Hi Guys!

Welcome back! I'm glad you're all here as things are starting to pick up with the plot. Things have been rather feelings based but that is all about to change! It's time for action. Plus someone is finally going to make their entrance, but hopefully their late arrival will at least look amazing!

Thanks as always for reading, the favs, follows and reviews. You know by now I love feedback as I want to improve as a writer and maybe someday someone will be writing a fanfic about my work! (I can dream)

Cheers!

D.S X

Disclaimer: I do not own Thor, the Avengers or any other of Marvel's various properties

12

The first thing Loki saw when he reappeared was a Chitari baring down on him from the sky. He had teleported back into the main part of the city near Stark's Tower, though it appeared his aim was in need of work, seen as he had teleported right in the middle of a street, completely exposed to the enemy.

Luckily, he was able to swiftly duck out of the way, finding shelter behind one of the metal cars that lay abandoned, some smoking where they had been shot by the Chitari's energy blasts.

Loki hissed out a curse as the blasts shattered around him, watching carefully as the Chitari flew overhead, getting ready to come back around for another series of shots.

Loki took the brief reprieve to check his surroundings, only to find that his shelter was surrounded by open space, leaving him vulnerable and unable to make a run for it.

The sound of the Chitari's flying machines engines revved and Loki bit his lip as he weighed his options.

"I have to take it out," Loki muttered and with a determined glint he tensed and waited.

As the Chitari wheeled around Loki stood and gestured with his hand, sending his own blast of green Seidr right at the ship, where it hit dead on, exploding in shower of fire and metal. Loki stayed in place, being careful not to expose himself in case another enemy lurked nearby. Once satisfied that no others were close Loki shot out of his cover and started to make his way up the street at a run.

He knew he had to get back to Stark Tower, Amora would be close and it was where the Tesseract remained and kept the portal open, allowing for the Chitari hordes to descend on Midgard. Loki knew that the best way to turn the tide was to shut down that portal, he could only hope that this attempt would go better than the first.

Unfortunately, he had to get back to the tower to do that.

As Loki made his way around a corner, he quickly had to pull himself up short to stop from exposing himself to a platoon of ground troops. The half a dozen Chitari were marching down the street, large gun like blasters shooting the purple energy at the surrounding buildings, cracking apart stone and brick and just creating chaos in their wake.

Loki stepped back, quickly grasping at his Seidr to cast his favourite spell, coating himself in invisibility before moving forward. He knew his best bet was to sneak past the enemy. With them being in such numbers a fight would be detrimental and Loki couldn't afford to run his Sedir low before he had the chance to make it back to Stark Tower. Sticking close to the buildings Loki timed his darts forward, avoiding the firing blasters so that he would be able to walk past unnoticed.

As he dodged the final blast of the Chitari at the back, Loki, about to let out a relieved breath couldn't help but freeze at the sound of the high-pitched scream that emitted from behind him.

Spinning sharply Loki stared as the Chitari all aimed their blasters at a small gap between the buildings, shouting in a strange garbled language that even the All-Speak had a hard time deciphering, but Loki didn't need it to know they were demanding whoever was hiding in the shadows to come out. Loki watched as two figures detached themselves from the safety of the gloom, edging closer even as they clutched desperately at each other.

"Please, please don't hurt us," a Midgardian woman begged as she clutched a little boy, younger than Loki to her chest, keeping his face pressed tightly to her, blocking his vision.

"We don't have any weapons, we don't have anything," the woman continued, and Loki could hear the sob in her voice as the blasters didn't flinch. "Please just let us go."

The Chitari snarled and hissed at each other. The young boy, who had twisted his head slightly at the noise flinched before burrowing himself back further into the woman. Loki felt dread well in his stomach as the Chitari hissed and chattered, one stepping closer to raise their gun, aiming at the two Midgardians.

Loki didn't need to think, he didn't even worry that his plan would be ruined, he just reacted. Dropping the invisibility spell, Loki redirected his Seidr into a blast, pouring more power in than he would have normally and sending it right at the Chitari, hitting the one that would have no doubt shot the two Midgardians to death if Loki had let him, sending them sprawling to the ground as the Seidr bolt shot through them, frying their insides in a single moment.

The action was enough to gain the other Chitari's attention. They turned as one, blasters up and firing at Loki without even a thought. But Loki was not stupid, nor was he untrained, he was an Asgardian and Asgardians were trained and prepared for battle. Pulling his knives from his belt, Loki darted forward, ducking between the purple blasts to launch himself as the closest Chitari. Loki didn't allow his mind to think too hard, letting his body fall into the stances he had long learned from his Mother and which had been honed by the Cohort for the last year. So, he didn't hesitate in slitting the Chitari's throat, so they fell lifeless. He didn't stop to look as he moved on towards the rest, dropping low to sweep the legs of the next Chiatri with his blade, dark blood spurting from the ankles where he severed the tendons, causing them to scream in pain and collapse before Loki finished them off with a quick stab to the head.

"Finish the enemy quickly," Loki remembered one of his Mother's many lectures when she had taken the time to work on his knife skills after a Seidr lesson. "There is no room for theatrics on the battlefield. Foolery will get you killed."

Loki easily followed his Mother's wise words, systematically working through the Chitari with a series of swift busts of speed with his knives, only to be followed up by Seidr blasts with sent them tumbling onto their backs so Loki could finish the work. As Loki slammed a foot into the crotch of the final Chitari he didn't notice one that he thought he had finished wither, reaching for its gun, aiming at the vulnerable Prince's back.

"Behind you!"

Loki reacted instantly to the high-pitched shout, not even bothering to turn he simply teleported from his position to reappear beside the struggling Chitari. The strike with his knife was eclipsed by the purple blast shattering a wall of one of the buildings, where stone and a cloud of dust erupted into the air before all fell into an unnerving silence once again.

Breathing deeply, Loki's shoulders shook thanks to his exhaustion. Green eyes took in the battlefield, eyeing the Chitari he had taken out with a degree of disgust. Though his stomach clenched at the blood that continue to weep from the precise cuts that Loki had administered to their throats, chest and stomach.

A whimpering brought him out of his swirling thoughts and Loki snapped his gaze to the crouching Midgardians, the woman having curled herself around the child as though that would be enough to protect him. Stepping gingerly over the bodies Loki approached the Midgardians. The woman looked up at the noise, only to gasp and clutch the child tighter. Loki paused, not wanting to scare the woman any more than she obviously had been, but it would not be honourable for him to leave without seeing if they were in need of healing.

"It is alright," Loki said softly, glad for the All-speak which translated his words without his conscious thought. "You're safe now."

The woman shivered, head coming up to look at Loki, only for her to suddenly gasp at the sight of him.

"Oh my god, you're just a boy."

"I'm no boy, my Lady. Do you and the child need healing?" Loki tried his best not to let the irritation of being called a boy show on his face, instead keeping his features neutral, even as he stowed a knife at his belt so he could hold out a hand. The woman flinched and Loki hesitated, confused as to her reaction. Though it was quickly answered when he caught sight of his own hand. It was stained a deep dark colour, a mix between purple and black. It ran up the length of his fingers all the way to his forearm, where the splatters continued to mar his leathers, giving him the look of a butcher.

Cursing inwardly, Loki summoned some Seidr, allowing it to remove the vile Chitari blood in the blink of an eye. Loki had to wonder why he hadn't done so earlier; it had made his skin itch having that revolting stuff all over him.

"I did not mean to cause you distress," Loki smiled. "Please, I merely wish to know if either of you need anything healed."

"How did you do that?" it wasn't the woman who asked the question, but rather the child, who having squirmed around in her grip was now staring at Loki with wonder. Loki had to admit the look made his pride sing, but he pushed it aside, he didn't have time to be dwelling here.

"Seidr of course, though tell me what's your name?"

"Peter!" the Midgardian cried, even as the woman tried to hush him.

"Peter?" Loki repeated, stepping closer so he could kneel to the child's height, though not too much as to make the woman nervous. "Well Peter, are you hurt at all?"

Peter shook his head. "No. Aunt May got us out of the apartment but we couldn't run out in the street because of the monsters."

Loki didn't bother to correct the child, simply nodding before getting back to his feet.

"That is well then, though I should think that it would be best for both of you to leave the city. You wouldn't want to be caught in the crossfire."

Peter nodded, a smile creasing his face, "thank you for saving us."

Loki nodded, but as he turned away, he was surprised to hear the woman, Aunt May, call after him.

"You're not heading that way, are you? That's where -"

"My Lady, I am well aware what lies in this direction. I suggest you do as I said and get the child out of here. Innocent lives shouldn't be caught up in this."

He didn't wait to see if the woman did as he said. He had done all he could with the time he could spare. He still had to get to Stark's Tower and stop this madness. Though he couldn't help but feel a spark of pride, he had at least managed to save someone, and that gave him all the fire he needed to carry on.

Loki came across a few other Chitari patrols as he worked his way closer to the centre of the city, but with a mixture of his Seidr and knives he made short work of them. He was grateful there was so little movement on the ground, but that could not be said for the air. Loki had seen several Chitari on their flying machines, most being pursued or pursing Stark in his red and gold armour.

Finally, Loki made it onto familiar streets, the ones he had worked his way down when he had made his first assault on Stark Tower. Only now they were mostly a mass of rubble and broken glass, there were even a few of the metal cars crashed into some, smoking feebly while they were left to rot by their owners. Tilting his head back Loki gazed up at the still standing Stark Tower. He could see the small shadows of the Chitari flying around on their machines, along with the swirling vortex that was the portal they continued to pour from, hovering over the Midgardian city, blocking out the sun.

Taking a cautious look around, Loki let out a breath, "where is everyone?" it was a surprising discovery. Loki had expected to come across swarms of Chitari this close to the portal, but it appeared the Chitari had since fanned out from this position. Whether that was due to the influence of the Midgardians Loki didn't know, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Gathering his courage Loki broke across the open ground that led the way to Stark Tower. Not wanting to risk using up his much needed Seidr, Loki didn't bother with his invisibility spell, which was a decision that was going to cost him dearly.

As he made it halfway across the distance Loki barely had time to drop to his knees as a blast of purple energy came sailing at his head. Thankfully his dodge caused it to explode into one of the abandoned cars, where it set ablaze with a loud boom, showering hot pieces of metal and flame into the air. Loki didn't have time to feel shocked though as the Chitari that had been conspicuously absent before suddenly started to appear. Crawling from the darkness of the destroyed buildings they converged on the lone Asgardian who remained in position, hands sweating as his fingers flexed on his knives.

Green eyes roved over the crowd of Chitari, all with the blasters up and ready for attack. "Even when the odds are against you, the quickest of fly's can always escape the net." Loki grit his teeth as his remembered his Mother's words, bunching his muscles before shooting across the distance between him and the closest Chitari in a display of staggering speed. His mind easily slipped into that familiar trance like state, body able to move without conscious thought through years of hard training and muscle memory. Knives danced and flashed as Loki twisted and flipped around the Chitari, never staying on one target for long. Aiming slashes at vulnerable wrists, ankles and throats, that finished off his opponents with deadly accuracy.

However, though Loki was well trained he was still a boy, and his lack of experience was what brought him down when finally, a purple energy bolt managed to find its mark. Loki hissed as it crashed into his back, sending shocks of burning pain down his spine, along with throwing him off his feet to land in a sprawl on his front. The impact dislodged one of his knives from his hand, where it went spinning off out of his reach. Before Loki could even crawl aside a heavy foot landed on his back, erupting a shout of pain from the Young Prince as it pinned him to the ground as the Chitari loomed over him.

A string of foreign hisses came to Loki's ear, ones even the All-speak couldn't decipher, but Loki didn't need the instant translation to understand exactly what was to happen as at the same moment the blaster in the Chitari's grip was raised and pointed directly at the Young Princes head. Loki fruitless tried to struggle, but it did little good, he was pinned and even if he could have escaped there were still other Chiatri with their blasters ready to finish the job. Just as Loki was about to call on his Seidr a cry erupted from somewhere Loki couldn't see but it was enough to cause all the Chiatri to turn and look and that was all the moments distraction that was needed. Loki felt when the Chiatri that held him was thrown off him, the release of pressure from his back had him breathing out a relieved sigh, but it was only there for a second before the reality of the situation kicked back in. Wincing Loki tried to push himself to his feet, only for hands to grip his shoulders and pull him back down.

"Keep down, I need to heal your back."

"Sigyn?!" Loki bleated, finally managing to twist around to see a dishevelled Healers Apprentice glaring at him, even as her hands lit up with the familiar light green Seidr which she directed to his back.

"What are you doing here?" Loki hissed, even as he felt the bruising from the Chitari blast to his back began to heal. He couldn't believe it, Sigyn was here beside him. The last he had seen of the girl was when he was thrown from Stark Tower, he had been sure she wouldn't have stuck around after such a catastrophic failure.

"Saving you it seems," Sigyn grunted, eyes flicking from Loki to their surroundings. "You couldn't have sent up a flare sooner, Leif was starting to panic."

"Leif? Where is he?"

Sigyn nodded at something and Loki shifted to follow, only for his mouth to gape open as he watched Leif, the sword Loki had given him all that time ago thrust into one of the Chitari's chest, killing it before moving swiftly to block a blaster bolt then moving in for the next kill.

"He's gotten rather good with that sword," Loki heard Sigyn mutter through his stupefied spectating.

"B…but how -?"

"Keep still would you, I don't want to have to break your back if I set these bones incorrectly. You do know you've cracked a few vertebrae; you shouldn't have even been walking."

Loki ignored Sigyn's continued medical chatter, unable to do anything but watch as Leif, sweet, stuttering Leif went toe to toe with the remaining Chitari and finished them, albeit messily and with little technique, but Loki couldn't bring it in himself to care.

As Leif rendered the final living Chitari headless he turned, eyes widening at the sight of the downed Prince and Sigyn.

"Prince Loki!" he cried, rushing over to the two of them, abandoning his sword when he fell to his knees, hands hovering over Loki unsure as to whether he should even touch him.

"Are you a…alright? Are y…you injured? Where d…did you go w…when you were blown from the -?"

"He can't answer anything if you continue to bark questions at him," Sigyn said, though she only paused Leif in his questioning as he continued to mutter them under his breath. She halted her Seidr, lifting her hands away from Loki's back. "There, all done, but don't try to over tax it too much, that could have been a lot worse than it was. How did you even manage to nearly break your back? I know you were blow off that roof, but you have Seidr for the love of the Norns it should have been simple to -"

Sigyn's rant and Leif's worried mumbling both ceased however when Loki, finally having managed to push himself to his knees grabbed the two of them, pulling them both into a fierce hug.

"Thank the Norns you're alright," Loki whispered, so low that his two fellow Asgardians could barely hear him. But Loki didn't care, he was just so thankful, they were alive, they were alright and appeared to be no worse for wear. He didn't know what he would have done if anything had happened to them.

"P…Prince Loki," Leif started his usual protests, squirming in Loki's grip "Y…you really mustn't-"

"There's no need to hug us, we're perfectly fine," Sigyn snapped. Loki ignored the both of them, simply gripped tighter.

"I'm a Prince of Asgard, if I want to hug my friends than I can."

Both his companions, no, his friends tensed, and Loki thought for a moment that they would pull away, refute his claim. Loki wasn't sure why the thought of them doing such a thing was like a stab to the chest, but he knew that if they rejected him, it would feel as though Thor had just struck him with Mjolnir.

Then quietly Sigyn muttered, "well we better do as the Prince orders. Though if I must say my Prince, I don't believe this is the best time."

"A…aye, my P…Prince. There's …. get down!"

Loki's hug was shaken loose, and Leif threw himself over the top of the Young Prince, taking Sigyn down with them so that all three were able to avoid the purple blasts from a Chitari flying overhead. Loki scrambled from beneath the two of them, throwing up a hand to send out his Seidr, causing the green blast of energy to strike the black flying machine, where it exploded into a shower of metal and flame.

"That will have more than likely drawn more to this location," Loki said, pushing himself to his feet, stowing his remaining knife, before stretching out his hands to Sigyn and Leif. "We should move on from here and to Stark Tower."

Sigyn eyed one hand and even Leif hesitated before reaching out to grasp the Young Prince's fingers, identical expressions of determination etched into the features.

"Stark Tower is over run on the inside, we would be better off meeting up with the rest of the Avengers and forming some sort of plan. We kind of left them behind when you got blow away." Sigyn explained, Leif nodding at her side.

"I a…agree. Heading in a…alone would be t…to dangerous. W…we should h…have some b…backup."

Loki wasn't able to hide his surprise at their disagreement with his plan. Sigyn he could possibly understand, she had been contrary since he had met her, but Leif. His Valet had never once argued with him, or failed to follow his orders, so what was so different now?

"There is a difference between friends and comrades Brother," the voice of Thor sounded in his head, repeating words from a long since forgotten memory. When he had been a small child that was more than content to sit on his elder Brother's knee and listen to his epic stories of adventure with himself and the Warriors Three and Sif. "Comrades follow orders to the letter with no questions asked. While friends though will follow you, won't ever be afraid to tell you when you're wrong because they care about you."

Loki looked into the faces of his friends and didn't need to even think about if they cared for him, that would be illogical. Instead he nodded, "alright. So, do you know where they are?"

Sigyn and Leif both appeared shocked for a moment before Sigyn took command. "They'll be wherever the fighting is thickest. The Captain America was insistent on saving as many civilians as possible."

"He would not be wrong, civilian life should be a priority," Loki said, watching as Leif picked up his discarded sword. "We'll keep an eye out ourselves as we advance. Sigyn stay in the centre, can you track these Avengers?"

Sigyn frowned, "yes, I believe I can. They don't have Seidr but I have spent some time around them, I'll be able to direct my Seidr in a simple tracking spell, though it will leave me exposed."

"Don't worry about that," Loki said. "You concentrate of finding the Avengers. Leif take point."

The Valet startled, "m…me?"

"Aye," Loki smiled. "You'll keep watch on the front and follow Sigyn's directions. If any Chitari come, you'll sound the warning and attack first from the front. I'll keep watch on the rear and the sky as my Seidr gives me the biggest range, so I'll be able to cover Sigyn as well."

Sigyn didn't look happy with that but both she and Leif nodded in agreement with the plan and the three children set off in pursuit of the Avengers.

Following Sigyn's directions took them around Stark's Tower. Loki was surprised that the Midgardians had not managed to advance further, he knew they were impressive fighters, he had seen that for himself.

That just proves how overwhelming the Chitari forces are, Loki thought as he eyed the sky and the portal which continued to churn out more and more Chitari.

"Take the next left," Sigyn ordered Leif, though when they did, they found a street overflowing with Chitari, all ready and waiting to wreak havoc.

"Take cover!" Leif shouted, diving to the side, along with Sigyn. Though they would have still been blasted to pieces if Loki hadn't managed create a Seidr shield in time to take the purple blasts that came their way, allowing all three children to start to retreat from the horde that let out a violent shriek before surging forward to follow them.

"We need more space," Sigyn cried. Leif nodded as he moved in beside her, continuing to retreat from the horde of Chitari. Loki blew out a breath, managing to keep the shield in place, but it was a drain on his Seidr that he couldn't afford to keep up. Plus, he would need to lower it to even send any counterattack. Stopping abruptly, Loki grit his teeth, twisting his hand to pump more Seidr into the shield so that it was clearly visible.

"Get back to back!" Loki ordered, which his friends were quick to obey. "I'll break their ranks. Keep in your area and don't lose sight of each other. They'll overwhelm us otherwise."

"What are you -?" Sigyn started to ask but Loki simply pulled back his palm before thrusting it at his Seidr shield, which the Chitari had been clawing it. The green energy pulsed then started to move. Shooting forward to take out the front lines of the growling creatures, splattering them against the ground and any objects in its path before Loki could no longer contain it and it disappeared into the air.

Unfortunately, the attack wasn't enough to take out all the Chitari and those left behind let out a battle cry before converging on the three children. Loki summoned his knives and shouted.

"For Asgard!"

"For Asgard!" Loki was surprised to hear Sigyn and Leif repeat. Flicking his green eyes to the pair he couldn't stop a grim smile from twitching his lips. Sigyn had Seidr swirling around her hands, while Leif kept his sword diagonally across his body, both ready and determined to fight at his side against the enemy.

However, Loki didn't have time to appreciate the sentiment of having shield siblings as the Chitari horde came upon them. Making sure to keep his shield siblings in sight at all times Loki let his knives dance. Slashing at throats, faces, wrists and ankles he disabled any Chitari that came upon him, bring them lower so that he could finish them with stabs to the head and chest. This combined with subtle uses of his Seidr, to push and sometimes pull his enemies around gave Loki a wide range from which to attack and cover his shield siblings back.

Sigyn did not have the luxury of a weapon, but her Seidr Loki was soon quick to realise, though specialised in healing could be just as deadly as his own more offensive spells. Loki raised an eyebrow when Sigyn executed a blood replenishing spell, firing it at the attacking Chitari so that dark liquid spurted from their eyes, nose and mouth, causing the creature to fall to its knees and begin to choke. Loki shivered at the thought of drowning in his own blood, even Sigyn paled and looked a little queasy, but she didn't hesitate to move on to her next opponent, flicking her fingers to activate a scalpel spell, cutting cleaning through skin, tissue and bone with a technique that was usually reserved for deep body surgery.

Leif, much to Loki's surprise was holding his own. Though his swings could at times be clumsy they were no less deadly and efficient. Loki had to wonder why he was never picked for the guard with such precisely executed moves. Never aiming for large strikes Leif was contained, darting out to swipe his blade to exposed sides, thighs and backs, bringing down the Chitari so he could finish them with a deft swing which took off their heads. Loki side eyed his Valet, surprised at the grim but fierce expression etched into the dirt encrusted lines of his face. Loki didn't feel an ounce of shame for feeling such pride in Leif, not just as his servant, but as his friend, companion and shield sibling.

The three continued their work in tandem, covering each other's backs as the Chiatri horde continued to rain down upon them. But even with their combined skill, they were all still inexperienced, a disadvantage that was thrown into considerable light when Sigyn stumbled, her Seidr faltering just as a Chitari was able to break through with their blaster, firing it at the Apprentices shoulder, where the purple energy struck true, sending the girl down with a cry.

"Sigyn!" Leif cried, turning from his own fight in concern, which was all his assailants needed to get closer and begin to overwhelm him.

Loki cursed, throwing up a Seidr shield which he pushed back at the Chitari in front of him, before leaving his position to crouch beside Sigyn. Once there he extended the shield to encircle them, but his reserves were depleted due to the fighting and so Leif was forced to continue to try and hold back a portion of the Chitari, even while the rest clawed at the green tinted shield, snarling their hatred and clear intent to rip the three Asgardians to pieces. The Young Prince let out a relieved breath at the sight of Sigyn breathing, but it did nothing to abate his worry. Sigyn was clutching at her shoulder, her robes smoking from where the blast had hit her.

"Sigyn?!" Loki asked, Seidr slashing at the Chitari that just kept on coming. He felt Leif come to stand at his back, sword striking with deadly force to keep the wall of creatures from drowning them.

"I…I'm alright," Sigyn hissed, but Loki didn't need to be a trickster to tell that she was lying. Not with the way she continued to clutch at her shoulder, hardly able to right herself due to the aftershocks of pain that were no doubt running through her body.

"Prince Loki, I c…can't hold them!" Leif's shout of distress had Loki's head snapping up. Leif was barely managing to keep the Chitari from flowing through the gap Loki couldn't close around their shield circle. It wasn't helped by the fact that more Chitari were converging on the location, adding strength in numbers that were simply too much for Leif to handle. Loki could also feel his shield weakening, he wouldn't be able to hold it for long. Biting his lip Loki looked for a way to escape, but all that surrounded them was a wall of Chitari. They were well and truly trapped. Thinking furiously Loki tried to come up with something, anything, but all his plans came to nothing, not all of them would be able to escape in any scenario that his clever mind could think up. That only meant one thing.

"Leif get back!"

The Valet did as ordered, jumping from his place in the shields opening, just in time for Loki to let loose a vicious cry pumping all his reserves into his shield, he closed the gap. But as he did so he felt his skin shift and the air around him turned from pleasantly cool to stifling hot. Loki stood ignoring the startled gasp from Sigyn, along with the wide-eyed stare of Leif as they both gaped at the second Prince of Asgard, revealed before them in his real Jotun skin for the first time.

"I'll expand the shield with all of my remaining power," Loki said, fixing his gaze on the Chitari, who continue to climb over one another as though that would cause the shield to bend. Loki could feel the drain on his Seidr but gritted his now sharp teeth and bared with it. "That should give you enough time to escape. Once clear you must meet up with the Midgardians and close the portal. It must be closed do you understand? That will at least weaken Amora, possibly enough for you to overwhelm her with the help of the Midgardians. Then you -"

The feel of a hand grabbing his wrist, spinning him around was more of a shock to Loki than the furious right hook he gained from Leif which had his jaw stinging with its force. Loki staggered a little, but was able to keep his feet, though it was not nesseccary as Leif followed up by grabbing the front of Loki's tunic and pulling him close to snarl in his face.

"What do you mean give us enough time to escape?! Why are you talking as if we're going to leave you behind?!"

Loki didn't even register that Leif had managed to say all of that without stuttering or that the famous frozen touch of the Jotun had had no such effect on his friend before Leif spoke again, "we're not leaving you!"

"You don't have a choice!" Loki snarled. "Besides haven't you realised," he gestured at himself. "I'm a Jotun, you shouldn't -"

"Shouldn't what? Shouldn't care about you? Should leave you to make a stupid sacrifice because it turns out you're not Asgardian. I don't care that you're Jotun." Loki blinked, shock causing him to gape at his Valet, even as the Chitari continued to rage around them. "I don't care what you are, only that you're my Prince, honourable, kind Prince Loki that gave me a job when no one else did, that had faith when so many others called me worthless. That gave me purpose and I'm not about to let you sacrifice your life." Leif's hard face shifted, his lips twitching to reveal a small smile. "At least not without me by your side."

"He's right," Loki peered over Leif's shoulder, which was difficult due to his Valet's grip on his tunic. Sigyn had managed to get to her feet, healing Seidr already working on her wound even as she stepped closer to stand in solidarity with Leif. "I don't care what you are, it's who you are that's important."

"But -"

"I don't care what anyone else says," Sigyn cut him off. "I'm my own person and I can decide whether someone is worthy of respect and you Prince Loki." Sigyn inclined her head in a small bow. "Deserve respect, not because you are Asgardian, or a Prince or even Jotun, but because you're Loki."

Lok felt like his heart was about to beat out of his chest. He couldn't believe it, he just couldn't. Here were two people, two Asgardians, that even with all the horrible actions and stories of the Jotnar were still willing to follow him, even in death. They didn't care about what he was. The thought was so liberating, so freeing that Loki couldn't help the tears from leaking from his red eyes.

Lowering his head, he mumbled. "Thank you. I don't know if you can ever truly understand what this means. But thank you both."

However, the tender moment was unfortunately ruined by the startling crack of the Seidr shield splitting. Leif released Loki, taking up his sword to stand confidently by his right, Sigyn summoning her Seidr to come up on his left. Loki glanced at the pair of them, knowing now he would never be able to get them to leave. If so, he would try his best to protect them, even if he fell in the process. He would die a warrior's death, not defeating his enemy, but protecting his friends to the bitter end.

Just as the last of the Seidr shield collapsed, allowing the Chitari's cry of triumph to be heard a deep rumble came from the sky. The three children looked up, fear and confusion coursing through them as they saw clouds start to congeal together in a storm. But it was the striking beam of bright rainbow light that struck the earth just before them, scattering the advancing Chitari in its wake, incinerating them on impact that blew them off their feet. Loki luckily managed to grab his two shield siblings, bringing them down on their fronts so that they were protected from the worst of the blast. Wind whipped around the three, buffeting their hair and cloths, until just as suddenly as it came it stopped.

Loki lifted his face from where he had tucked it into the ground for protection. Staring up at what was before them with shock, awe and hope. As stood over the children, red cape billowing in the remnants of the wind, long blonde locks whipping about his face, armour gleaming in the rays of the sun that had punctured through the cloud upon his arrival and hammer already in hand was a man. A very familiar man.

"T…Thor!"