I know, I know! I'm late (by a day or two) but I had to wrestle my inner muses into some sort of order. One of them is anxious to get work going on their story, another is determined to get their story out. And, of course, once I re-watched Justice League Unlimited (for the umpteenth time) I had to welcome two new muses in the shape of a certain cowboy and a knight. (Damn you, Nathan Fillion! I blame you for being a smoking hot cowboy babe!) Well, at least the knight is more helpful.

Anyway, let's kick into it, shall we?

The Fall of Asgard, Part One

Maybe it's the concussion talking here, but I swear I can hear thundering hoof-beats, like a horse racing towards me. Correction—horses, plural. As I came to, I felt a heavy weight across my shoulders and a really painful cramp in my back.

Geez, what the hell have I gotten myself into this time?

My eyes finally dragged themselves open as a bunch of shadows passed in front of me. Huh, what do you know, I was right about the horses. The weight across my shoulders began to shift, before turning into Hawkeye. As much as I enjoy seeing a familiar and friendly face, that still doesn't help answer my question of what is going on here.

"Ugh, my head." He groaned in pain, rubbing the palm of his hand against his temple. His eyes shot towards me as I struggled to my knees. "You ok, Starky?" Aside from feeling like I've been turned inside out and stitched back to front, I feel like I'm going to be sick. To our relief, I managed to answer without tossing my cookies, though walking might be interesting for a while. We got to our feet, only to jump back when another group of horses—with their riders—charge past at blistering speeds.

"Should we follow them?" I asked out loud, the pair of us exchanging a look. Clint seemed to think it over before deciding to follow.

"They might know where we are." He explained as we started running. Well, he ran—I stumbled for a few meters till my legs remembered how to work again, and I could keep up with Clint. Unfortunately, by the time I could run like my old self again, we had lost track of the group of horsemen. Rather than let that stop us, Hawkeye kept running in the direction they had been going, making sure that I was still with him.

By the time we pushed through a large bush—this wasn't the same forest we were in earlier, was it?—I had gotten over my queasy stomach…though when I finally comprehended the sight in front of us, I felt a whole lot sicker.

"This isn't good." Hawkeye commented. The 'this' in question was the completely mind blowing sight of stars, planets and a whole bunch of other mind frying impossibilities that threatened to reduce me to a gibbering, wobbling heap.

It was clearly obvious that we were not on Earth anymore, but what about the others? Were they nearby, or were they back home on Earth wondering what had happened to us, or were they—

: No, don't think that, don't think that! : I admonished myself, but it was hard to stay positive when the nasty thought of everyone being…well, not here, was enough to make my eyes prickle with hot tears.

Two things happened to bring me out of my thoughts. One was Clint sliding his hand around mine and squeezing firmly. When I looked up at him, Hawkeye had a determined gleam in every fiber of his face and body. "We'll find them." He assured me, "They're all alive, and we're gonna find them. I'll even ignore that you and T'Challa will probably suck each other's face for an hour or so." Although he said it in his usual crude manner, I managed to laugh in spite of my fears.

The second thing was the sound of even more horses not too far away. With a silent agreement, we turned tail and hot-footed it to where the sound was coming from. I nearly fell onto my face when we leapt out of the bushes and tripped down the embankment right behind it: it was part luck on my half and mostly Hawkeye catching the back of my shirt in time before I face planted into the ground.

Luck played its hand again as we walked forward, only for me to push us back as two more riders ran after their friends.

"Hey, watch it!" Clint yelled out angrily. I don't know whether to slap him or not for getting their attention, but alert the two riders—one riding a white stallion, the other a chestnut mare—he did as the two of them briefly halted their steeds.

"I suggest you run, archer." The elf on the white horse cautioned, "Loki's forces move swiftly." And with that, he and his friend turned their horses and bolted away. The further they went, the bigger the unsettling sensation of fear began in my stomach.

Clint tried waving them back. "Hey! Hey—you with the ears! What is this place? And what's a 'Loki'?"

"Who, not what," I supplied instead, "Loki is Thor's adopted brother, and one Hell of a basket case—not even Sigmund Freud could dig past the top layer, let alone set him straight."

"Great."

"Uh, Clint…maybe we should be a little more concerned about what these elves are running from?"

"Yeah, maybe…any ideas what it could be?" As predictable as ever, the Laws and Forces of the Universe provided the answer for us. And I was grateful it was only Clint that heard the blistering explosion of curse words that I spat out, because the 'force' in question was a pack of wolves that looked a whole lot scarier and nastier than the ones under the control of Maleketh.

"Ooh, that's bad." Clint gulped in fear as the hell-hounds slowly crept from the shadows of the forest, teeth bared as they growled in deadly tones. Fear-induced bile was crawling up the back of my throat as we slowly backed away from the terrifying beasts, Hawkeye instinctively and automatically putting him between me and certain death, slowly back the both of us away, but for every step we took, the unholy beasts matched.

The longer we faced these…these things! The more scared witless I became. The only reason I hadn't bolted like a rabbit was unknown to me, though there's a sneaking suspicion that my frozen state wasn't going to last for much longer.

"Clint?" I whimpered in a near sob.

"Get ready to run." He whispered back as he very slowly, very carefully, reached into his quiver and selected a particular arrow. He pulled his arrow out, keeping an eye on the monsters as they edged ever so closer to us meaty morsels.

With a sudden flick of his wrist, Clint slammed the arrowhead into the ground: a brilliant bright light filled our visions, the wolves howling in pain and anger even as the pair of us turned tail and ran like a pair of bats out of Hell. We got a good lead before they started howling, and those damn things began chasing us down with ease. No matter what we did—running through thick bushes; Clint shooting off a few more arrows; me slicing through branches in an attempt to block their path—they easily kept pace.

It all came to a head when we leapt over a fallen tree into a clearing, Clint taking an opportunity to shoot a net arrow, hitting one of the wolves in mid-air and pinning it to the ground, angering the rest of the pack. Notching another arrow, Hawkeye backed away from them, keeping me behind him. There was a tense standoff bet—

"WATCH OUT!" I screamed pulling Clint backwards by his quiver—another would had burst out from the bushes beside us in an attempted sneak attack. It missed Clint, but the wolf knocked the bow from his hands, breaking it in half. Clint bristled with a foul oath as the three wolves surrounded us, their teeth gleaming as they itched to take our lives. I think I started to cry a little in fear when—

"Archer! Maiden!"

—the pair of voices rang throughout the air as the two elves from before charged towards us. The rider of the white horse reached out for Clint, while the other easily grabbed a hold of me and swung me onto the front of his saddle.

"Hold tight, maiden!" the elf carrying me ordered, keeping his eyes to the front as Clint and the other elf swiftly caught up to us. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I could see Clint taking the bow and an arrow, and fired it at our chasers.

That was some arrow—it began to burn in mid-flight, and as it impacted with the lead wolf, an almost fire-like wave enveloped all three of them, and they were simply gone. A surge of relief filled my body even as I slumped against my savior, somehow managing to stay up right even as I so wanted to collapse.

"Stay sharp, maiden!" The other elf called over, "There are doubtless more of those beasts on our trail; they will catch us soon enough." Now why did he have to go and say that?

"I don't feel so good." I whimpered pathetically, hoping that the others didn't hear that.

"Ranger: you and the maiden ride ahead of us!" The other elf commanded, "We will divert any pursuers." I struggled to comprehend what was being said when the chestnut mare kicked off with more speed, leaving Clint and the other elf behind.

"Fear not, young one. Your friend will be safe with Faraday." The elf with me—Ranger—promised and said no more as we continued to charge through the woods. I lost track of how long we ran, to the point that I must have dozed off into darkness.

######

With a start, I came awake when I felt the horse start to slow down to an easy trot, its harsh breathing helping me to focus on our surroundings. The trees had thinned out, a large wooden fort rising into view. At key spots around the structure and in the woods were other elven archers, watching in case of Loki's forces.

"Where are we?" My voice felt rough from my brief sleep, my tongue felt like it had been coated in something slimy and furry…eww, okay that's just gross.

"At the last stronghold in Alfheim." Ranger informed me, "We will be safe here while we wait for Faraday and your friend." A small part of me felt relieved that we were safe, but that quickly turned into guilt from leaving Clint behind.

A cry went up, and the large wooden gate started to open with a loud creak, letting us inside before shutting with a loud boom. There were quite a few elves inside, a good portion of them were wounded. Ranger guided his horse past the wounded and into a nearby stable. His poor horse nearly staggered at it came to a stop, almost sighing as we slid off the poor mare's back.

I was having a hard enough to trying to stand on my own feet, and I was grateful when Ranger slid his arm around me and led me outside. A few of his fellow elves looked at me with suspicion, others with slight fear, as Ranger escorted me to a large pavilion tent, where several older looking elves seemed to be in deep discussions.

"My lords." Ranger called out, catching their attentions. They turned, relief etched onto all their faces—one more so than the rest of them.

"Son!" That one elf cried happily—ah, fair enough then—and went to embrace his son when he finally noticed me. "Who is this?" At least he was nice enough to not say that in a rude tune.

"A mortal—she and a male were seen fleeing from Loki's hounds." Ranger reported, easing my into a nearby chair, "Faraday and the male stayed behind to throw the beasts off our trail." A few of them looked a tad upset that the other elf—Faraday—was still out there, but they focused their attentions on me.

"And you, young one?" Ranger's father asked in a gentle voice, "What is your name?"

"Briar, m-my Lord," I managed to stammer out respectfully, a bit hard since every inch of me was trembling in shock. One of them must have seen something—the next second there was a goblet being pressed into my shaking hands as one of them urged me to drink the strange purple liquid inside. Since I didn't want to be rude to my rescuers, I did as directed.

The first sip burned down my throat, prompting me to start coughing a bit: looks of relief passed over their features—some even smiled—as Ranger gently urged me to drink more. About the third sip, I noticed that I had stepped shaking, and oddly felt calmer than before. That must have been what they were waiting for, and pressed a bit of food into my now free hands to eat.

"Are you feeling better, Lady Briar?" Ranger inquired after I had eaten.

"Yes, thank you." It was a bit of a lie, yes, since I was still feeling guilty about leaving Clint and Faraday behind. A thought pressed itself into my mind that they'd not be too far away now, and safe, so I grabbed onto that thought and held tight.

"Child, we know that you must be tired and scared." One of the lords began in a careful tone, "But may we know how you and your friend came to Alfheim?" Tired and scared (or maybe just terrified, but eh) I may be, but the drink and bit of food did surprisingly well for my stomach. And right on cue, here comes the good ol' Stark back-bone, ready to kick me in the arse and back into gear.

"My friend and I are from Midgard; we, plus a few others, are the guardians of our realm." Here I took a small sip—I did not want to find out just how potent elf wine really is—and continued. "I'm fortunate to call Thor Odinson as my comrade and friend." Hearing Thor's name certainly caused a bit of a stir—perhaps for the right reasons.

"As for how we got here: my allies and I encountered a group of villains who were attempting to reunite the Nine Realms by way of the Norn Stones." I explained, "In order to prevent that from happening, my friends and I were forced to destroy the stones." Mentioning Thor's name was one thing, but telling a bunch of Asgardian elves that you've destroyed some of the most potent and powerful relics of theirs was a whole different bag: some looked stunned; others were impressed; while one of them looked completely dispirited.

"Then it is hopeless." The old man (elf, whatever) moaned sadly, "Without Karnilla or her stones, we have no hope against Loki and his forces." Anything that the rest of us were going to say was interrupted by a cry coming from the giant gate as it began to open. When it was high enough, I also slid off my chair in relief in seeing Clint and the elf Faraday walking inside.

My relief turned into a shout of joy—walking beside them was none other than T'Challa, and following behind them was Voltaire. For a brief moment I was wondering why the Hell he was wrapped in vines around his chest, but then I saw the make-shift cart baring Faraday's barely conscious steed. Ranger was already walking towards his friend, so hastily plunking down the goblet and tidbit of food, I chased after him, just as Clint came into hearing range.

"Hey, look who we found!" He cheered happily as he clapped his hand on my boyfriend's shoulder, "A lost black cat!" If T'Challa was going to punish him for that crack, he lost his chance because I bolted towards him and jumped into his awaiting arms. My arms and legs wrapped themselves securely around his neck and waist, holding him tightly even as his arms curled around my back and his hand cupped the back of my head.

"Thank heavens, you're safe." He whispered in a raw tone, his voice thick with emotions. I didn't trust myself to speak without crying, so I just held him for all I could. Soon hugging him just wasn't enough—pulling back his mask, I brushed my lips over his and around his face, almost mewling in happiness as he returned the gestures of love.

"Hey, where's my hug?!" Clint interrupted, effectively bringing laughter to the moment. Disentangling from my boyfriend's embrace, I pulled the purple archer in for a bear hug. And not forgetting about my fur baby, I wrapped his great big head in my arms and gently hugging him, joyfully listening to his happy and excited whines. His tail was waving frantically even as he stood perfectly still as Faraday and the other elves carefully unloaded the white horse. Once the horse was safe and resting in its stable, we went back to the pavilion where introductions were made, and where T'Challa added more information as to how we got here. And while it was mostly surprising, it actually made a lot of sense.

"The appearance of the Norn Stones and the Masters of Evil cannot be a coincidence: clearly they had intended their trap to work, and dispatch us all." He informed all present. Hawkeye had taken my vacant seat, Voltaire lying by his feet, and T'Challa stood by my side, his warming protective presence doing marvelous things for me and my frazzled nerves.

"They must've recruited two more to their cause." I mused out loud, "Clint and I didn't recognize our 'friend'. But something doesn't add up."

"How do you mean, Lady Briar?" Faraday inquired, "If these villains had intended to kill you all, they surely could have if they used the power of the Norn Stones."

"Maybe, but they didn't," I remarked, crossing my arms over my chest as I gave the table before us a hard look. "I don't think they even knew what the stones were really for."

"Forgive my saying so, but that does not sound as appeasing as one would think." One of the lords commented, which effectively put a big question mark over everything.

I barely heard Hawkeye make some comment, but my mind was trying to make sense of everything. First, the Masters of Evil somehow got their mitts of extremely powerful Asgardian artifacts. Second, they laid said stones at key locations on ley lines. Third, if what T'Challa and Hawkeye said was accurate then neither Acid Guy nor Simon Williams knew what we happening when the stones 'activated'.

What did it all mean?

######

Rose was so deep in her own thoughts, not even Hawkeye's comment about the intelligence of our foes brought her out of her mind. The Masters of Evil and their connection to the Norn Stones weighed heavily on her mind, particularly of the knowledge that they did not know the true power of the artifacts. Not wishing to disturb her thinking, I turned to the Light elf called Ranger, silently appraising him. He was not that tall, only an inch short than myself or Hawkeye, but the way he held himself made him seem taller. Like the other Light Elves, he had his blond hair pulled away from his face by a leather tie, and dressed in dark leather armor.

Though he did not seem to be much, he did risk his life to save Rose—as soon as it becomes calm enough to do so, I would thank him for saving my love. Till that time arose, I asked about the war throughout the Nine Realms.

"It goes badly, friend Panther." He grimaced as he gestured to the map before us, "The realms Vanaheim, Svatelheim, Alfheim, Nedavielir and Asgard have fallen to Loki and his evil."

"Niflheim and Jotunheim were always under that accursed traitor's control," An older elf lord spat, "The Frost Giants have gotten more powerful, though we know not how."

"Because they have the Casket of Ancient Winters." Several of the elves jumped at Rose's sudden interruption, which soon turned from surprise to confusion and fear.

"What did you say?" One demanded in a hoarse croak, even as I slowly began to follow where Rose was leading.

"About a month ago on Midgard, we encountered Maleketh the Accursed, and he had found and opened the Casket." She explained, "After we defeated him and Thor closed the casket, it was stolen."

"By Amora the Enchantress," I finished for her, causing the rest of our company to cry out in anger over the sorceress's actions.

"The Enchantress, as in the chick in the green dress, has that really mean-looking bodyguard?" Hawkeye inquired, "Why would she want the magic box? She's got enough power in her little pinkie, she doesn't need any help." By now the pieces were beginning to rapidly fall into place.

"Because she works for Loki," I answered, "Everything that happened on Midgard must have been part of his plans to conquer not only Earth, but the other realms. But why the Norn stones, and why in the locations we found them?"

"Rumor has it that Earth was once the center of the Nine Realms; Loki must have used the Masters as his pawns to make sure we couldn't stop the stones before they helped throw the cosmic balance out the window." Rose theorized, "But we did, so Midgard is safe, the Avengers got pulled through to the other realms, and our only ticket home is by saving everyone and everything from Loki."

There was a pause with a near deafening silence that took Rose by slight surprise.

"Sorry—my mind tends to run off on me whenever I over complicate plans." She apologized, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head as she blushed prettily.

"Then how about making it simple?" Hawkeye offered in a dry tone. Rose turned her gaze to the ceiling, one eye closed as she attempted to simplify her battle strategy.

"Thor took the stone in Norway, right? So chances are he's in Asgard proper." She finally spoke, "If we can sneak into the palace and free him, we can even the odds until the other Avengers show up." Hawkeye gave her a bland look before giving a loud, dry laugh. The rest of us looked at him in confusion while Rose simply rolled her eyes.

"So your plan is to sneak into the central hub of all evil, into a palace full of bad guys, and free Thor who is probably kept in Loki's sight at all times." He remarked in a dry tone.

"Do you have a better plan, ding dong?" She asked flatly.

"Nope—just making sure we're on the right page, is all. So, who's up for a trip to the Gates of Pain, Doom and Certain Death?"

Wow, that was actually shorter than I realized. Oh, well it's out now so what can I do? Mind you, I was pretty tempted to change Clint's last words into the quote from Gimli in Return of the King, just before they march on the Black Gate...nah, this works better.

Anyhoo, thank you for reading this chapter and I hope you enjoyed it. Please favorite, review and/or subscribe to see any more of my future works (Now that the cowboy is here, things may end up moving forward a bit faster than previously thought). And remember that mean comments will be forwarded to the Hulk. Bye-bye!