koryandrs: Glad you think so... and I certainly hope I am. :D I'm working hard, that's for sure. Every aspect of Lizzie is going to be written down. :)
Shintsuki Hatake: Haha, well, if you want I can make an OC for you, and you can hug Loki that way. Just give me a few details and we can make it work. :)
Guest(Who I really think is MyLadyAssassin): Well, I thank you for sticking it through with me. :) Well, Darcy is *amazing* to write, and I have so much fun with her. She's just this... MPDG who everyone loves and just wants to be a friend with I think... at least i would. :P Haha, well thank you :D that made me very happy to see. Well I aim to please. If you guys make a suggestion, I will do my best to go with it in some capacity. Mostly because you guys give me ideas. :P Well... Lizzie's scar shall remain shrouded in mystery for the time being, I'm afraid. Mostly because her history is still a secret - a very large secret - and to reveal it now would cause the whole plot thread to come apart. :( So, I'm afraid you're going to have to wait on that one, my apologies. Haha, well, I always think of Cillian Murphy whenever I think of irish guys. He's like... gah... those eyes. :P haha.
Marie Allen: Hello there :) Well, my updating goes like this. Every two weeks. Why? Well, when you're working with a beta there is a lot of logistics to work on, that and the fact that it takes me a bit of time to come up with new stuff. However, it will be a very rigorous schedule, and every two weekends you will get an update. If I write fast, you may get two in a weekend, as I like to update as much as you like to read. So, there's the outline for you guys to understand when you will be getting updates. My apologies for the long wait, but I'm afraid its necessary. :D
Alrighty, here's the next chapter. No Loki/Lizzie interaction, but the next one will have plenty. Cheers :)
On the edges of the universe, Thanos looked toward the Yggdrasil tree, observing the way the roots of the tree went around the Nine Realms. He could see Asgard from his vantage point, the golden city gleaming brightly in the distance like a star.
"Master," the Other greeted, "The representative from Muspelheim is here."
"And the representative from Jötunheim?" Thanos asked, remaining in his spot. "What was their answer?"
The Other sighed, "There is still no leader of Jötunheim, my lord. The death of Laufey has still made its impact on the realm. The traitor Loki's affect on the realm has caused them to wish to distance themselves from any rights with Asgard. They fear Odin."
"The son of Laufey – what is his name?" the Mad Titan inquired.
"Helblindi, my lord." the Other answered.
"Why has he not taken the throne?" Thanos finished his question.
"There is a rivalry between the two sons of Laufey." the Other informed, "Helblindi and Blyeistr are still at odds of who will reign. Helblindi is the elder, and full brother of the traitor, Loki; but their younger, half-brother still believes he should be the king of Jötunheim. Helblindi wishes to keep peace with Asgard, Blyeistr does not agree."
Thanos smiled, "Find the half-brother, perhaps he would be more willing to form an alliance with the promise of the realm when I am done with Asgard and Midgard." he instructed.
"You think it wise to involve the brother? Surely-"
"You question me?" Thanos boomed, but the Other simply cowered.
"No, my lord. I shall do as you command." he replied timidly. "Also, the Sorceress is here, she wishes to discuss Asgard, my lord."
"Naturally, the harlot is far too keen on becoming the queen of that realm. Not that I'm interested in such an outcome, she is far too ambitious for her own good. The nine realms will be mine in the end, to believe else wise is not wise at all." Thanos replied, "And that of Aghartha? Has the queen replied?"
"No, my lord, we have yet to find a way into that realm. As you know, the Agharthians are well known for their secret ways of getting in. But I have been able to find one of the Guardians who was wandering Midgard to help us in." the Other replied. "I'm sure we can get him to cooperate."
Thanos nodded, "Good. And what of our informant from Midgard? The mutant... what is his name again?"
"Shaw, my lord." the Other answered, knowing that Thanos knew the name himself. He was simply proving the point that the mutant 'Shaw' was inconsequential.
The Other could not help but smile. "He has informed us that the Avengers are currently trying to piece together what they know of you. The half-blood Asgardian is trying to tell them what he knows, to warn them."
"What has he told them?" Thanos inquired.
"Everything he knows, my liege." the Other replied. "Shall I send someone to eliminate him?"
Thanos shook his head, "No one shall touch him. I shall silence him myself for good when the time comes." he declared, "For now, let him try to stop me. He shall fail, like he does everything else."
The Other bowed, and left the Mad Titan to himself.
Cold. That was all he could feel as he moved about the wasteland on the outskirts of the void. "You failed." a cold voice echoed from behind him, but when he turned there was no one there. "You think you can escape by the protection of your brother?"
He first found himself on Midgard, Avengers Tower in smoke as well as the city around it. He could see the Avengers still fighting the Chitauri among others who he couldn't recognize. Tony Stark could be seen shooting past, his armor quite damaged as he took on another Leviathan. The Hulk was clearly trying to destroy as many as possible by smashing the creatures who he could see. He could see Tony Stark's woman also in the fray, her skin glowing as if on fire; a strength which he had never seen her display being exuded as she threw a Chitauri into a wall, burning another when she touched it. Hawkeye was shooting arrows as usual, causing Leviathans to explode by shooting them in the weak spot on their heavily-armored face. He could see Agent Romanoff shooting as she saw, the Captain protecting her and her other female companions from any blasts.
The two women who accompanied the Spider were an enigma to him, he couldn't see their faces, but could see what they could do. The woman in black seemingly a blur as she ran toward one of the creatures and shot it with its own gun, her red-headed companion causing another creature from behind her to simply float. The woman in black broke the creature's neck, turning to her friend and nodding. The Captain fell with a cry, and the three women quickly sprung into action to protect him as they were surrounded by the beasts.
The last thing he heard before he was taken from Midgard was the sound of the Hulk's roar above the gunshots which suddenly rang out.
Asgard gleamed in front of him, but he was rooted to the spot as he saw the Golden City – aflame. The sounds of screams could be heard as he watched the creatures of Muspelheim and Jötunheim overtake the citizens, slaughtering them coldly. The scene panned to his left, where a group of Asgardian and Ljosofal warriors stood bravely, weapons readied to face the creatures.
Thor stood at the front, the Ljosofal prince standing beside him; Mjölnir glowing in the firelight as the mighty prince of Asgard swung it toward a group of Muspeheims, the elf prince following him as he swung with his own blade. The creatures fell at their feet, but were simply too many to kill them all as they swarmed them, surrounding the men in a matter of seconds.
Sif ran toward him, hacking at the creatures with her elvish blade, but she did not escape the creatures' claws as they suddenly swiped at her exposed neck. Thor let out a howl of anger, enraged at the scene before him, unable to go to her aid as he was pinned to the ground by the creatures. They tore at him, a look of glee in their eyes as they ripped the son of Odin to shreds, pouncing on the Ljosofal prince soon afterwards.
He screamed, but could do nothing to help his brother as he was suddenly whisked away.
He was in Odin's chambers, the Allfather in Odinsleep as the battle raged onward. Frigga stood by his side, her blades shining in the dull candlelight as some yet-to-be-seen force began to pound on the doors of the chamber. His eyes widened suddenly as Thanos stood there, towering over Frigga. The brave queen attacked him, succeeding in making a rather nasty cut into his chest; but it soon closed over, and he made an attack of his own, forcing Frigga to duck out of the way of his blade.
It continued for a few minutes before Thanos struck a deathblow, the sword driving through the woman's chest. He screamed for her, but to no avail, her eyes were already glassing over in death. Odin shed a solitary tear, unable to do anything. Thanos turned to where he was, his grin sadistic as he took in his pain.
"And so shall fall the house of Odin... Odinson."
Loki shot up in bed, breathing labored and sweat coating him in a thin sheen. 'You cannot escape' a voice whispered in his head.
"Stop!" he whispered back, "Stop!" he held his head in his hands, leaning so his elbows rested on his knees. The images would not fade, no matter how he tried to think of other things. Climbing out of bed, he concluded he would not be able to sleep for the rest of the night, and simply decided to occupy his mind elsewhere. There was no question that he had been allowed a glimpse into Thanos' plans, the question was: why?
He left his room in search of the kitchen. As it was five in the morning, he was sure there was something that Elizabeth had left to eat in the fridge – despite Thor's incessant eating. As he entered, he could see Steve sitting at the table, just sipping on a cup of tea.
"Good morning." the Captain greeted, "Can't sleep?" Loki shook his head, but did not answer verbally. "Neither can I. Bad dreams?"
Loki snorted, "You honestly think I have bad dreams, mortal?" he asked, not really wishing to answer affirmative.
Steve shrugged, "Everyone has them. I wouldn't be surprised if you did – you haven't exactly had an easy life."
"Why are you so... personable?" Loki suddenly asked with curiosity. "Of all the mortals I have met, you are the only one who is in the least bit cordial."
"Everyone needs someone who isn't at their throats. You have enough enemies in this building, and I've never been one to hold long-lasting grudges." Steve answered, "Why? Would you rather I acted like Clint?"
"Did I say that, mortal?" Loki spat, causing Steve to just shake his head.
"No need to get irate, Loki. Though from what you've said, I'll assume you like me personable." Steve retorted.
"I refuse to accept such nonsense." Loki retorted, "Assume what you like, mortal." he said, looking in the fridge to find just a few things which Elizabeth had left. There seemed to be some stew left. He looked at the clock with disgust as to what he had to eat in the fridge... fresh was much better. She usually came at seven, so he could last a few hours until she came to make some breakfast, so he settled with a piece of fruit instead.
"Do you want me to make some breakfast?" Steve offered, knowing that Loki was probably not skilled in a kitchen. "I can make some basic eggs, sausage and toast; it should tide us over until the cook comes."
"I can wait until she does." Loki replied with a scrunched nose, "Besides, she tends to make a slightly more interesting breakfast."
Steve chuckled, "Is that your way of saying you like her cooking?" he asked.
"You assume too much, mortal." Loki said, "I never said that."
"Sure, I believe that." Steve retorted, "But if you wait until the cook arrives, it probably won't be till nine."
This caught Loki's attention. "Why would she come at nine? Does she not realize that almost everyone here wakes at around seven?"
"Its not Lizzie who's making breakfast." Steve answered, "Tony's cook just got over his sickness, and she has work to do. She probably won't stop by until much later."
Loki hid his dissatisfaction with this sudden decision with a sneer. "Good riddance to bad rubbish."
"Do you honestly hate her that much? Cause you seem to talk to her a lot." Steve voiced, "What has she ever done to you?"
A chuckle erupted from Loki, "I simply care not for her rather mortal ways. You all are the same in your maturity, and besides Stark himself, she is rather immature."
"Good morning sunshines!" a voice suddenly came in. Darcy. "Nice to see you two awake, I hope you're hungry."
"Did I forget to mention this one in the immaturity scale?" Loki asked Steve, who simply chuckled.
"Watch it, Oh-Horny-One," Steve spluttered on his drink, turning red as she continued. "Or I shall not allow you breakfast."
Loki snorted, "I don't think I would want anything you made. I'll wait for Stark's cook, thank you."
"Well, I'm afraid you're going to have to deal with me as cook. Tony's cook called last night and said that he was still borderline, so Tony decided to give him a few days more." Darcy answered.
"Then why is not Elizabeth cooking? I may not like her, but at least I know she won't poison me." Loki asked.
Darcy feigned insult, "I can't believe how little faith you have in me. I wouldn't poison you, it wouldn't be any fun." she said, "If I killed you, it would be with one of the various knives which Mr. Stark has around here." to prove her point, she picked up the cleaver which was in the third drawer. "After tasing you of course, that way you couldn't stop me."
Steve gulped, "Remind me never to get on your bad side." he said.
"Duly noted." Darcy replied,placing the cleaver back where it belonged. "Besides, its Lizzie's birthday today. Tony didn't want her ruining her family time, that and she didn't want her coming in hung-over tomorrow." she said.
Loki threw the core of his apple away, "Fine. But I don't want you to touch my food. I'll make it myself, or Rogers can. I don't trust you."
Darcy snorted, "Like you could. I doubt the Prince of Asgard cooks for himself." she said, turning to Steve.
"I'll make something." Steve replied, getting up, "It won't be Lizzie's cooking," he said with a pointed look at Loki, "But its good."
Loki nodded, "Fine, I'll be in my room. Jarvis can tell me when its ready." he said, leaving the room.
Darcy turned to Steve with an amused look on her face. "Do you think I'd poison him?"
"Uh..." Steve stammered, "No?"
Darcy scoffed, "Psh, why would I poison him? He's too much fun to annoy."
"Donovan, did you get those proposals for that patent stuff?" Chris Henley, who was in charge of all things that went between marketing and legal asked.
"Yeah, here you go." Lizzie answered, passing him the information. "Hey, do you have those audits which were accidentally sent to us. I need to send those to accounting."
"Care to tell me how those wound up up here?" Chris asked.
Lizzie chuckled, "One wrong number sends stuff all over the building. One bad apple ruins the whole bunch. Just yesterday we got a fax meant for marketing. I'm almost tempted to ask Ms. Potts to just fix it so that every department has a different number." she said
A sudden shout rang through the office building of "DONOVAN!" the entire office turned toward Phillip Dale who stormed in – redfaced and huffing.
"Uh-oh." Lizzie said in a childlike voice. "I'm in trouble."
Chris snickered, "Just share the video, Donovan. No use in you having all the fun to yourself."
"Watch it, Henley, or you may be my next victim." Lizzie hissed back as Phillip came up behind her.
"You just had to do it, didn't you?" Phillip asked, "The day you're off your probation, you're right back at it. Do you ever stop?"
Lizzie smiled, "I don't know? Does France concede?"
Phillip narrowed his eyes, "You need to grow up Donovan." he said, "Retaliation is not your forte."
Brown eyes rolled upwards, "Au contraire, mon ami. Retaliation is my specialty. In fact, my family thrives on retaliation – its what we do best."
"Then I think we need to have another talk with Mrs. Langley. You obviously do not understand that this office building is not your personal playground." Phillip retorted.
"Good luck talking to her, she's still off, and Mr. Stark isn't likely to let you up to the penthouse." Lizzie replied.
Phillip smiled, "Me? No... you however."
"Not happening, I will not be used as a pawn, or proxy. If you want to talk to her, wait until she comes back to work." Lizzie said.
The man opposite of her simply grabbed her arm, heading for the elevator doors. "Well, lets test that, shall we."
"Jerk, I'm not going to prank you again if that's what you're worried about." Lizzie suddenly announced, but Phillip simply shook his head.
"This is about so much more than that." he said as they entered the elevators. "Jarvis, can you take us up to the Penthouse?"
"Don't do it Jarvis!" Lizzie snapped.
"I'm sorry sir, but I'm afraid you are not allowed in the penthouse. Your clearance is rather low." Jarvis replied in polite snarkiness. "Mr. Stark has made it clear that there are no exceptions."
"And Ms. Donovan?"
"She is allowed up, sir... but not if you accompany her." Jarvis answered. Lizzie smirked smugly. Phillip scowled deeper, his eyes glaring daggers at her as she continued to smile – "Forgive me, Mr. Dale" Jarvis suddenly apologized, "Mrs. Langley has just requested that you be allowed up this one time. One moment."
It was Phillip's turn to smirk as Lizzie got a look of shock on her face. This could be bad.
"Care to tell me why you're locking me in my room?" Loki asked his brother.
Thor shrugged, "Tony has a guest who is not supposed to know of our presence. It is only for a short time."
Loki snorted, "Who could this possibly be?" he asked snidely, "Surely they don't think I'm going to harm their precious mortal now."
The Thunderer shook his head, "I assure you, it has nothing to do with Lady Elizabeth – which, I will remind you brother, she has a name."
"Yes, yes I know." Loki replied flippantly. "I have used her name, you know."
"She is not as bad as you think she is." Thor replied, "She is very kind, Loki. To what cause does she deserve your disdain?"
Loki laughed. "She is a mortal, brother – oh, wait, I forgot you are going to marry one of the dull creatures." he said, watching as Thor reigned in his temper. "Though, it seems your lady is not as dull as some of them."
"Lady Elizabeth is not a 'dull creature', Loki. She is quite enjoyable if you get to know her." Thor argued.
The dark prince shrugged, "I suppose if you like the sarcastic, puffed-up, idiotic banter which she seems to use quite a bit. Rather immature, if you ask me." he lied.
Thor didn't buy it. "Oh? Is that why you have sought out her conversation on more than one occasion, brother?" he asked, watching as Loki's green eyes narrowed.
"I have never sought her conversation." he spat, "The idiotic mortal has continuously stepped in my path, literally. She struck me, not the other way around."
"You did deserve it, brother." Thor replied, "From her point of view, you deserve much worse."
"So I've been told." Loki muttered, "How long am I supposed to stay in here while the mortal visits?"
"Until the guest leaves..." Thor trailed off, "Would you like me to remain with you?"
Loki gave him a withering glare, "Whatever gave you that inspiration?" he asked.
Thor sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Loki..." he started, "You are my brother, you always have been-"
"Wrong." Loki snapped, "I am not, nor ever was your brother."
"Blood does not make brothers, Loki. We had a bond which could not be broken." Thor replied.
Loki scoffed. "Obviously it was," he said, "So there goes your argument."
The god of Thunder paced, "Why, Loki?" Thor asked, "Why are you so different than you were?"
"Perhaps it is a mixture of secrets and abandonment." Loki quipped.
"You were not abandoned." Thor replied, "Mother always took you under her wing."
"And I was shamed for it." Loki retorted, venom lacing his tone so much that Thor actually winced. "Shamed because I was raised by Frigga, and Odin cared not one whit of what happened to me."
"That is no-"
"Prince Thor?" Jarvis interrupted, "Forgive the intrusion, but I'm afraid you're needed. The Fantastic Four have arrived, and there is currently a brawl going on which will need your assistance."
Thor sighed, "Very well." he said, picking up his hammer and heading for the door. He paused, and turned back to Loki. "I wish that one day you will forgive whatever grievances you have against me. I only wish we could go back to the way we were before. That one day we will once more be family." Loki only stared at him as he walked out of the room to attend the Fantastic Four.
"Things will never be the way they were before." Loki muttered to the closed door, setting himself down with a book.
He could vaguely hear crashes going on in the room above him, and despite himself he hoped that Elizabeth wasn't there yet.
Tony was fully suited as he tried to calm the Hulk down. It had begun calmly enough, as Reed and his crew had arrived, and the Avengers were assembled in the main room. Where it seemed to go wrong was when Johnny Storm had proven himself to be the egotistical ass he usually was... and made a pass at Justine. A rather strong pass. Bruce lost it, quickly hulking out and throwing the fireboy across the room, resulting in pandemonium.
Justine had been forcefully taken out of the room by Clint, who believed the woman was in more danger than she believed. Emma had assisted him, taking Jane with her as they realized the situation was pretty bad. Where they went was unknown at the time.
It was in that moment that Lizzie had shown up with Phillip Dale, who was still fuming. This only seemed to make matters worse as Hulk didn't recognize the man, believing him a threat to – of all people – Lizzie. Steve ran over to protect the man, and Lizzie by proxy as she was caught in the middle, trying to calm Bruce down.
That was how Thor found them. Hulk in the middle, roaring at a petrified Johnny, who hid behind Tony; and Steve protecting Lizzie, Phillip, and Darcy (who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere). Ben Grimm, or the Thing as he was affectionately called by the Fantastic Four, was standing to one side, enjoying the show. Sue and Reed were trying to make heads or tails of the situation, unknowing really of how to deal with the Hulk, and being instructed to stay out of the way by Natasha. Sue tried to argue, but the red-head only had to glare.
The Thunderer sighed, swinging his hammer.
"Hey, Point Break," Tony's robotic voice echoed, "Do not destroy my house while you're trying to subdue him. I don't need to replace everything right now, as budgets are tight."
"Is that really all you care about?!" Steve shouted, "This is a dangerous situation, and all you can think about is your pocketbook!"
"Easy Capsicle," Tony retorted, "Its a very sensible thing to think about."
"If you had any sense." Lizzie quipped from behind Steve.
The slits for eyes that Ironman had would have narrowed if they could have as he said: "Watch it Puppy."
The hammer continued to swing as Thor made to break both he and the Hulk out of the window. However, to everyone's shock, Ben suddenly stopped laughing and stood in front of the Hulk.
"Watch it, big guy." the Thing said as the Human Torch still stood stock still from fear. "I may not like him anymore than you do, but I'm not beyond sending you right out the window."
The Hulk paused for a second, looking at everyone in the room. With a roar, he sent Ben into Tony's expensive bar.
"Geez, that's a hard landing." Tony quipped, "You owe me twenty grand for that, Bruce!"
The Thing suddenly stood from the rubble, stepping forward. "All right," he growled, "Its clobberin' time." However, neither one moved another step as they found themselves locked in a force field. "SUE!" Ben shouted, "Let us out!"
"Not happening." Sue Storm-Richards replied. "We're allies, not enemies."
"He started it." Ben argued.
"Technically, Johnny started it." Steve said from his place beside Lizzie, Phillip Dale being led by Darcy to where Emma was.
Hulk roared again, frustrated at his inability to move. "Hey, big guy." Tony said from beside him, earning a scathing look. "This isn't helping Mellow Yellow. She's in another room, worrying her blond brains out about you, probably screaming her head off at Clint for taking her away." he said, lifting the helmet from his face. "Now I know that Fireboy over here was an idiot. Not even I would make a pass at a girl who is intimately involved with Hulk -" he turned to Johnny, "Or any of the women around here. If I find you flirting with Pepper, I will personally end your family legacy, as you will be without the means of continuing the Storm name."
Johnny put his hands up in surrender, unconsciously protecting his – ahem – 'family jewels'. "Agreed." he said, eying Hulk all the while. "I won't flirt with your girlfriends."
Ben scoffed, "We'll see about that." he said.
"Hey! Have I flirted with Alicia?" Johnny asked.
"Its only because you don't find her attractive, Johnny." Sue quipped from the side as Hulk began to dwindle back into Bruce Banner.
Thor still held his hammer, waiting for anything to happen that he would be needed for... but lowered it as the danger was averted and Bruce was laying on the ground – naked. Lizzie blushed and turned away, mindlessly humming another tune as everyone began dispersing with a sigh of relief. Steve went to find Emma, to let her and her the others know that all was clear. It was then that Johnny approached Lizzie.
"So... are you taken?" he drawled.
"Am I what?" Lizzie replied.
"Taken – you know. Like, are you with any of the Avengers?" he repeated.
"You mean 'if I flirt with you, am I at risk of having all 208 bones in my body broken, as well as possibly being castrated with a serrated knife'?" she asked in all seriousness, finding a strange amusement as she watched him suddenly gulp, "Yes, actually."
Johnny looked around, "Okay... well who are you with... so I don't piss him off?" he asked.
Lizzie smirked. "Oh, I'm not with anyone." she said, "I was talking about what I'd do to you if you mess with me."
His blue eyes bulged, "You'd do that?" he exclaimed, not being able to picture the petite woman with large doe eyes being so heinous.
She smiled, "No, but it sounds pretty threatening. But nah, not me – Clint maybe, if you mess with Natasha. Though Natasha may just do it herself, so I wouldn't mess with either of them. Steve wouldn't do anything, really, but Tony will if you mess with Emma. Hulk will smash you into the floor if you mess with Justine – just ask Loki what that's like if you're wondering about being a doll. Jane? Well, if you want an Asgardian prince with a large hammer that can smash large things to smash into you, then I wouldn't recommend it. Uh, I think that's it. But Darcy would probably taser you into oblivion, and I would tell Clint... who would probably aim an explosive arrow at your head, and let it explode – but I'm not particularly dangerous."
He laughed briefly, then stopped, questioning if she actually meant what she said.
"Uh, Miss Elizabeth." Jarvis' voice came from above, "Mrs. Langley is asking for your presence in her room."
"Ooh, kinky stuff." Tony commented from the side, earning a harsh glare from Lizzie's black eyes. "Though I'm not sure I want to know the details."
Lizzie sighed, turning around to head to Emma's room. "Quite frankly, neither do I." she said as someone – probably Tony – began whistling Taps.
Well, here's the update. My apologies for it being late, but here it is nonetheless. I'll try to update soon, but in the meantime can you review?