Hi Guys!

Hope everyone is doing alright and that you're staying safe during this time.

I'm back with another chapter, hopefully I can give you a something nice to read while if you're stuck in Lockdown like myself.

Thank you to everyone for reading, liking, faving and reviewing, always let me know what you think I love hearing from you especially during this time.

I'll not carry on, I know what you all want to and its not read the authors note.

Cheers!

D.S x

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

14

Loki clung to Thor's back like a limpet. He still felt like he should be in some form of shock, everything was just happening so fast. The Invasion. Thor. The Avengers. Heading to Stark Tower. But he didn't have time to dwell on any of it, not when the next fight was coming up faster than he could mentally prepare for it.

Thor sored through the churning sky above the city of New York that continued to take the beating the Chitari rained down upon it. The Crown Prince of Asgard had been forced to perform some evasive manoeuvres. Swerving between blaster shots, neatly avoiding the Chitari on their flying machines as they headed right for their target.

"Keep your head down!" Thor shouted as once again they spun to the left, twisting in mid-air which made Loki's stomach drop uncomfortably.

The Young Prince tucked his head into his Brother's broad back. Feeling the hot sting of the purple blasts sailing over his head. Peeking up Loki frowned at the portal above them, that regurgitated wave after wave of Chitari. They had to find a way to shut it down.

A soft curse from Thor had Loki refocusing. As they flew, they had unfortunately been surrounded. Chitari hissing at them from their flying machines as they readied their weapons for a co-ordinated assault. Loki felt the familiar prickle that signalled Thor's lightening.

It won't be enough, was the first thought that came to Loki's mind and before he could really think on it, he gathered his Seidr, turning so that he could aim behind him. As Thor froze in mid-air, Mjolnir thrust up high, acting as a conduit so that Thor could push his lightening forward towards the startled Chitari, Loki let loose a Seidr blast of his own that took out those in the rear. The green swirls of energy on contact with the flying machines, sent them spinning away, some into one of the tall buildings, others into each other, forcing the Chitari to either abandon ship of risk a fiery death.

Grunting in satisfaction Loki turned back around, only to face the incredulous blue eyes of his Brother.

"What?" Loki asked with as much faked innocence as he could muster. Thor just stared before seeming to shrug it off continuing their flight. Loki would have been more concerned, but he was sure he saw the uptick of Thor's lips beneath the golden beard that covered his chin.

They returned to their flight, fortunately the Chitari were not able to get the drop on them like before much to both Thor's and Loki's relief. Soon enough Stark Tower came into view.

What a mess, Loki thought with a grimace as he eyed the once beautifully crafted building. The glass in the windows had been blow out and the lettering that had marked the buildings name had all but fallen away leaving only an S and A standing though the S appeared as though it would not last for much longer.

"Is the Tesseract still there, Brother?" Loki closed his eyes and reached out with his Seidr at Thor's inquiry. It didn't take him long to answer.

"Aye, it remains there."

"And Amora?"

"I cannot sense her," Loki grit his teeth in frustration. "She knows that we can track her and is no doubt masking her Seidr."

"Do you think she will be there?"

"I am unsure," Loki said. "The Tesseract is acting more on its own now, the shield placed around it did the job and Amora may have other issues that she has to attend to."

"The Avengers," Thor agreed. "We will head for the roof then." Blue eyes shot back at Loki, face stern. "You focus on neutralising the Tesseract. I will deal with any enemies that appear, including Amora, is that understood."

Loki bit his lip, but still muttered a quiet aye. They dived down, neatly cutting through the Chitari that swarmed the building with a few blasts of Seidr and lightening. Loki wished he could have used some of his more intricate spell work to take out the monsters, but sometimes simple always beat out complex conjuring's when looking for results.

Thor landed heavily, the concrete buckling so it shattered beneath the impact, leaving a small crater. Loki slid from his back, feet skittering on the broken pieces of stone so that he had to hold on to Thor for balance. The roof of Stark Tower had not changed since the last time Loki had stepped onto it. Full of boxes which had once housed the equipment that now held the Tesseract. Wide and sprawling with a low wall that acted as a deterrent for anyone to get to close. The brothers had landed at the far-left side of the roof, away from where Loki knew a door led down into the bowls of Stark Tower. The distinct presence of the Tesseract was easily felt, even seen by the bright blue light that pulsed from the other end of the roof. Before Loki could skip over to it however Thor caught his arm.

"We must be wary Brother," Thor said at Loki's enquiring raised eyebrow. "Enemies could be about."

"I don't sense -" Loki's observation was cut short by a loud groan that came from somewhere to the right. Both Asgardians stilled, Thor gently pushing his little Brother behind him, much to Loki's annoyance. Another moan came, Thor frowned, before shock clouded his face.

"Selvig?" he asked, then he stalked across the distance to where some of the black boxes had been scattered, covering the remains of a man that was just starting to stir.

Loki followed in his Brother's shadow, watching curiously as Thor removed the boxes to heft up the bedraggled form of Doctor Selvig. The older Midgardian was blinking rapidly, hands coming up to rub at his face and temples as Thor held him steady.

"What happened?" he mumbled, eyes that were no longer that bright haunting blue coming back into focus. "Where -?"

"Selvig, what do you remember?" Thor demanded, which only got him a look of confusion from the Doctor for several long seconds before colour drained from the Midgardian's face.

"Thor! Oh thank god you're here! There was -"

"Much has happened Selvig," Thor interrupted once more. "I am grateful that you are well and no longer under Amora's foul control. But time is of the essence. Please what can you tell us about the Tesseract. My Brother must try to shut it down immediately."

"Brother?" Selvig frowned, and Loki gave a little wave to get his attention. The Midgardian's eyes widened at the sight of him, mouth gaping open. "You!"

"Good day Doctor Selvig," Loki chirped. "I would say it is nice to see you again, but I don't believe we have time for pleasantries."

The statement was accompanied by the sharp sound of blaster fire, along with the whirr of the flying machines of the Chitari. Selvig flinched, glancing around wide eyed. "My god, what have I done?"

"You have done nothing Selvig," Thor reassured him. "Amora's control was far too powerful for you to overcome."

"B…but I think I did."

"What do you speak of?"

Selvig didn't answer, shrugging Thor's big hands from his shoulder he dashed to the other side of the roof and right towards where the Tesseract awaited.

"Selvig!" Thor called, swiftly following, Loki having to take several steps to keep up with his Brother's long strides. The Young Prince eyed the Chitari that continued to circle the Tower warily. He was surprised that they had not yet encountered Amora, the Witch would no doubt know by now that Thor had come to Midgard, so why had she not made her appearance? It was well known that her motivations for helping with the coup rested within her obsession with the Crown Prince and one day becoming Queen of Asgard.

Selvig skidded to a halt before the pulsing Tesseract. Loki had to take a deep breath being so close to the power source. The Seidr it produced was overwhelming, directed up into the sky keeping the portal open for the Chitari to rage through. Though Loki could feel that the beam was far less stable than it could have been. Probably from his failed attempt to take down the barrier surrounding it, it had done exactly what he had feared, overloading the system that Selvig had more than likely set up.

Selvig peered at the Tesseract then up at the sky. "I thought it would be bigger."

"Did you design it thus?"

"We made sure that the device would be able to direct the Tesseracts energy as Mistress A … I mean Amora desired. I don't remember all the details but I'm sure that the portal was supposed to be wider than that."

"Ah, that may have been my fault," Loki said, gaining the attention of the two older beings. "When I tried to take down the barrier, I overloaded the system, causing the Tesseract to fire unexpectedly and create the portal." Loki pointed above with a helpless grimace. "Though it may have been for the best as it is what probably caused the bottle neck."

"The Tesseract energy was too strong; it more than likely fried some circuits inside the device. Not enough to stop its function, but enough so that the portal would be unstable and unable to grow to the size Amora wanted," Selvig mused.

"Indeed, you're quite clever for a Midgardian," Loki said, which had the older man sputtering even as the Young Prince stepped passed him to peer at the Tesseract.

"Can you shut it down?" Thor asked and Loki shrugged.

"The Tesseract is an energy source that is being directed by that device," Loki pointed at the pedestal like contraption that held the glowing object. "Our best bet would be to shut that off before trying to calm the Tesseract." Closing his eyes Loki reached out with his Seidr, the barrier that he had felt before, while not completely gone was frayed, giving him access to the device beyond and the overwhelming power of the Tesseract. With care he eased his Seidr into the device, searching for a way to shut it down, only for his Seidr to be harshly rejected. Loki gasped, hand coming up to clutch at his chest.

"Loki!" Thor cried, coming to kneel at his Brother's side, hands hovering in concerned agitation. "Are you well? What happened?"

"I'm fine Thor," Loki tried to wave him off even as his Seidr coiled and slithered about his system, shocked from the rapid expulsion. "My Seidr simply got rejected."

"Rejected?" Selvig asked.

"Aye, it can happen sometimes with enchanted objects. The makers Seidr doesn't interact well with any others and so rejects any other Seidr that tries to interact with it." Frowning Loki reached out again, careful not to completely insert his Seidr into the device, merely skirting the edge to get a feel. "It's not the Tesseract, but it is what's fuelling its direction."

"But who could do -?"

"I think we're well aware who."

"Clever as always Little Prince."

The two Asgardians and one Midgardian froze. Thor was the first to react, twisting so that he was standing before his Brother and Selvig, hammer held tight in his fist as his blue eyes narrowed in anger.

"Amora!" he bellowed, snarling at the smiling blonde-haired Asgardian standing on the opposite end of the roof.

"Hello, my love," she said, voice slipping into the old pattern Loki recognised from what felt like a lifetime ago. When Amora stalked the halls of Asgard's Palace as a respected, though sometimes annoying Seidr wielder. "Did you miss me?"

"You will pay for your crimes."

"Is that all you have to say to me?" Amora asked, a pout forming on her lips. She was dressed in her usual battle attire, though her blonde hair was done up in a braid that kept it out of her face. The blue gemmed staff twirling in her right hand as she sauntered closer. "After all this time."

"You should have died when you fell."

"But I did not," Amora grinned, widening her arms as though encompassing the chaos which surrounded them. "I lived to be reborn, to claim what no one thought to take. This world was made to be mine, just like you."

"I was never yours Amora," Thor spat. "Stop this madness and I may speak with the All-Father about not killing you."

Loki eyed his older Brother in confusion. It was not like Thor to offer such a thing; he was more of the kill first and ask questions later type. Perhaps his time with the Midgardians and his new responsibilities at home were finally starting to show some results.

Amora giggled, it would have sounded cute if not for the deranged quality that tinted it. "Oh, Thor, you are many things, but a liar was never one of them. You should leave that to your false Brother."

Loki flinched, something which Amora was quick to capitalise on. "I see you're still hiding," she said. "You can't even bare the sight of your own, real skin can you, little Jotun?"

"Enough Amora!" Thor cried and with all the grace born of his hundred years warrior training launched himself at the Seidr wielder, Mjolnir raised high.

"Thor!" Loki shouted after him, but it was far too late. The Crown Prince barrelled into the Witch, whose Seidr was quick enough to erect a hasty barrier, taking the heavy blow of Mjolnir before shattering, allowing the caster to put much needed distance between herself and her opponent.

Thor!" Loki tried again, stepping to stand at his Brother's side, only to be met with a fierce glare cast over a shoulder and an order.

"Stay back, Loki!"

"But Thor -"

"I will face Amora, you focus on stopping the Tesseract, that is your duty." Loki couldn't hide his displeasure. He wanted to fight at his Brother's side so together they could take down Amora. But he knew that Thor was right, he had other things, bigger things that needed his attention.

"Oh, my love," Amora smirked from her position on the other side of the roof, having gathered herself enough to start summoning her Seidr so it twisted around one of her hands while the other readied the blue gemmed staff. "You have no idea what you do to me."

"Get down!" Loki was just quick enough to grab the shell-shocked Midgardian, slamming him into the ground as Seidr began to fly and lightening crackled in the air. Hunching low, Loki ushered Selvig back towards the Tesseract, trying his best to ignore the fierce battle that was taking place just behind them.

"We have to shut this down," Loki fixed his focus forward. The Tesseract continued to hum in discontent, its energy being forcefully directed. "Amora's Seidr won't allow me to shut it off with Seidr, perhaps if we simply broke it."

"We can't risk doing that," Selvig interjected, face a mask of worry as his eyes flicked from the device to where Amora and Thor's battle continued to rage. "It could cause the Tesseract to overload again and that would be a disaster."

Loki bit his lip and nodded. That would indeed not be good, with the Tesseract energy being directed the way it was destroying the device could result in a huge influx of energy being sent into the portal, possibly making it bigger. Beyond that it could simply explode from the pent-up energy, taking out the city and all of them in the process.

"There must be a way," Loki said, hands clenching. "We cannot do nothing, Amora must have overlooked something."

"I … I think maybe she did."

Spinning, Loki fixed piercing green eyes on the frowning Midgardian, who was staring at the device a distant look taking over his features.

"What do you speak of?"

"Well, she made me build this," Selvig said. "She had plans, but they weren't detailed, I was given access and told to improve where I could, but I think maybe I did more than that." The Midgardian turned, eyes widening as he gaped at the Young Prince in realisation. "I think I put in a failsafe."

"A failsafe?" Selvig nodded. "Are you sure?"

"As sure as anyone is under mind control," Selvig muttered.

"Well what is it? You must do something quickly."

"It's not that simple."

"How so?"

"I made it so that the device would automatically shut down if it came into contact with a specific kind of energy. It was the only thing I could do without Amora figuring out that I was up to something."

"What was this energy?" Loki asked, though before he could get an answer a shout and cry came from behind him. Turning Loki saw Thor, laid on the ground having been shot out of the air by one of Amora's Seidr bolts. The urge to run and help was almost overwhelming. Especially with the way Amora laughed and taunted Thor as he struggled back to his feet, Mjolnir gripped tight as his armour smoked from where the Seidr had hit it.

"That's the thing," Selvig's voice interrupted Loki's panicked thoughts. "I only had access to one type of alternate energy and getting it … well it might be impossible."

"What do you …?"

"It's Amora's staff. I keyed it to Amora's staff after she allowed me access to it."

Loki blinked, stared, then hissed "Skítr!"

"What does that -?"

"It doesn't matter," Loki waved away Selvig's curiosity, mind whirling with this new information. How were they supposed to get a hold of Amora's staff? The Witch was wielding it after all, she wasn't just going to hand it over so they could stop her invasion plan. "You couldn't have chosen anything else?"

"It was all I had access to," Selvig defended. "You try putting in a secret shut down method while being mind controlled and see how you do. I did my -"

An explosion of blasts from above had Loki throwing up a Seidr shield. The green energy covered the arguing pair just as one of the Chitari's flying machines crashed down from above, missing landing on the roof by scant feet. Though something still did land on the hard concrete, rolling to come to a stop just before the pulsing green presence of Loki's Seidr.

"Black Widow!" Loki said, shutting off the Seidr to gape at the unruffled red head. The spy came to her feet fluidly, taking in the surroundings with a glance. The Tesseract still working, Thor and Amora whose fight sent them on and off the roof as they battled with Seidr and lightening to the pair before her.

"I see things haven't progressed."

"We're having technical issues."

The Widow raised an eyebrow at the reference, but swiftly moved on. "Well those technical issues need sorting ASAP, we're now on a deadline."

"What do you -?"

"The World Security Council has ordered a nuclear strike on New York."

Loki would have felt more fear if he understood what the Widow had said, but from the way Selvig sucked in a breath and his face paled, Loki knew that it couldn't be good news.

"They can't, what about civilians?"

"The threat to the world posed by Amora and her army of Chitari outweighs the few, Doctor Selvig," Widow spoke sternly, mechanically, it would have sounded harsh, but Loki noticed the clenching of her jaw, along with the tightening of her hands on the twin pistols that were at her belt. She wasn't happy with this decision either.

"There must be something -"

"We shut down the portal," Loki said tone resolute. The Widow raised an eyebrow while Selvig shook his head.

"I just said we need Amora's staff, unless you want to try your magic -"

"Seidr and it seems as if we have no other option." Turning Loki saw Thor was still in locked combat with the Witch, the pair we're fully engrossed with each other, both giving as good as they could, even taking out a few Chitari that wandered too close. Loki knew that getting between the pair of them would not be a smart idea. Either one of them could take him out, even if in Thor's case it would be completely accidental. He couldn't even tell Thor either seen as doing so would lead to Amora figuring out their plan and possibly even vanishing, never to be found in the chaos of the battle. That left few options.

Green eyes flicked back to the Widow, Loki asked, "how good at you at staying unseen?" The Shield spy was quiet a moment, those blank eyes boring into the Young Prince as though assessing his worth.

"Rather well, I'm a spy after all."

Loki nodded, "Can you get as close as you dare to them?" he gestured to the two fighting Asgardians, Thor having sent a lightening blast that clipped Amora causing her to disappear momentarily, only to reappear behind the searching God of Thunder, firing her own attack from the tip of the glowing blue staff. "And come out when I give the signal."

The Widow was silent, body poised. A crash boomed overhead, accompanied by the roar of the Hulk as he took out yet more Chitari in his rage. If Loki was guessing he would believe that the green giant was getting closer, which would not bode well for anyone. From what his Seidr had observed of the creature it carried much rage, rage that could easily turn on one of them. Slowly the woman nodded, causing a smirk to break out across Loki's lips.

"Excellent."

"What are you going to do?" Selvig asked uncertainly. "You can't -"

"I would get away from here, Doctor Selvig," Loki said as the Widow stepped away from them and out of their sight line. "If things don't go according to plan this place could be destroyed in the aftermath."

"That is not making me feel any better," Selvig mumbled, but did as Loki bid, heading for the one door that lead into the inner depths of Stark Tower. When Loki was sure that he was safely away he abandoned his position beside the Tesseract. Loki wrapped his best spell around himself. Invisibility he knew would not be enough to get him his goal, but it was enough to get him close enough to act.

Edging to the other side of the roof, Loki cast a careful eye around. There was no sign of the Widow. Loki couldn't help but feel impressed, such skill at being unseen, it was not something Loki had ever witnessed from someone who did not possess Seidr. Truly the Midgardians were advancing in such ways that Loki and many of the people of Asgard would not have thought possible. He watched as Thor and Amora continued their battle. The Thunderers cape was singed from Amora's continuous assaults, but the Seidr wielder was also damaged. Her ever neatly done hair was a mess and her leathers were ripped, armour smoking in places where Thor's lightening had struck true. However, the pairs battle was still ongoing and if held true to Asgardian standards would not stop until one was dead.

Loki kept to the outskirts of the blast radius; it would do him no good to be caught in one. He felt the flickers of Thor's lightening, humming against his exposed skin that could easily change to harsh shocks if he came too close. Amora's Seidr was overwhelming. The power he felt was nothing like what she once commanded. If there was one truth she said, it was that her time in the Void had indeed changed her. If he was not aware that this was her Seidr, Loki would not have thought that it came from the same Asgardian he had known for all those years. Amora's Seidr had been powerful, but it had been calm, controlled, contained. The wild inferno that tickled on the edge of Loki's senses was nothing like that. It fought at any restraints, which were barely there. Flowing with uncontrolled abandon, limiting the access to more refined spells.

Perhaps that's way she's limiting herself to Seidr blasts, Loki thought as he went ever closer. Watching as Amora again aimed her staff and shot off a blast of Seidr. It was not as though the knowledge helped in any particular way, with the power and skill Amora possessed she would still be able to stop any attack that Loki might throw at her, even from his considerable arsenal of spells.

That only left Loki with the choice to do something Amora would not expect, something she wouldn't able to predict and counter, at least not fast enough to stop Loki from getting that staff and Loki only knew one thing. One that was unique to him and him alone.

His musing was interrupted by the grunt of Thor was he was thrown back to the roof, having been blasted from the air by Amora. The Witch had been using the various Chitari flying machines to manoeuvre around the God of Thunder. Disappearing and reappearing at blinding speed, throwing out bolts of Seidr until one finally connected, taking the Thunderer down.

Loki bit his lip as Thor tried to struggle up, only to be stopped by the reappearance of Amora. Legs astride the warrior, staff pointed at his throat where it glowed with deadly fire.

"I think I prefer you like this Thor," Loki heard the Witch utter as he took his chance to come closer. "Down before me, just like they all should be."

"I will never bow to you Amora," Thor hissed. He tried to raise Mjolnir, but a snap of Seidr to his hand had the hammer falling, skittering just out of reach.

"It is inevitable," Amora spoke softly, a smile gracing her beautiful features. "All things fall in the end. Look at me." The Witch spread her arms, as though to encompass the chaos she had created. "I was brought low, down, down so far that I never thought I would make it out. I crawled, begged and pleaded, but in the end, I was reformed, altered, made anew. And this," the manic grin twisted the pretty features, replacing the beautiful façade with something ugly. "This is my reward. I am merely taking what I am due."

"Asgard will stop you Amora," Thor cried defiantly. Amora tutted, face contemplating.

"They can try, but I think they will find they have bigger things to worry about than little old me."

"What do you -?"

"I think that's enough," Amora sliced through Thor's words, fingers gripping her staff which she moved from its place at the Thunder God's throat down to his chest, so it hovered over his heart. "I may not have been able to take Stark, but you I should have no problem. And when you've done slaughtering your allies, we'll be together, forever."

Loki knew he couldn't delay any longer, if Thor's heart and mind were taken by the Witch the Midgardians would never win. Thor was a true warrior, with power even Loki couldn't fully comprehend, he was a storm God for a reason after all. Plus, Loki wasn't about to let the Witch take someone else precious from him. Alviss was enough.

Reaching out, Loki locked onto his Seidr, but it was not one he was familiar with as the usual feeling of swirling force, or chaotic wind, he was engulfed by a freezing blast. It spread over his skin, altering it, changing it so it stripped away the pale flesh he was so used to with one that he still had a hard time accepting. But accept it he would, and with the rush of his Jotun form taking over, Loki dropped the invisibility spell and threw out a blast, not of Seidr, but of cold hard ice.

It raced across the distance between Loki and the two Asgardians, leaving a trail of frost in its wake. It missed the prone form of Thor to strike its target, Amora's arm, raised high to pierce Thor's heart with the staff, taking not just his mind, but his heart, loyalty, even his soul. The ice connected, spreading instantaneously, freezing the limb in place and halting the Witch in her tracks.

"Now!" Loki called, bringing the shocked attention of both Thor and Amora onto himself. Thor's eyes widened at the sight of him, but Loki didn't let himself dwell on what his Brother must think of his true skin, he had more important things to worry about, mainly getting ready for the next phase of the plan.

Amora's bright blue eyes bulged and she snarled, "little Prince!" But she could do nothing, the ice trapping the arm which held the staff. So much so that the Widow, who had darted from the safety of the shadows, crossing the distance between herself and the duelling Asgardians with a speed Loki would not have thought possible for a Midgardian, was able to vault over the Witch, black weapons drawn which she fired without hesitation.

The metal projectiles struck true, right into the frozen appendage, which shattered upon impact. A scream of pain and rage filled the air, Amora staggering away from where the remains of her arm fell in ice droplets to the roof, the staff along with them.

The Widow deftly snatched the weapon from the air, rolling away from Amora and Thor, who was quick to push himself away from where the Witch was flailing. The Widow crouched low as she finished her manoeuvre, calculating eyes already finding Loki as he darted back to the Tesseract. With a fierce under arm swing she sent the staff flying. Loki glanced behind; timing would be everything.

The weapon spun end over end, sailing right towards him. With a small jump Loki plucked it from the air, spinning it like he would his own staff in the Cohort and without a thought plunged it into the device which held the Tesseract.

Nothing immediate happened, the Tesseract continued to power the portal, the Chitari pouring from its depths. But then a spark came from the device and suddenly the beam that shot up from the Tesseract simply vanished.

The portal above shimmered, the Tesseract energy no longer able to sustain it and slowly the edges started to creep inwards. Loki smirked, but his feeling of victory was short lived when the staff hummed in his hand, another spark emitting from the device which held the Tesseract, sending a shock through the Young Prince's body.

His yelp of surprise garnered much attention, Loki thought he heard Thor call to him, but he couldn't reply, as with another spark came a shock of Seidr that overwhelmed Loki, blacking out his vision. The foreign Seidr rushed through his system. Loki grit his teeth, barely managing to stop it from swamping him completely. The Seidr, seeming to notice his resistance paused in its onslaught, before sweeping over him once again, this time with more curiosity than rage.

Loki flinched when a hiss came to his ear, he was sure he could almost feel a breath, as though whoever or whatever the owner of the Seidr was right there.

"One so small should not carry such power. What a fascinating creature. Lord Thanos would be most please with -"

"Loki!"

The shout was followed up by large hands grabbing him by the shoulders, dragging him away from the staff, which remained buried in the Tesseract device. With the contact gone the foreign Seidr disappeared. Loki was hauled into the arms of Thor, who quickly ran his fingers down Loki's confused form. "Are you well? Hurt? What happened?"

"I'm fine Thor," Loki muttered, head still a little muzzy from the events of before. "The portal -"

"It is closing Brother," Loki blinked, finally bring Thor's beaming face into focus. "You did it."

"We did it," Loki corrected, which got him a booming laugh and a slap on the back from the blonde Crown Prince. Loki basked in the moment, enjoying it as well as the welcome relief that swept over him. It was done. It was over. Amora was –

"What do you mean he's flying up there?!"

Loki frowned, peering around Thor, who had also turned to look at the Widow. She was stood on the edge of the roof, one hand pressed to her ear, eyes trained above where the portal continued to close, face pale.

"Lady Widow?" Thor called; one hand placed securely on Loki's shoulder as they moved closer. "What ails you?"

The red head glanced at the pair of them, though it did not improve her countenance. "You know I mentioned about that nuclear strike?"

Thor frowned in confusion, but Loki's eyes sparked with familiarity.

"Aye," he said. "You made mention. But that should be of little consequence now, the portal -"

"The World Security Council were not willing to wait," Black Widow cut the Tricksters assurances short. "They authorized the air strike and sent a missile right at New York."

The two Princes shared a look, they could not comprehend the Widow's fear completely as they did not understand exactly what a missile was. Thor cleared his throat.

"Can it not simply be recalled?" he asked. "Surely there is something."

"We can't do anything," the Widow said blankly. "If the missile hits or is destroyed anywhere near here, it could kill thousands of people and make the land unliveable for years to come. We'd be dead."

Loki paled and even Thor was shocked. Such fire power was not something they had ever envisioned the Midgardians being able to produce, let alone seek to use on each other. Then again, they had both seen the advancements themselves in their time on Midgard. They were changing in a way the older Realms would have to adapt to and soon.

"There must be something we can do," Loki tried to step forward, but Thor's hand kept him in place.

"Something has. Though what that idiot thinks he'll accomplish with a suicide mission, I'll never know."

"What are you -?"

"Is that Stark?" Loki couldn't help but gasp, interrupting Thor in his continued questioning. Having turned his attention in the same direction as the Widow, it did not take his eyes long to see the red and gold armour, metal arms clamped around something large flying up to where the portal continued to close before disappearing further right into the nest of the Chitari and out of sight.

"He's mad."

"Possibly."

"What does he think he's doing?" Thor growled, the hand on Loki's shoulder clamping down tightly. "If the portal closes, he'll not survive out there long."

The Widow didn't answer, not that she needed to as not long after Stark and his armour disappeared through the portal a huge explosion rocked through the portal, taking out the remaining Chitari horde that waited just beyond it. The sound echoed over the city, causing Thor and Loki to wince and the Widow to cover her ears. As the earth-shattering explosion continued above the remnants of the Chitari invasion began to fall. Being cut off from their main source of power the ships fell to the city below, most exploding before they even hit the ground, creating an array of fireworks that lit the pale evening sky.

Loki gaped in awed shock, he never thought such a thing would happen, then again, he had no clue the Midgardians were capable of building such a weapon. It had taken out the whole of the Chitari and crippled the ones that remained in a single moment. Grudgingly Loki wished he had known such a thing before hand, it could have saved them a great deal of trouble.

"Come on Stark, where are you?" the harsh hiss had Loki turning back to the Widow. She had not moved from her perch, not even when the battering winds of the explosion had rushed through, eyes unmoving from their position fixed above. Loki gathered himself, finally extracting himself from Thor's grip to come up beside her. Red eyes swept the sky, looking for increasingly familiar colours. But with the ships of the Chitari continuing to fall and shattering into smoke and fire, it was difficult to spot anything through the haze. Then, far above right where the portal finally closed its mouth, blocking out the bright explosion that had shaken the Chitari fleet to its knees was a tumbling shine of gold and red.

"There!" Loki pointed above, dragging the Widow's and Thor's gaze with him.

"Shit!" Black Widow snarled, hand already coming to touch her ear as she spoke. "Stark's falling!"

"Brother?!" Loki turned pleading eyes to Thor, who had Mjolnir griped tight as he studied where the Man of Iron continued to fall graceless to the hard ground of the Earth below.

"I do not think I will reach him in time," Thor growled. "There is quiet a few hazards blocking the path."

"You can try though," Loki said, desperate gaze flicking from Thor to Stark. It was devasting but Thor was right in that he would not be able to fly directly to where the Midgardian was falling. The Chitari created an obstacle course that would be difficult to manoeuvre through and if Thor was delayed by even a moment …

"Get something underneath him," the Widow was hissing. "There must be something -"

"Thor!"

"I will try my best Brother," Thor said as he readied to launch himself into the air. However, all stilled at the sound of a familiar roar. It reverberated through the air, shocking all, but none so much as the Man of Iron, who was grabbed by the large hands of the Great Hulk as he sprung from out of one of the lower floors of Stark Tower, to land heavily so he hung from one of the many tall buildings that made up the Midgardian city.

Loki gulped, watching as the green giant secured its prize before bounding further down the building to land on the ground. He heard the Widow give out a quiet sigh and he shot her a look, but no relief showed on her face. She must have felt his eyes on her through, as she turned to him and for a brief moment her lips flicked upwards. Loki returned the gesture with a smirk of his own, that was it, finally it was over.

"Skítr!"

Loki would have giggled at the loud exclamation, it was rare Thor swore, but at turning to see what had caused his Brother to issue such a word, he couldn't help himself from snarling it himself, which got him a brief glare from his older sibling. But it was soon forgotten when even the Widow added her own explanative, as where Amora should have been there was only a pool of slowly thawing blood along with chunks of flesh that had once made up Amora's arm.

"Where could she have gone?" Thor said, head swinging as he searched in vain.

"She couldn't have gotten far with that injury," the Widow agreed but Loki shook his head.

"Amora is a Sedir wielder, she has the capacity to teleport from place to place. If she had enough energy she could have theoretically gone anywhere."

Black Widow cursed again and even Thor's anger was palpable, what with the way the wind rose, and a rumble of thunder could be heard in the distance.

"Be that as it may, I believe we should still search for her." Thor crossed to where the remains congealed, sniffing at them with distaste. "An injury like that is not one that is easy to ignore."

Loki shook his head and would have argued further, only a sudden whine of familiar engines came to his ears and then Stark appeared, flying up and over their hands to land in front of them on the roof.

"Hey guys! Missed me?"

"Stark," Black Widow said, though Loki was sure it was meant to sound scolding, it came across as fond. Stark lifted his face plate, smiling widely at them.

"I'll think you'll find something interesting in my penthouse. Hulk really did a … Jesus what happened to you?!"

Loki frowned at the way Stark was staring at him, wide eyed in wonder as he wracked his gaze over him a couple of times. It was only when he lifted his hand to wave away Stark's stupidity when he noticed that his skin was still a deep azure blue. Halting mid action, Loki's breath caught. He had completely forgotten that he had reverted to Jotun form, it hardly felt any different that his Aesir skin. Maybe the air was a little warmer, but really, he felt no other immediate differences. Loki wasn't sure if that was a bad thing or not. He glanced at the group which continued to watch him. His red eyes moved from where Stark, whose awe and excitement, while gratifying was meaningless. Black Widow's face gave nothing away, but Loki was sure that he did not detect any disgust in her eyes, more a resignation and easy acceptance of his appearance. Though when he finally found Thor, he found it difficult to meet his eyes. What would he think? His Brother had never seen him in his born skin before. Would he still see him as his Brother? Would he want a Jotun as part of his family now that he knew what he truly looked like?

Heavy footfalls made their way over to him. Someone crouch so they were knelt to his height, then large fingers took his chin, directing his face up to look into the shining eyes of Thor. Those blue eyes took in everything, from the red eyes to the marks that marred his skin. Loki trembled, waiting for Thor to do or say anything, but what he did not expect was for a wild smile to break over his elder Brother's face, before engulfing him in a fierce hug.

"You look wonderful Brother!" the pure joy in his tone had the knot of unease in Loki begin to loosen. Tentatively, he reached up to wrap his own blue arms around Thor's neck.

"T…truly?"

"Aye," Thor reassured. "It is marvellous to see you, all of you. Mother will be so jealous that I got to see your Jotun form first. You must show her and Father when we get home."

Loki couldn't help it, couldn't stop the tears from finally falling. It had been amazing when Leif and Sigyn had accepted him, but to hear Thor say that, to see his reaction. It gave Loki peace in a way he didn't know he needed. With him being able to finally hear the easy and wholehearted acceptance from his family and friends, Loki was sure he would be able to accept himself. Asgard's first Aesir/Jotun Prince.

"As heart warmingly mushy this is, we have a wacko Witch embedded in the floor of my penthouse to get to. Plus, I'm dying for some shawarma"

With one last squeeze, Thor let Loki go, but he kept his hand on the back of his neck, skin touching. Loki briefly wondered as to why it was not burning Thor, but filed the information away for later study, there were bigger things to worry about.

"You have found Amora?" Thor asked and Stark laughed.

"More like the Hulk found her and smashed her several which ways from Sunday before heading out to save my ass again. The others are already heading there to secure her."

"Sigyn and Leif?" Loki inquired.

"They're fine. Those friends of yours are something else, boy with the sword managed to keep pace with the Capcikel and the fiery blonde healed quite a few civilians. You've got some cool friends there," Stark finished with a genuine smile

"Yes," Loki said, giving a beaming grin of his own. "Yes, I have."

Thor laughed and Stark turned to walk through the door that lead back into Stark Tower from the roof. The Widow had already left, not wanting to leave the threat alone, giving her more of a chance to escape once again.

"Come Brother, let us find the others."

"Aye," Loki chirped, allowing his Brother to push him forward. It had taken more than he had expected, with some harsh lessons along the way, and no doubt a stunning punishment from his parents when he got home. But Loki thought he wouldn't change anything he did for all the Realms in Yggdrasil as finally he felt like he could be whole once more.

Skítr - shit (Old Norse)