"Listen, we need to find Lady Frigga, she's gonna send us back down to Earth or…Midgard - and you'll be safe there. I know people down there and they're gonna take care of you," Christie briskly decided once she spun round to face her terrified looking friends.
"MIDGARD?" the girls whinged back simultaneously.
"YES. Are you guys really in a position to-"
"Annerledes, I must go and deal with this. I'll try to fight this thing for as long as I possibly can," Loki suddenly muttered, causing Christie to turn back around to face him again. "I'll be able to contact you through our minds, and so as long as you don't block me out, that will be the real me talking, always. That is always going to be genuine, do you understand me?" Christie nodded as Loki took her head in his hands to kiss her softly - and for what they both knew could be the last time.
But that was the most painful part, because Christie knew that Loki still had no idea that she was probably going to be the reason for their demise.
"Stay safe Loki, and…I am so, so sorry," she whispered to him once they broke apart. Loki pressed a kiss on top of her nose and gave her a small sad smile, not fully understanding her apology but not having the time to question it.
"I love you," he whispered, before disappearing into thin air yet again. Christie simply stood there staring at the empty space, swaying slightly in stunned shock before roughly clearing her throat and snapping back into action.
But before she could, all the girls rushed over to give her another one of their heartwarming group hugs for support.
"Don't worry, Annerledes - hopefully the real him will be back with us soon," Jennie hummed as she rubbed her back. Christie nodded silently and wiped her nose, although she didn't believe a word of that, and the four of them made a beeline to find Frigga. It took a solid few minutes of running through the silent, darkened hallways of the abandoned palace - and seemingly to no avail.
"Ohhh she must be around here somewhere! When does she ever go missing?" Jennie panted as they ran. Christie was still extremely worried about Loki - but she knew the girls' safety and getting back down to Coulson was now her main priority.
Suddenly, there was an earsplitting scream from somewhere down the one corridor that they had not yet been through.
"Down here!" Delilah shouted, heading straight toward the source of the noise. Christie, Jennie and Renesme all sped after her, skidding over the marble floors until they were face to face with a locked door. "Stand back," Delilah warned them, giving them a few seconds to shuffle out of the way before booting the door down with one powerful kick, that nobody knew she had in her. Standing on the other side was Frigga, who must've been the source of the scream. She was crouched beside Odin's bedrest, her usually rosy face now dangerously pale.
"Lady Frigga?" Christie called out tentatively, making her way into the golden room one step at a time with the girls cowered behind her. "What's going on?"
"So, you must be the one that the Other Prince never quietens about," came a familiar deep growl from one of the darkened corners of the room. Christie heard Jennie take a harsh breath behind her, so spun around - just in time to see a Frost Giant slowly emerge from the shadows. She assumed it to be the same one that had threatened Odin with war, because she had nothing else to go by. Laufey, she remembered his name to be.
And just like that, 'Annerledes, Serving Girl from Asgard' dissolved as 'Christie, Assassin from S.H.I.E.L.D.' returned.
"Hey buddy!" she taunted, taking cautious both bold steps towards him. "I'm not overly sure who you are, or what you want - but you either leave in peace or in pieces, and at this moment I'm doing you the favour of allowing you to choose which one. Isn't that kind of me?" Jennie, Renesme and Delilah stared at her in utter disbelief. In fact, they and Frigga were completely paralysed in fear as they watched Christie take several bold steps towards Laufey, without showing an ounce of fear on her face.
"Be careful, Annerledes!" Renesme hissed shakily from where she was cowering behind Delilah.
"Ren, it's okay," Christie murmured out of the corner of her mouth, before shooting her a brief smile of assurance. She quickly turned her attention back to Laufey who was now shooting her an evil smirk, clearly unfazed by her words as he steadily strolled over Odin's unconscious body. Christie wasn't stupid. She knew exactly what he was planning to do, although he was taking forever to do it. So, whilst speedily playing the possible scenarios out in her mind, Christie unrobed herself.
And as the white robe fell to the floor and pooled at her feet, the girls and Frigga gasped at the sight of what she was wearing underneath.
It was a tight white leotard with a white leather belt strapped around her waist, loaded with various weapons that she had managed to recover from her first landing and keep stashed at all times. She quickly tied back her hair so that it swayed in a long ponytail behind her - but it was only when Frigga had suddenly thrown herself forward to shield Odin in panic mode, begging for his life, that Christie realised just how fatal the next few moments could potentially be. If Laufey plunged the newly formed icicle dagger in, Asgard would lose both Queen and King together - in a shish kebab fashion.
So she suddenly whipped her own dagger from her belt and lunged straight towards Laufey with it. There were a chorus of screams in the room as the girls watched Laufey dodge Christie's slick movements before freezing the dagger in her palm.
But Christie was ready for everything - and she had been trained far too extensively for any surprises.
She took a run up, using one of the chairs lining the room for a boost, took high backflip off the closest wall and landed on Laufey's shoulders, trapping the his thick monstrous head between her thighs - then performed one swift jerk to the left with her hips, successfully snapping Laufey's neck clean in half. The sickly crack cutting through the air was enough to tell everyone that there had been an instant kill. Christie leapt off his shoulders just before his lifeless body crumpled onto the floor, landing on one knee with one palm placed on the stone ground for balance, and slamming the frozen hand down to smash the ice. Just like that, her dagger was released from her cold palm.
Jennie, Renesme, Delilah and Frigga all stood there in silence, staring at her in awe - stunned to the point where they themselves felt frozen. Christie was well aware that her cover was now completely blown, but truthfully couldn't care less. It was clear the mission was completed.
"Right. Now, before you even ask me-" she began with both hands risen in the air - but she never got to finish her explanation. Another Frost Giant suddenly stormed into the golden room, just as towering and as ugly as the last one.
"It's time," he smirked, raising a dagger in order to throw it to Odin's chest, which would've happened at a speed that even Christie wouldn't be able to stop. The seconds began to drag, everything seemed to be moving in slow motion - when all of a sudden, a green flash burst through the atmosphere and the Frost Giant was knocked off of his feet and slammed into the wall by the mysterious force.
Another instant kill.
Frigga slowly raised her head from where it was buried in her husband's chest to thank the hero again - to see her youngest son with a sceptre in his hand.
"The plot twist I was hoping for," Christie muttered in relief as she galloped over to him and smothered him a hug. Whether Loki was 'possessed' at this point or not, it didn't matter - all she knew was that it felt good to be in his embrace again. He even hugged her back with one hand on her lower back and the other supporting the back of her neck whilst the three girls attempted to gather their thoughts to comprehend what the hell was going on. Frigga scurried over as well, giving her son a giant warm hug as a thank you once Christie let go of him.
Then finally, she turned to Christie.
"Annerledes! My beloved Annerledes, oh how I knew you were a special one. How did you…what…where did you learn such a skillset? Was it on Midgard?" she breathed in wonder, cupping her face in her soft hands. Christie gulped and opened her mouth to answer - but was instead interrupted by a now incredibly confused Loki.
"What skills is she talking about, Annerledes?" he blinked.
"ANNERLEDES THAT WAS JUST INCREDIBLE! DANGEROUS, BUT INCREDIBLE!" Delilah suddenly yelled in amazement, only now properly finding her voice after all those stunned minutes of silence.
"Amazing! I had no idea you were capable! If I knew that I wouldn't have been worried…ever!" Renesme breathed, clasping her hands together in joy.
"Oh. I must've missed it - wait, what are you wearing?" Loki asked as his eyes ran shamelessly down her body. Delilah, Renesme, Christie and Frigga all gave tired chuckles back - but Jennie was the only one staring at Loki's face from afar.
Something seriously wasn't right here.
There was no glint in his eyes, no sparkle, not even a shimmer of blue to insinuate that something was controlling him. It was simply a solid muddy blueish green, and Jennie remembered reading something about that.
It meant that Loki's entire body had given into temptation and the bad guy had already won.
So no - the fight wasn't over yet. Christie still had one more enemy left.
…
A/N: Expect a chapter on Friday and Saturday next week. Assassin in Asgard: Double bill!