into his grasp with a loud crash of lightening from above him. He raised it and shot more into the sky with a yell.

Loki watched, the side of his mouth curved upward in triumph and relief. The stream of light could be seen from all across the courtyard.

Thanos' other creature was still alive, but Loki had killed the one who held the power over Mjolnir. And that was all Thor needed. He'd been operating as though his hammer was back on Earth. Clearly, one of the telekinetic beings had just been hauling it along.

Odin and Frigga stared as the the sky lit up with electricity. Any enemies who approached the God of Thunder were immediately thrust away by the energy surrounding him.

"They got it back!" Volstagg called to his friends, eyes excited.

Thor hurled his hammer at Thanos, lightening still crackling from it. The Titan swung a fist to deflect it, but he inevitably ended up flying backwards from the collision.

Thor called Mjolnir back, caught her mid air as he leapt towards his brother, and smashed her into the ground with another battle yell. The impact sent electricity across the ground and killed all of the Chitari coming to surround him and Loki.

The Asgardian men nearby let out a unified cheer, lifting their weapons in the air with both hands.

Thor took ahold of his brother and began to spin Mjolnir in order to launch the two of them across the battlefield. It buffeted the air, creating such a dust cloud that the princes were not visible until they were flying out of it.
Thanos was up on his feet in just a few moments, glaring after them.

Thor landed a little ways behind their frontline and immediately turned around to see if Thanos had sent anyone after them. He lowered his raised hammer, taking in deep breaths. Then he glanced at his brother. His expression was briefly excited, but it morphed into fury.

"Are you an idiot?" he asked angrily.

"Are you currently holding your hammer?" Loki returned it with pointed question, sounding just as vehement. He leaned over slightly, trying to catch his breath.

Thor grunted as he glowered at the Frost Giant. Though, he couldn't really stay angry. He felt more like a contender in this battle now.

"I could have helped you. You do not have to do these things by yourself."

"Well, I couldn't have brought you. You're useless without Mjolnir." Finally, Loki broke into a small smile as he glanced up with exhausted eyes.

Thor shook his head warningly, but he let his brother take that taunt "We should get back. Tell them what has happened." he said.

"You go." Loki replied, finally straightening up. He waved a hand dismissively "Red Skull was not with him. I need to find the scepter."

"Everyone is searching for it. You'll know as soon as it's spotted." Thor protested.

"They don't need two of us to report. Go. I'll return when I have it. Thor, I can sense it better than anyone else."

So, Thor relented, turning his attention to the Jotuns fending off a quickly growing ground of Outriders.

"The Anaheimien soldiers must have been pulled from battle. Alfheim is here. Father must have switched-Loki!"

Thor let his hammer fall to the ground as he caught his stumbling brother. Loki was bent over in pain, one hand pressed just below his ribcage. Blood seeped between his fingers as the wound hemorrhaged.

"We need to get you back, now." Thor said, keeping Loki upright as he bent to get his hammer.

"No." Loki hissed, pushing off of him. Sweat beaded on his forehead at the new pain.

"You're wounded!" Thor snapped, seeing the agony on his younger brother's face.

"No, I will see this through." Loki growled. He pressed down on the blood soaked hole in his clothing and Thor saw the brief green glow as the injury closed over.

"That only helps for a moment." he said incredulously "You need a healer."

"I'll see one once Thanos is dead. Go and tell them that you have your hammer back. I'm going to find the scepter." Loki responded, gaze intense as he surveyed the field. Then he began to walk towards the palace, taking careful breaths to give the wound more time to heal.

Thor stared after him in concern, knowing there was no way to convince him. The God of Mischief had not gotten hurt here as far as Thor knew, which meant that this injury was from Thanos' torturers. And it would be bleeding heavily without Loki's intervention.

---

Hena watched as her father gave instructions to Firo as well as a few other guards. Their men had finally all made it back in and the injured were being helped by Anaheim's maids as well as some of Alfheim's shamans. She couldn't even bear to look among her soldiers, scared of recognizing which of them were missing. And worst of all, they didn't know if Adden was still alive either. Hena felt absolutely terrified for her sister, but she didn't want to lose one of her oldest friends either.

Valder was preparing himself to go and look for his daughter. As such, he made sure that the information necessary to lead in his absence was passed on to his most trusted men.

Svleiva stood in her same place she had before, but her guards had left to help the army retreat safely. Oddly enough, however, two of the Frost Giants that had stayed nearby were hovering quite close to her. Loki had said nothing to them, but they observed any newcomer with the same wariness as the Anaheimien soldiers. Svleiva glanced up at them occasionally, but she said nothing to dissuade them. Clearly, an alliance with the Frost Giants was binding. They acted as though they'd never had a feud with Asgard before.

Quite honestly, she suspected they knew she was carrying a child and that they had an instinctive urge to defend her. That, or they knew she was connected to Loki somehow. Whatever the cause, she was very grateful to have them there.

And, the Jotuns were ready to fight in an instant when Thor suddenly landed in the middle of their bunker. He stared at them briefly before turning his attention his parents.

"Thanos' servants were holding it on Earth. The dark ones. Loki killed one of them, but he needs the scepter." he said, without any greeting "Have we located it?"

"No, but I imagine Red Skull is going to attempt to use it shortly." Odin responded tensely.

"Why?" Thor asked sharply.

"They will want to take some of our side to theirs." the king replied "If we have not even sighted it since the battle began, there is a good chance it is being purposefully hidden. Where is Loki? He should tell the Frost Giants to be on the look same as Asgard."

Frigga looked to her son earnestly, wondering the same thing.

"He went to look for it himself." Thor replied, avoiding their gaze "He should know their tactics better than anyone else."

But his mother was not fooled by his words. Her oldest son had always been an open book. He could hide nothing like Loki could. And right now, his expression told that something was wrong.

"Are you going back out?" Thor turned to Hena, who had come over. The princess shook her head.

"I will wait until my father comes back or until I need to join him to find Mazi." she said.

"We'll join you if you are." Sif said from her place beside Fandral. They'd come in just a few minutes before him, reporting of the damage on different spots in the fighting.

"Good, let's go." Thor said determinedly.

"If you see Loki, tell him to come in." Frigga said after her son as he left "He cannot fight without rest, no matter how brief he would make it."

Thor nodded without looking back at her.

---

Red Skull waved a hand to send the group of Chitari forward. He glanced behind at the rest of them that were following. When they came across the little princess, he wanted to take the Anaheimien guards by surprise with a second wave of soldiers. They would exhaust themselves fighting the first one and he would go in to take Mazi for himself. Then, at least one of Valder's men would be left alive to go and report. He had debated with himself for a while about being sure to take the girl's life where the kings and queens could see, but ended up deciding that it would be too risky.

Adden had moved since the Chitari had seen him last, so they were tracking him down now. To Red Skull's annoyance, they couldn't find their way through the palace very quickly. It took them several tries to find the correct hall and make it to the opposite side. They could have just take the longer way around the castle, but he didn't know if they had taken the young princess to hide there instead of with the other women and children.

They made it to the exit without any excitement. Then, the Chitari blasted through the doors to the outside. Red Skull immediately smiled as he saw who was just leaving the palace grounds.

---

Loki yanked his dagger from one of the Outriders and it screeched briefly as it died. Another one was upon him in a second. It snarled as it leapt at him, teeth bared. Loki stumbled back slightly, trying to get his bearings, but one of his Frost Giants ripped the creature off of him and threw it across the courtyard.

Odin's younger son was surrounded by both Asgardian and Jotun soilders. More of them had moved across the battlefield where the fighting was worse. When Anaheim rejoined, they would take that place, allowing Asgard and Jotunheim to move closer to their own side.

Loki watched as the Frost Giants ran right at Thanos' guerrillas. It was nearly impossible to fight the Outriders once they overtook their victim. But, unlike every other soldier here, the Jotuns could not be toppled over with blunt force.

Now, he switched his attention to scan the entire courtyard. He wasn't close enough for Thanos to see him, but he certainly wouldn't be surprised if the Chitari reported that he was still nearby.

Thor getting his hammer back was certainly a blow to the God of Death. The oldest son of Odin could travel almost instantaneously to wherever his side needed him to be in that moment. And Thanos knew it.

Tony hovered up above Loki briefly, although he wasn't looking below. Now that they had help, he'd been partly relieved of his watch duty. He was taking care of the enemies trying to skirt around the frontlines and get to the kings and queens.

"You guys, I am seeing something real weird in the distance here." he said.

"With the Tesseract?" Captain America immediately responded. Even over radio, his voice sounded tense.

"No, the other way, Rogers." the millionaire's eyes flicked across his screen as Jarvis ran a scan.

"More aliens? Different ones?" Hawkeye asked.

Tony fell silent on the other side of the connection. Hawkeye raised one hand to his radio just in case it was malfunctioning.

"Tony?" he asked "Are you still there?"

"Yep, and we've got a problem." the billionaire replied, finishing his sentence with a long hum.
"The big guys are coming in."

Captain America paused and then turned to looked across the field. Sure enough, he could see one of the massive, snake-like Chitari flying through the open portal.

"Their Heimdall guy can see this, right?" Tony asked, coming to a stop midair "There's only one, but I'm guessing there are more on the way. My messenger time is over. I'm headed in."

"Tony, be careful." Captain America warned.

"Um, does it look like I've been fighting Rogers? We've got to take these things out before they get any closer to the damn children back there." he replied. He paused, waiting for Jarvis to analyze the flight pattern "If I don't make it back guys, someone promise me that you'll take up being the only happy person on the team."

"I thought we were on anti-depressants for that." Hawkeye said indignantly.

Captain America watched as Tony left before his eyes caught a familiar sight to the right of them.

"Tony, ask Loki how to best take these things down. He'll know better than we will." he said quickly.

"Too late." Tony responded with a grunt "I'm sure I'll catch him the next time around."

---

For every Frost Giant around the palace, there were about three Chitari. Loki usually had his two guards by him, but they were occupied with fighting a few hundred yards away. The God of Mischief had made his way over there, hoping to see Red Skull. But, it was the same as everywhere else.

The attack on the palace had seemingly been abandoned for a little while, but they were back now and Loki wasn't sure why. He knew Thanos wasn't one to order pointless attacks. And if it was intended to be a diversion, he hadn't sent enough of his creatures to make it significant. There was absolutely no reason for the Chitari to be bere.

A few moments later, just as Loki was contemplating leaving, he felt a very familiar vitality. The energy he was searching for. But, that distracted him for a moment and he was immediately overtaken by a black and yellow Outrider. It slammed him into the ground and he grunted in pain, wincing as he tried to shove it off.

From the corner of his eye, he could see the red skin and glow of the scepter as they moved in the opposite direction of where he was fighting. Then he saw the Red Skull's intended target.

"Mazi, NO!" he screamed, the sudden surge of his Asgardian power allowing him to shove the Outrider off of him. He killed it with one blow and started sprinting across the grass.

"Adden, move!" he yelled.

The Anaheimien soldier turned swiftly at his name and instinctively lifted his spear to block the blow from the scepter. Red Skull growled in frustration in the half of a second before he was thrown to the side. Then, Adden looked around, trying to find the source that had warned him. But, there wasn't enough time to do that. Red Skull was already getting up, now angrier than ever. The two guards stepped in front of Mazi as he came for them again. This time though, Loki leapt at the mutant. The force sent both of them roughly into the ground a few feet away.

Adden stared in shock as the God of Mischief got to his feet, expression just slightly pained.

"Get her out of here." Loki said, trying to catch his breath.

"Loki!" Mazi piped up, eyes wide.

"You are in no condition to fight." Adden replied angrily.

"Dammit, Adden, get Mazi out of here!" Loki snarled in return. He could feel the blood beginning to flow again under his armor, but he resisted putting magic to it right then. Instead, he turned back to face his hated enemy.

Red Skull was circling him with a sneer on his face.

"Always there to save the day." he snarled "I never knew monsters could be so caring."

The snake-like Chitari let out a screech across the battlefield, but Loki's gaze didn't waver.

"Mazi, how you like the Frost Giant now?" Red Skull demanded of the girl. He glared at Loki "Weak and treacherous as he is."

The God of Mischief said nothing, but he launched himself at Red Skull. He pushed the scepter upward so that it didn't hit him, but the mutant shoved back, forcing Loki to retreat to keep his balance.

Adden watched for a moment, eyes uncertain. He was torn between taking Mazi himself or staying to help. The Frost Giants were busy with the rest of the Chitari. But, then he spotted more of the Outriders clawing their way over to them. So, he turned, grabbed Mazi and began running to his king and queen as quickly as he could.

"Looks like you're on your own, God of Mischief." Red Skull spat.

"You seem to forget that I defeat you every time we fight." Loki replied scathingly.

"You seem to forget that I have the scepter. Should I use it to turn you against your beloved Hena?" the mutate asked mockingly. He jerked his head as a sharp knife whipped past his face in response.

---

The guards surrounding Mazi stared warily around, trying to keep surveillance on every angle at once. They weren't far from the leaders bow. But more and more Outriders became aware of their presence. They were slowly becoming enclosed by the creatures. Mazi screamed as one of them leapt at Adden. He killed it with a stab through the chest and threw it to the ground.

Nearly a quarter mile away, the Frost Giants by Svleiva raised their heads sharply. She watched anxiously as they looked at each other.

"That's her." one of them growled. In unison, the two of them leaped up and hurried up to the top of the hill.

"The princess." the same one said shortly towards Valder before both of them took off towards the fighting. The king stared after them, then shifted his gaze to Svleiva.

"Mazi." she breathed at him.

"Loki must have ordered them to find her." Frigga said. She lifted her eyes to the horrible battle she could see a little ways off.

"She's in there." Even in those few words, she could hear the pure terror in Valder's voice. He picked up his sword from its spot leaning on the wall and followed the Jotuns. Svleiva grabbed Hena's wrist, even though her daughter hadn't attempted to leave yet.

"Go with him!" Odin waved his guards forward urgently.

"Mother, I should go as well." Hena said worriedly.

Svleiva didn't reply but she watched with creased eyebrows. The giant Chitari was very slowly making its way in their direction as well, despite Tony distracting it at every second.

---

The Frost Giants could run quicker than any Asgardian. They reached the chaos in just a few minutes. There were more than just two now. The group of them leapt into battle with a roar. The Outriders let out squeals as they were suddenly trampled to the ground. Ice blades formed on the Jotuns arms and they began swinging them at any Chitari-like creature they could find.

Adden looked up in pure relief. One of his men was down and he and the other were not far from it. The princess was unharmed, but she was exposed now. He turned to attack the creatures attacking from the other side as the Frost Giants arrived. They encircled Mazi and then slowly let their circle grow to kill the incoming enemies as they spread out. It didn't take long for the numbers to begin to dwindle. As the last few in that immediate circle ran at them, the Jotuns converged towards each other and leapt that the Chitari. Then, without another word, they ran into the rest of the fighting.

Adden swallowed as he tried catch his breath. Then he heard his king's voice and turned to see him sprinting over.

"Daddy!" Mazi voice cracked as she broke down into tears. As soon as Valder reached her, he picked her up in a tight hug, eyes closing. He trembled slightly as he wrapped one hand around her head and pressed her into his chest.

The other guard-the one still standing-walked over to the man on the ground.

"Alive?" the king asked solemnly.

The solider shook his head and the soldier shook his head. Valder let out a deep breath and carefully let his daughter slide to the ground.

The Asgardian soldiers who had arrived went over to help them pick up the body.

"Are you injured?" The king asked, looking at Adden.

"Slightly, but it can wait until we get back to post." the man responded "Loki is fighting someone for the scepter back there. He'll need help."

Valder paused, almost as if he was considering leaving for that himself. Then he just nodded and grabbed Mazi's hand.

"I'll tell the others when we get back."

---

Loki raked the knife down Red Skull's lower arm, leaving a very deep gash in its place. The former mortal yelled in pain, instinctively jerking back. The Asgardian knives were sharper than any kind he'd ever encountered. But, there was also a chance they were fortified with magic. In which case, he didn't think they could get much sharper. He looked up at the God of Mischief with narrowed eyes before swinging the scepter at him sharply.

"What was it, Loki?" he snarled "You had everything with Thanos. Arguably his favorite servant. What made you feel so loyal to the family that didn't love you?"

"I suppose disloyalty is just a habit." Loki responded as they simultaneously blocked each other's strikes.

"Why are you serving Thor?" Red Skull asked "And that idiotic excuse for a soldier?"

"I'm not serving Thor." Loki replied. He pulled back as the sceptor scraped just below his eye.

"Careful or you'll end up like your pseudo father." Red Skull sneered.

Loki grabbed the staff and roughly twisted it. Red Skull growled in pain and the two of them went right back into their very familiar pattern of fighting. They deviated to try and catch each other off guard, but they knew each other's techniques too well.

The Frost Giants nearby weren't able to come to their king's aid. Not all of them were even aware that he was fighting anything more than another Chitari.

"What's your plan then, Loki? You know he has more than he brought here. Perhaps, I'm the one who's been played. Are you and Thanos executing this behind my back? Lure all the nine realms in to get slaughtered and take away all of Asgard's defenses?" Red Skull spat.

"It doesn't surprise me that he wouldn't tell you." Loki responded mockingly. His movements were unaffected by his injury, but his eyes were beginning to reflect a bit of pain.

"You know, I thought you were finished when we sent you to Jotunheim. I see that I was wrong. But, unfortunately for you, I'm one of the only people who knows exactly what we did to you." Red Skull responded. Instead of using the scepter, he used his fist to dig right into Loki's freshly bleeding wound. The God of Mischief gasped, bending over slightly from the sharp agony. He backed away, keeping one hand pressed into the gaping skin under his clothes.

Red Skull watched for a moment, smiling faintly. He readjusted the scepter in his hand and took a step forward. A loud clang of metal on metal shocked him as a large round shield rebounded off of the staff in his hand.

It flew back into Captain America's hand and he leapt right at the mutant. He hit him straight on and sent Red Skull several feet back and into the ground.

Loki winced in pain as he tried to stand upright. Captain America threw his shield again, but Red Skull fired a blast from the scepter. It blasted into the vibranium and a wave of energy exploded between them. The soldier didn't stop, however, which came as a surprise to Hydra's former leader. His shield had been thrown off course and now lay several yards away.

They engaged in combat, blow for blow. Red Skull bared his teeth angrily.

"You just don't give up." he hissed angrily.

"I get that." Captain America punched him in the side, making the mutant step back. Then he continued under his breath "A lot."

"I think that might be best turned against your friends, Captain." Red Skull replied. He dove in with the scepter and the solider evaded it with a dodge to the side.

"It really does dull the senses. Makes you capable of things you never thought you could be." Red Skull mused with a clench of his jaw "Just ask your friend. The SHIELD agent."

"I think I like my senses intact." Captain America replied. Then he ran past the mutant and dived to get his shield.

Red Skull jerked in his direction, trying his best to either stab or take control of the Avenger.

Captain America whipped around, using his shield to smack the him away. Then he got back to his feet and swung his weapon at the mutant several times. Red Skull blocked it each time with the scepter, eyes squinted.

The Frost Giants had finally begun to overcome the huge group of Chitari and a few of them were headed over. But they still had a long way to come.

The tip of the scepter caught the edge of Captain America's shield and then ripped it out of the soldier's grasp. It flew to the side, hitting the ground and rolling to a stop.

Loki's two daggers caught the scepter just as it Red Skull moved it towards Captain America's chest. He had materialized out of nowhere. In an instant, he thrust a knife into the former mortal's torso. Then he used the other to slit his throat without even a pause. He watched with narrowed eyes as Red Skull reached one hand towards his neck with his mouth open wordlessly.

The God of Mischief yanked his knife back and the mutant crumpled to the ground.

Captain America stared for a moment as Loki caught his breath. He was covered in blood, though a lot of it was from Red Skull. The God winced and slid his blades back into his armor. Then he leaned down and picked up the scepter.

"Are you alright?" Captain America asked, eyeing his bloodstained clothing.

"Tell Odin and Valder I have the scepter." Loki replied, without responding to his question. He let out a deep breath and started walking back into the battlefield.

"Loki." Captain America followed him immediately "You're wounded." he reached to grab his shoulder as if to take him back himself.

"No. I'm turning the Chitari around." Loki responded, shaking him off with a grimace. He'd closed the gash again and the blood had stopped.

Captain America just watched him for several seconds, completely perplexed by the amount of change that had happened in the man in front of him. Then he looked up, remembering that they had a rather urgent problem to deal with. At the moment, Tony was leading the massive Chitari around in circles, but a lot of damage was being done in the process. Asgardians, Jotuns, and some of the Alfheim elves were all trying to take it down, but having little success. And it was too low to the ground for Thor to send a surge of lightening at it.

Loki went up onto a pile of ice that had accumulated and surveyed the field. Then he raised the scepter and the orb began to glow. The nearby Chitari immediately looked over. Little by little, the God of Mischief slowly gained more and more attention.

The large Chitari began flying towards him and then Loki pointed his scepter towards the opposite side of the courtyard. It turned slightly, setting sights on it's new target.

The Chitari obeyed who had the scepter, but they also obeyed their principle commander. The half that was nearest Thanos were still fighting for him, but now they also had to fight against their own.

Loki lowered his staff and then backed down off the hill.

"You did it." Captain America said quietly, watching as if he wasn't quite sure that he believed what he saw.

"Not yet." the God of Mischief replied grimly, making the man glance over at him. He let out a deep breath and then finally turned to head back to their side.

---

Valder arrived back in camp out of breath from having run most the way. Svleiva hurried past Odin and Frigga, dropping to her knees so that she could hug her little girl. Mazi wrapped her arms around her mother's neck in return. Hena went to stand by her father, arms folded protectively. A moment later Valder crouched down, putting a gentle hand on his wife's back.
Svleiva had tears streaming down her cheeks as she rocked her daughter side to side.

"Why are they all here?" Mazi asked softly, her voice catching as she took in a deep, unexpected breath. Her mother coughed, a soft sob preventing her from answering right off.

"They're evil." she whispered "They want power. That's all they want." she released her daughter "But we'll keep you safe. You're okay now."

"Loki's fighting Red Skull." Adden said, looking at the king and queen of Asgard "He distracted him so that I could get Mazi away. He'll need help. Red Skull has the scepter."

Frigga opened her mouth, ready to volunteer and then she looked at Odin.

"Can you see him?" the king asked Heimdall.

"My sight is still slightly limited here." the watchman replied, gazing out into the field "I cannot view him now."

"Show me where." Odin switched his eye to Adden. The soldier nodded quickly, instinctively beckoning him forward.

"I am going as well." Hena said. Mazi leaned to hug her legs and Hena placed her hands on the back of her little sister's head comfortingly.

A sudden bright blue light in the distance made her look away sharply. Odin squinted as it pulsed a moment. No one needed to say what it was aloud. Frigga stepped forward with her husband so that she could more clearly see the field.

The flying Chitari that Tony was diligently guiding changed paths and began heading back towards the portal it came from. The soldiers that had been fighting it slowed their pace, confused by its sudden lack of interest in them.

"He has it. He turned them around." Frigga said, her voice confident.

This chapter literally ruled my life for the past month. If there is anyway that you could leave me a kind word, I would appreciate it so much. You have no idea.
More to come! :) Battle isn't over!