A/N: We get to see more of Tobias, Rose, and the Ice Resistance in this chapter (though I may need to come up with a better name...), mostly because this heavily focuses on what they've learned about Rumlow and his pack. That's about all I can say... :3 Except for: I'm kind of disappointed, guys. Not a single review on the last chapter. Where's the love, people?
Disclaimer: Do I even have to put this in anymore? Marvel/Disney's. Not mine.
24. Run, Away From All The Soulless, Heartless Fiends That Hound You
Tobias and Rose had no idea what was about to happen, which was exactly the way Loki wanted it.
It had been a week since the food fight and day off, and Tobias had been reporting in increasingly disturbing news. Rumlow was getting restless, and he'd been sending out raiding parties with increasing frequency. Loki could only imagine what Rumlow was doing that he needed to waste manpower on so many raids.
Rose had come back on leave from the CIA, of which she was nearly a fully-fledged member, to help with strategy. Until they knew what Rumlow's ultimate play was, they couldn't formulate any concrete plans, but it was nice to have her around again, aiding the spies and analyzing Rumlow's raiding routes.
Loki and Tasha had both noticed how hard the wolves were working themselves, and held a council with all those Avengers who knew Loki's secret.
"We need to do something for them," Loki declared.
"Who?" Wanda asked.
"Rose, Tobias, the wolves," Loki elaborated.
"Rumlow's calling us the 'Ice Resistance,'" Tasha said. "I kind of like it."
"We'll have to put the name to a vote," Loki laughed. "But seriously, they've been working hard to bring in information on Rumlow's movements. The least we can do is do something nice for them."
"Like what?" Clint asked.
"That's what we're here to discuss," Tasha told him.
"What do they like, even?" Steve asked. "I've got no experience with werewolves other than you two."
"Presumably they just need something to take their minds off of Rumlow for a while," Tony said. "So anything that makes a good distraction would work."
They all fell silent, contemplating. It was Wanda that came up with the idea.
"Some of you have Asgardian armor from Thor, right?" she asked.
Tasha nodded. Thor had been giving different Avengers sets of Asgardian armor for Christmas for three years running. His goal, Loki assumed, was to eventually get a set for them all. So far, Tasha, Clint, and Steve had been the recipients of the armor.
"Well, why don't you stage a battle?" Wanda suggested. "Since Loki's the Ice Alpha, the Asgardian aspect makes sense, and a fight - even a fake one - is sufficiently distracting."
Loki smiled at her. "Wanda Maximoff, you are a genius."
"Hey! I thought I was the genius here!" Tony protested. Everyone laughed.
So now they were here. Rose, Tobias, and the Ice Resistance were all gathered out on the Compound's lawn, where a stage had been magically assembled by Loki and Wanda. They'd managed to get Thor on board without giving him the exact specifics, and Loki had conjured scripts out of thin air, turning it from just staged fight into a mini-play. He'd modeled the scripts a bit after Romeo and Juliet, in the sense that the whole concept was two warring families, but there was no dramatic love-at-first-sight to be found in this mini-play. Tony was the narrator, Wanda and Loki the "villains" of the play that had caused the feud. Tasha and Thor were the members of one family, which Loki had named the Vorobyov family since, at Tasha's insistence, the play was set in Imperial Russia. Steve and Clint made up the Ivanov family. They'd also roped Sam, Rhodey, and Vision into it as the Emperor (Vision), the sorcerers' assistant (Sam), and the impartial villager (Rhodey).
They didn't technically need a curtain, since Loki's magic would be changing the scenery, but they had one anyway. Loki, backstage, threw up a spell to darken the sky little, muting the sunlight that still shone through. The Ice Resistance murmured amongst themselves.
Tony stepped out onstage. "Welcome, members of the Ice Resistance," he said. "To give you all a break from the work you've been doing, gathering intel on Rumlow, your Ice Alpha has decided to have us put on a play. It's small, but he figured you all needed a distraction, and his beta Natasha Romanoff agreed. So here we are. Prepare to travel back in time, Ice Resistance."
In the front row (Loki had summoned another screen for the people backstage to follow the play on), Rose and Tobias exchanged a relieved smile. That immediately put Loki at ease; so this had been a good idea.
Tony took up his position on the podium on the far side of the stage and read the intro like a Star Wars opening crawl. "The year is 1885, the height of the Russian Empire. It's not colder than usual, being the middle of summer, but there is a slight wind blowing down the lane on which our story opens. It's twilight. People stream down the lane, dressed to the nines and most of them slightly drunk. It is here that we meet the Vorobyov siblings, Ophelia and Vladimir, as they retreat from the party. Vladimir is being supported by his sister."
Loki's illusions conjured the drunken partygoers as Tasha and Thor took their places onstage.
"How much did you drink?" demanded Tasha, her Russian accent back in full force for the play.
"Too much, I think," Thor replied, convincingly acting drunk. "I will be fine, sister."
"Once you get home, that is," Tasha chided.
Tony spoke. "Enter the Ivanov twins, Octavius and Nestor, approaching from the opposite direction."
Steve and Clint entered from stage right, already snickering as they approached Tasha and Thor.
"Drunk again, Vladimir?" sneered Clint.
"How come you always have to bring your brother home, Ophelia?" Steve chastised. Their Russian accents, Loki mused from backstage, were really quite good for all that they'd learned them in an hour. "Can't he take care of himself?"
"Stuff it, Octavius," Tasha snapped.
Clint grinned. "She's feisty tonight."
"She always is when it comes to you devils," Thor managed.
Steve narrowed his eyes. "Who's the devil here? Us, or you, who can't seem to stay away from the alcohol?"
Thor did a convincing job of looking enraged. Tasha adopted a worried expression as he stumbled to his own feet. "Vladimir, don't -"
Clint laughed derisively. "Look at him, trying to prove he's still sober enough to stand. How pathetic -"
Thor took a swing at him, giving the appearance of actually punching him, since Clint's reaction was timed perfectly and Loki provided the magical sound effect. Clint stumbled backward across the stage, a look of fury crossing his face that actually did look quite real. "How dare you!"
The play continued through the first two acts, and Loki observed as the Ice Resistance relaxed. They were on edge so much, always looking over their shoulders, searching for Rumlow and tracking his wolves' movements. They deserved to be able to relax, Loki thought. He was just glad he'd been able to provide suitable entertainment.
The final act of the play was drawing to a close with the final battle scene. Loki and Wanda both used real magic, and Loki had given all four of the others enchanted pendants to use for the fight. Rose had started cheering on the Vorobyov-Ivanov team-up, and the chant had caught on as the Ice Resistance invested themselves in the story. With a defiant shout in Russian from Natasha (that Loki translated in midair - "Прочь, грязные колдуны!", in English "Begone, foul sorcerers!"), Loki and Wanda were "defeated" and the other four won. The play concluded with the "celebration of victory" that saw a similar scene to how the play had opened - only now the four of them were friends. The curtain dropped, the wolves leapt to their feet and applauded, and the Avengers arranged themselves behind the curtain for their bow. The curtain reopened; the Avengers joined hands and took a bow. Loki stood center stage, with Thor and Wanda on either side of him, and somehow managed to make eye contact with first Rose, then Tobias. They both nodded at him.
The curtain fell once more, and the Avengers filed offstage.
"I'm really glad you all went through with this," Loki told them. "The Ice Resistance seemed to love it."
"No 'seemed to' about it, Reindeer Games," Tony said, using his old nickname again. "They were completely enthralled."
"They loved it," Tasha said definitively. "No doubt about it."
"We do need a better name for them, though," Clint mused. "'Ice Resistance' just isn't cutting it."
"We'll figure that out later," Loki sighed. "I'm basically in meetings with various members of the Resistance for the rest of the day. Progress reports, status updates, strategy meetings that are useless until we figure out Rumlow's play. The usual bullshit."
"Yeah, I'm in and out of meetings today too," Tasha agreed. "Some of them I think I'll be heading with you, Обманщик, others alone. I'm also scheduled for the training room a few times today - apparently word of the impending showdown in Brooklyn between Crossbones and the Ice Alpha has spread, the Resistance is gaining new members all the time."
"Meanwhile, I'll be in the workshop with Vision, trying to figure out how to make armor for any wolves that choose to remain human for the inevitable fight. It needs to be silver-proof to avoid the silver poisoning that these werewolves get when in contact, but I'm also trying to figure out a way to configure it so it doesn't explode off if they need to change from human to wolf and back again," Tony said. "Rhodey, I may need your expertise too."
Rhodey nodded. "Of course."
"I'm running a spying op with a group of the newer members, showing them the ropes or whatever you want to call it," Clint contributed. "Maybe we'll actually find out something substantial."
"Doubtful, but keep at it," Steve said. "That's what I'll be doing, too. Thor?"
"I'm also taking out a group of newer members, but I'm not running an op - it's more of a defense class at this point," Thor said. "Basically teaching them how to defend against Rumlow's known tactics, and a few unorthodox ones too just in case."
"I can help," Wanda volunteered. "I don't really have anything else to do today. Besides, you said unorthodox, right? It's unlikely that Rumlow's got a sorcerer now, but it can't hurt to be prepared."
Thor nodded. "Good idea."
"Sam?" Steve looked to his friend.
Sam shook his head. "I've got three missing persons cases to look into now. I can't help deal with all the werewolf insanity too, even though I kinda want to since they all seem like good people. Besides, you guys've got this covered."
Loki nodded. "I believe we do. Now let's move it!"
They split up. Tony, Rhodey, and Vision headed downstairs to Tony's underground workshop; Tasha headed for the training room first; Sam went to his office area to continue his searches; Steve and Clint both headed for the weapons storage outbuilding to meet their teams; Thor sent Wanda on ahead to the still-empty other outbuilding that they'd use for practice, but hung back to talk to Loki.
"You know, I admire this," Thor said.
Loki tilted his head, curious. "Admire what?"
"This," Thor tried to explain, gesturing around him as the Ice Resistance divided for the day. "All of this. Everything you're doing to help these werewolves, how invested you are in this. I can see how much they look up to you. Rose and Tobias may be the heads of the branches of this whole Ice Resistance, but you're the real leader. Since they're werewolves, I suppose that makes you the Alpha of this huge pack."
Thor had no idea how right he really was. Loki offered him a smile that he hoped looked genuine (of course it did - he was the Trickster, the Liesmith, master of deception; since when did he hope?) and replied, "Thanks. I suppose I am."
Loki wrestled with himself for a moment, then decided he had to tell Thor what he was. He'd been in the dark for too long and deserved to know the real reason Loki was so invested in this. However, when he drew in a breath to speak, Thor kissed him, effectively cutting off both the breath and what Loki had been about to say.
"I've got to go, Wanda's waiting," Thor said when he pulled away.
Loki just nodded mutely, swallowing what he'd been about to say. Some other time, then. As if he'd want to later.
Thor gave his hand a quick squeeze before he was off, leaving Loki standing there on his own. His hand went automatically to fidget with the eihwaz around his neck. He drew a little comfort from the now-familiar warmth of the runestone, and resolved to inform Thor about what he was at the earliest convenience.
With that thought in mind, Loki directed his steps towards one of the debriefing rooms. He had meetings to attend to.
It was late in the day that something stranger than usual happened.
Loki's current meeting included Tasha, Tobias, and Rose. It was more a Resistance-leader strategy meeting than anything, though Tobias and Rose both had reports to give.
Rose spoke first. "Thank you," she said. "For the play earlier. We all needed a break, and the others enjoyed it. I think it raised all of our spirits."
Loki nodded. "It's the least I could do. The Ice Resistance -"
"We really need a better name," muttered Tasha. Loki glared at her. She grinned.
"- has been working hard trying to figure out what Rumlow's planning. They deserve to let off some steam once in a while," Loki finished, his attention returning to Tobias and Rose.
"Well, we're grateful for it," Rose said.
"I understand you've been spearheading the training of the new recruits?" Tasha addressed Rose.
Rose nodded, her blond hair falling in her face - it wasn't in its usual ponytail today. "Yeah. Word has really spread about the Ice Alpha-Crossbones showdown that's coming. We've got wolves coming in from all over the States." She grinned at Loki and flipped her hair out of her face, her golden necklace glinting in the light. "By the time Rumlow makes his move, New York is gonna be overrun with werewolves."
"Keep in mind, there are some wolves flooding in that sympathize with Rumlow, with Hydra," Tobias warned. "Not all of the newcomers are on our side."
"Do they know where Rumlow's base of operations is?" Loki asked. "Because we really need that intel."
"We don't think so," Rose shook her head. "From what we can tell, Rumlow's men pick them up off the streets. They're most likely blindfolded at least the first time, and he won't let them out into the field for a while until they prove their loyalty."
Loki gave her a quizzical look. "How do you know this?"
Rose shrugged and flipped out a pocket knife (steel, not silver; Loki was proud she'd chosen to train herself with a knife), flipping it from its hilt nd catching its point. "It's what I would do."
"They may not know where this Rumlow's base is," said a new, all-too-familiar voice from the doorway. "But I do."
Loki looked up as Rose and Tobias turned. Sigyn stood in the doorway, though stood was a bit too generous - she was leaning heavily on the doorframe, as if injured. Her red-blond hair was a tangled mess, and the fabric of the red-orange tunic she wore under her golden armor was torn in places and covered in dirt and what looked far too much like dried blood. Her ᛥ armband was intact, but the golden metal was also stained with blood, and her cloak was torn, though it was too dark to tell if there was blood on that too. Her blue-gray eyes held a mix of relief and pain, and her mouth - usually twisted up in a smile or a smirk - was turned down in a pained grimace. There was a gash on her head, and the left side of her face was covered in bruises, though what had likely been a black eye was mostly gone now.
"Sigyn?" Loki asked incredulously. "What are you doing here? What happened?"
Sigyn tried to stand straight, but stumbled the moment she lost contact with the doorframe. Loki was on his feet instantly and across the room in seconds to steady her.
"Come on," Loki said, guiding her over to a chair. "Easy. Easy does it. There you go."
Sigyn collapsed wearily into the chair. Loki knelt before her.
"Where are you hurt?" he asked.
Sigyn waved him off. "I'm fine," she managed. "Go back to your spot. Let me bring you up to speed."
Loki didn't want to, but he knew how stubborn she could be, and he knew she probably didn't have the strength to carry on one of her impossible arguments. So he retreated back to his place.
"Who's this?" Tobias questioned.
"This, my friends, is Sigyn," Loki introduced. "Убийца, you've met her. Rose, Tobias...this is an old friend of mine, one of the few I had growing up on Asgard. Sigyn, meet the heads of the Ice Resistance, Tobias Blaese and Rose Taylor."
Sigyn managed to nod at both of them. "A pleasure."
Rose asked, "What's that rune on your arm? The band thing?"
Sigyn glanced at it. "It's the stan rune. It means an obstruction, something blocking our path."
"Why do you wear it?" questioned Tobias.
"I'm the Goddess of Victory," Sigyn explained. "I wear it as a reminder that to achieve victory, you have to overcome obstacles. It's sort of become 'my' rune, used as a symbol for me in your mythology and throughout the Realms that know my name."
"Speaking of, what happened to you?" Loki asked. "No offense, but you look like you've just been through Hel."
"I kind of have," Sigyn sighed. "The Realms are in chaos. Word has spread about the appearance of four Infinity Stones in the last four years, and the Realms are panicking. There's been a state of unease ever since the Bifrost was destroyed, but it's gotten worse since the Convergence a couple years ago. Now with the rumors about the Infinity Stones and the great evil that's coming, that unease has turned into complete panic. Vanaheim is taking it hard - a group of new marauders stormed in shortly after the Convergence. Hogun's back in Asgard with no idea what's been happening, but the marauders...they've taken everything. A group of us are freedom fighters, trying to get Asgard's attention, to get someone's attention, and trying to get rid of them on our own."
"You said you knew where Rumlow's base is," Tasha said.
Sigyn nodded. "Yep."
"How?" Tasha inquired. "If you've been fighting on Vanaheim all this time, how do you know where Rumlow's been hiding?"
"I've heard rumors," Sigyn explained. "Apparently the news of the Ice Alpha-Crossbones showdown has spread throughout all nine realms. People are speculating, and I've heard even those in Asgard are wondering how it will unfold - and you of all people know how much Asgard hates werewolves, Loki." Loki bowed his head; he'd rather not remember that at the moment. "Anyway," Sigyn continued, "one of the wolves I've befriended on Vanaheim is apparently watching the scrying bowls closely to see what's been going on. She's seen the location of Rumlow's base."
"Where is it?" Rose asked. "In case you didn't hear, we kinda desperately need that information."
Sigyn drew in a breath to reply, but the breath turned into a violent cough halfway through. Her hand came away bloody. Loki shot to his feet again as Sigyn looked at him with real fear in her eyes before collapsing out of the chair, hitting the floor with an ominous thud. Loki rushed to her side, cursing her under his breath in both Russian and English.
"Damnit, Sigyn, you дурак [fool], you didn't слушайте [listen]!" Loki cursed as Tobias, Rose, and Tasha gathered around him. "I could have исцелил тебя [healed you]!"
Loki knelt by her side. "Rose, tear the tunic," Loki instructed. "I have to find the wound. Tasha, get her armor off. Tobias, support her head."
The three of them did as Loki instructed, Tasha removing the armor while Rose used her pocket knife to slit open the Asgardian silk of Sigyn's tunic. Tobias turned himself into a wolf and essentially became a living pillow, settling down behind her head.
Loki pushed the soft red-orange fabric out of the way to find a bullet lodged deep in Sigyn's sternum. Loki swore again. It was a miracle she wasn't dead.
"It missed her heart, but just barely," Loki said. "I'm going to need you girls to stand back. I'm not the greatest at doctoring, but I need to get that bullet out, and for that I need to concentrate. If I screw up, she's dead."
Rose and Tasha obligingly stepped back. Loki concentrated. This would probably have been safer with proper human medical tools, but Loki had no idea how to use them and he was pressed for time. He focused on the metal of the bullet. He had to telekinetically pull it out; if he simply scattered the molecules, it could kill her regardless, and telekinesis was the only other power of his that might be able to help at the moment. So he concentrated, tracing the shape of the bullet mentally. Slowly, carefully, swearing under his breath the entire time, Loki managed to get the bullet out. Once he'd deposited the thing on the table and placed a locking charm on it to keep it from rolling anywhere, Loki laid his hand over the wound, channeling his seidhr into it, encouraging it to heal. SLowly but surely, the wound beneath his hand closed, mending itself. As he healed the bullet wound, Loki cast a magical search over the rest of Sigyn's body, checking for more damage. Other than bruises and the cut on her head, she had a broken rib and a broken leg. No wonder she hadn't been able to stand.
Loki worked in silence for another forty minutes, cleaning up the wounds. He and Sigyn both were lucky that the broken bones had been clean breaks, because they were easy enough to mend, though the leg took some time. He fixed the tears in her cloak and tunic once the wounds were healed, and even magically cleaned off the tunic so she'd be a little more comfortable. Tasha had set the armor aside, and a wave of Loki's hand had that clean too. Then the Trickster sat back, exhausted and magically drained from so much healing.
"Now all we have to do is wait for her to wake up," Loki managed.
"You okay, Обманщик?" Tasha asked. "It looked like that took a lot out of you."
Loki nodded. "I'll be fine. But I do need to get out of this room and clear my head. You'll alert me if she wakes up while I'm gone?"
Rose nodded. "Go on. We'll watch her."
Tobias was still in wolf form, but he blinked once at Loki in what the Trickster assumed was agreement. Loki nodded at them all and slipped out of the room.
Loki wandered, not really knowing where he was going. He was emotionally and mentally drained, and he hadn't been sleeping well recently, so he was lready running on little sleep. He needed space to just be for a few minutes and process everything that had happened today.
He found himself out by the water. Something about the peacefulness of it, untouched by war and hardship, calmed him as Loki sat down a little ways away from the shore.
He was staring out over the water when he felt more than saw Thor sit down beside him. "Rough day?" the Thunderer asked.
"Sigyn's back," was Loki's reply. "She almost died."
Out of the corner of his eye, Loki saw Thor glance at him with thinly veiled alarm. "Why? What happened?"
"Vanaheim's in chaos," Loki explained. "So are the other Realms. They're all panicking about the appearance of the Stones. Vanaheim's been overrun by marauders again, and Sigyn's part of a group of freedom fighters."
"They did that to her?" Thor asked, though Loki thought that was fairly obvious.
"I think so. The wounds didn't quite seem consistent with the marauders that usually parade themselves through Vanaheim," Loki shrugged.
"How?"
"She got shot."
"Oh. But how -?"
"Thor!" Loki snapped, tearing his gaze away from the water to glare at his boyfriend. "Can we not talk about this?!"
Thor subsided, sufficiently chastised. Loki softened, his gaze returning to the seemingly endless blue-gray water of the lake.
"I'm sorry," Loki said. "It's just been a rough couple of hours."
"You said she almost died?" Thor questioned gently.
Loki nodded absently, his gaze still fixed on the water even though his mind was a million miles away. "I saved her. I kept fearing I was too late. But she's alive. Tasha, Tobias, and Rose are with her. I had to get away."
Thor wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "I know she's important to you," he murmured. "I can't imagine how awful this all must have been."
Loki took a little comfort in Thor's warmth. "She's my oldest friend," he said softly. "And I almost lost her."
"But you didn't," Thor pointed out. "You saved her."
"She didn't want me to," Loki said, looking away from the water and over at Thor. "I offered her my help when she first stumbled into the room. She waved me away. I should have insisted - maybe then she wouldn't be lying unconscious on the floor of the briefing room right now."
"Hey," Thor said, his free hand coming up to cup Loki's face. "You know you wouldn't have won. And if you'd argued, if you'd insisted, she might be dead now. Even if she didn't initially want you to, she'll be grateful that you saved her life."
"She was terrified, Thor," Loki told him, unwanted tears threatening to spill over. Loki refused to let them; he hadn't cried in centuries. "She was terrified. I saw it in her eyes before she collapsed. She was terrified. She was convinced she was going to die, and she was terrified."
"But you were there," Thor reminded him gently. A single tear escaped Loki's forced prison, and Thor ran his thumb gently across Loki's cheek to wipe it away. "You were there, and you saved her."
Thor kissed him gently, then pulled back and murmured, "It's okay to cry, Loki."
And the walls that Loki had built up and reinforced over centuries shattered. For the first time in over a thousand years, Loki let himself cry.
Everything that had been weighing so heavily on him since he found out he was a Frost Giant came pouring out with his unwanted but most likely necessary tears. He finally allowed himself to cry for the young man that had died on Jotunheim, and then again when he fell into the Void. He cried for the village his reckless and vengeance-driven actions had destroyed. He cried for the torture he'd suffered and the pain he'd inflicted. He cried for his mother, the only person other than Thor and Sigyn who loved him for who he was rather than who he had been or could be. He cried for Odin, who'd neglected him all his life and who Loki had spent so many centuries trying to impress. He cried for Jane, the poor mortal woman who'd been swept up in all this because of her own curiosity. He cried for Frost, the wolf inside him that he'd been trying to deny all his life. He cried for the Maximoffs, who'd lost so much and yet the last of them remained a survivor. He cried for everyone they'd lost due to Ultron - an entire country turned to rubble and ash by the machinations of a being that should never have been. He cried for the Ice Resistance, who were giving up so much to help him win what was starting to seem like an impossible fight. He cried for Rose, who'd lost her innocence the day she met him. He cried for Tobias, who'd lost his world to Rumlow's schemes, yet fought on anyway. He cried for Sigyn, who'd endured so much and nearly died multiple times due to his mischief, and who'd willingly give her life to deliver information that might help him. He cried for Thor - beautiful, caring Thor - who'd put up with him all their lives and could still find it in his heart to love Loki unconditionally.
But mostly, Loki cried for himself, for his lonliness and pain and misery. He cried for the cruel hand that the gods had dealt him and the agony that came with a life sentenced to misery. He cried for the strange acceptance that had enveloped him since arriving at the Tower all those years ago, the unfathomable way the Avengers had accepted him as a part of them despite his past. He cried for the beautiful, terrible curse that was his existence as a werewolf, and for the years gone by spent wishing that he could be normal. He cried for the self-hate that had followed him around for centuries, the rage that had fueled his actions for so long in recent memory. And he cried for the man he used to be, the young man forever longing for a love he'd never receive, completely missing the love that he already got.
Through it all, Thor held him, running his fingers through Loki's hair and just being there, knowing there was more comfort offered in his silence right now. As Loki's tears began to slow, Thor murmured the chorus of a song in his ear:
"Tonight before you fall asleep
I'll run my thumb across your cheek... (across your cheek...)
Cry...!
'Cause I'm here to wipe your eyes...
I know I made you feel this way
You gotta breathe, we'll be okay... (we'll be okay...)
Cry...!
'Cause I'm here to wipe your eyes...
Oh-oh
'Cause I'm here to wipe your eyes..."
As Thor's voice faded, Loki managed to compose himself and look Thor in the eye.
"Thank you," he said, and didn't even try to disguise the slight tremor in his voice. "I needed that."
"I know," Thor replied. "You never cry."
"It's a sign of weakness," Loki said.
"No, Loki," Thor shook his head. "It's a sign of strength."
Loki kissed him, light but lingering, and then returned his gaze to the water, leaning his head on Thor's shoulder, for the moment content to just sit there.
Because for the first time, Loki truly was not alone.
Sigyn was stirring by the time Loki walked back into the briefing room. Tasha's worried expression dissolved when she saw Loki in one piece.
"I was starting to get worried that Rumlow had dragged you off somewhere," she said.
Loki shook his head. "Nope. I just...sorted some things out."
Tasha didn't press, which Loki was grateful for, both because he wasn't sure he could handle talking about it in his current fragile state and because Sigyn was waking up.
The first thing Sigyn said was, "I'm alive!"
The second thing she said was, "Wait...so is my pillow."
Loki broke into a relieved grin as Sigyn glanced to the side to see Tobias, who hadn't moved the entire time, staring at her from where his head rested on his front paws.
"Werewolf," Sigyn decided. Tobias raised his head and nosed her, as if to confirm the fact.
Sigyn looked to Loki. "You healed me."
Loki nodded. "You were dying. I had to."
Sigyn smiled. "Thanks."
Loki offered her his hand. "You think you can stand?"
"Stand what? The sight of you?" Sigyn smirked, accepting the offered hand and pulling herself to her feet.
Loki rolled his eyes. "Well, your sense of humor's intact." He steadied her as she swayed, but once she was steady he let go.
"It might ache a little for a few days, but it'll fade," Loki told her. "You'll be fine."
Sigyn nodded. "Thank you," she said again. "Now, I believe I was in the middle of telling you all where Rumlow's base is?"
"Yes," Tobias said from where he'd changed back and donned the identical clothes to what he'd been wearing earlier that Loki had conjured when he transformed. "Information we desperately need, as both Loki and Rose have pointed out."
"Rumlow's base is down by the docks, in an old abandoned warehouse along the waterfront. From the little my werewolf friend saw in the scrying bowl, the place is a maze, but he also doesn't seem to have many guards posted around the outer edges of the warehouse. My guess? The farther in you go, the closer to Rumlow you get, the more guards," Sigyn reported.
"Thank you," Loki said. "Now we can pull a raid on his home base."
"That may not be such a good idea," Tobias cautioned. "We've just found out that Rumlow's mobilizing. Either he's onto us or he's about to make his move. My guess is the latter." Tobias looked around the table gravely. "Rumlow's going to strike, and soon."
"All the more reason to scout out his base," Rose said. "Maybe we can get a look at his plans."
"We'd have to be stealthy," Tasha pointed out. "It needs to be a get in, get out run. No casualties. We don't want him knowing that we know where his base is."
"We could leave a false trail," Loki suggested. "Lead him away from the warehouse while we take a quick look around. With luck and a few silencing spells, we should be able to avoid whatever guards he has posted and hopefully finally get some idea of what we're up against."
"You shouldn't go, Loki," Rose said. "You're the Ice Alpha. You're too important a symbol."
"Screw being a symbol," Loki shot back. "It's me Rumlow's after. And I'm not going to sit idly by and let innocent people risk their lives when I could be doing the exact same thing to find out what his play is."
"Don't push it, Rose," Tasha smirked when Rose drew a breath to reply. "He's going."
Rose sighed but subsided.
"It's a good plan," Tobias said. "Risky, but good. I can have a team on standby waiting to get you out if things go sideways."
"Tobias," Tasha said, giving him a look, "things always go sideways."
Tobias just grinned.
"How can I repay you for your help today?"
Sigyn raised an eyebrow at him. "Trickster, I think you've already repaid me plenty. You saved my life, remember?"
Loki smiled. "I suppose I did."
Sigyn thwacked his arm. "Shut up. I'll see you soon, I hope."
Loki's smile grew. "I believe you will."
Sigyn embraced him quickly, then walked out a little farther and called up, "Heimdall!" A second later the brightly shimmering Bifrost opened, and the next second Sigyn was gone.
"You will see her again, Loki." Thor spoke from behind him.
Loki turned around to face the Thunderer. "I know."
Loki walked the few paces it took to get to where Thor stood and hooked his arms around Thor's neck. "Thank you for earlier."
"Of course," Thor replied. "I don't like to see you hurting, Loki."
"Which is why you always conveniently know exactly what to do or say to make me feel better," Loki teased, half-serious.
Thor smiled. "I suppose."
Loki kissed him lightly. "Come on. It's late, and I've been through emotional hell today. I need sleep."
"Good idea," Thor said, and Loki detached himself to fall into step beside Thor, hands intertwined. A different song than before played briefly through Loki's head as they walked.
"Our story binds us
Like right and wrong
Your hand in mine
Marching to the beat of the storm...!
And we walk together into the light...
And my love will be your armor tonight...
We are lionhearts...!
And we stand together facing a war...
And our love is gonna conquer it all...
We are lionhearts...!"
As the two Asgardians walked back into the Compound, Loki watched Thor and thought a silent promise to Rumlow.
If you dare harm him, if you dare harm any of them, I will personally rip you apart. You won't know what hit you. And I swear to all the gods, you will not live to regret it.
On that friendly note... Well, at least it's not a huge cliffhanger this time! That's next chapter. *evil grin* Anyway, even though parts of this were kind of heavy, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a review - the action is coming. And you're not going to know what hit you when it does.