And I am finally done with the chapter. Gosh it felt like it took forever. And it kind of did, my thoughts was all over the place so I did a lot of things in between. But here it is.
I must say that I am very, very happy with this chapter. I love it so much, so I hope you guys do too!
And normally I like Sigyn, she is the perfect wife for Loki, everything she does for him is amazing. She stays at his side when Odin chain him, catching the venom from a snake. She is so loyal and amazing. But well here she isn't. So sorry if you also like her and I also make her a bad guy. Haha feels like I make everyone a bad guy. And I will see what I do with her.
Then as always I will thank you for reading and thank you to my new followers and thanks for the reviews. That is so kind of you guys!
And that's all I have to say. So enjoy the chapter :)
They all walked into the lab and Cara felt really nervous about what Tony was to show her. She didn't know what he had found and she could imagine to many possibilities, and especially over things that could have gone wrong. They could be badly hurt, they could be starving somewhere, one of them could be dead and the other could be sitting with his twin's dead body. They could be locked up somewhere, they could be criminals wanted for all sort of crimes. Her mind come up with too many stories and she tried to calm herself. She needed to stay calm, guessing what could have happened to the twins wouldn't help anyone.
"Please tell me they are alive Tony," Cara said when they stopped and Tony looked at her.
"They seem to be alive," he started and showed her a hologram. She looked at it, it was a poster with the twins. "It's a circus poster…"
"A circus poster?" She interrupted him. She was very surprised, why were they on a circus poster.
"Yes, a circus poster," Tony said and waited to see if she interrupted him again, but Cara nodded, showing him that he could continue. "It's a European circus with only child performers. I checked it up, and it looks like it only have people who have different skills, a lot of them seems to be mutants."
"What?" She asked still not grasping the situation.
"I can't tell you that much. All I know that it only tours Europe, and that the circus people do all kind of things. And well it looks like Loki's children are some of the more popular ones. One of them can apparently turn into different things, the most usual seems to be a wolf, the other one has some sort of magic. I don't know. The website is very fussy and don't reveal too much. To be honest it seems very shady, especially since I had to access the dark web to find it. But I guessing that mutants aren't too popular over there either, so they rather hid what they do," Tony said and Cara nodded.
"I don't understand why they are at a circus. Is their mother there too?" Cara asked.
"I don't know how she looks, but I don't see a woman looking like the twins at the poster. But she may be there, just not where anyone can see her," Tony said.
"Okay, since I can't get the information on how they ended up there right now I will try not to think about it. But Tony do they seem to be okay?" Cara asked him and Tony didn't answer for a while.
"I will not lie to you," he started. "They don't seem to be to fine, but it's hard to tell. I could only find picture, and they seem fine if you look at the pictures very fast, but their eyes seem to tell a different story. This isn't any evidence but, yeah something doesn't feel right."
"I need to tell Loki about this," she slowly said, knowing that Loki would want to know that they had found his youngest children. "Tony can we pick them up? Or at least visit them to see if they are alright?"
"Sure no problem," Tony said and she smiled. "We can take the plane when you are ready."
"Thank you," Cara said and hugged him and Tony hugged her back, a bit taken by it.
"No need to thank me. It's children so of course we are going to see if they are alright. I also want to make sure the other kids are alright," Tony said and she smiled.
"You are a good man Tony," Cara said.
"I know," Tony only answered and Cara rolled her eyes.
I will go and tell Loki."
"Steve can you talk to the others, it may just be a feeling, but something does not feel right about this, and I would like to be prepared for the worst," Tony said.
"Sure," Steve walked to the elevator with Cara.
"Loki," Cara said and knocked on his door and waited. When the door opened she stepped inside. "I hope I do not disturb you, but I have some information to give you,"
Loki looked at her and she indicated that they should sit down and they did.
"A few days back Frigga was hear and told us that Narfi and Váli was here on earth," she started and Loki gave her a look wondering why she hadn't said anything. "I wanted to know if they were alive or not first. Not wanting to give you hope. I am sorry."
Loki slowly nodded, reluctantly, but he did understood her motives.
"Tony just founded them, alive," she added and Loki couldn't stop himself from smiling.
"Where are they?" he asked.
"Here is the bad news, or the less good news. I am not sure what news it is. Anyway they are in Europe, at a circus," she started and Loki gave her the same look she had given Tony. "I know, but I don't know why they are there, or if Sigyn are there. And Tony couldn't say if they were alright or not. The few pictures he saw told him something was wrong, but he do not know what."
Loki gave her a worried look and she recognised the fear over the fact that something may have happened to your children.
"We are going to visit them, to at least see if they are alright, and what happened," She started and Loki stood up and she laughed a gentle one, and he looked at her. "I thought that you wanted to come with us. But Loki I must warn you that if you leave the tower I can't guarantee that people from Asgard can't find you."
She didn't want to scare him but she wanted to be honest with him, so he knew that it could happen. She saw the horror in his eyes at those words, but then he clenched his fists and took a deep breath.
"It's my children I have too," he said in a low voice and Cara smiled.
"I know, and I will be there as long as you want me to. I just wanted you to know what can happen, and that you could stay here if you wanted," She said in a friendly voice, not blaming him for if he did.
"Thank you but…" he started and Cara just nodded, knowing how he felt. He would do anything he could for his children. "But could you please stay by my side?"
Cara heard that he was scared and ashamed of asking.
"As if you even needed to ask. I will always be by your side whenever you want me to," she said with a smile and walked up next to him.
"Let's go," she said and Loki nodded and they left the room.
Cara could tell how nervous and worried Loki was as they got closer and closer to Europe, but she didn't say anything about it, she only offered her hand and Loki took it. She carefully and gently stroke the back of his hand with her thumb, trying to calm him down. It seemed to work to some extent, and she knew Loki wouldn't calm down until they were back at the tower, and hopefully with the twins.
The others worked the plane and tried not to think about what they may find when they got there, or what Loki would do if things got bad. They wasn't sure how much he could do in the state he was now, but they had all seen how much he cared for Cara, and they know that his kids would be no different.
"I hope that we aren't doing a mistake," Clint whispered to Natasha as she piloted the plane.
"Cara said she would handle it if he did something, so I hope she can," Natasha answered him.
"As do I. I do not want to know what may happen is she can't," Clint said and Natasha didn't answer, thinking of what Loki had done the last time he was on earth, and she was sure that he hadn't given it his all.
"We are going down for landing in 10," Natasha said to the others.
"Roger," Steve answered and they all went to their seats.
"It's going to be alright brother," Thor said to Loki who looked at him but didn't answer. "Don't you worry, they are your children, they have always been strong and you are a great father…"
Thor stopped when Cara kicked his leg, begging him to stop talking. Thor was a bit confused to why at first, before looking at Loki who hung his head, and Thor understood that he thought of the children that was dead. They had actually been the strongest ones, Narfi and Váli were the youngest ones, and far from the strongest. But strength hadn't mattered when it comes to the others, and Thor remembered that Cara had said that Loki blamed himself for that. Thor wanted to kick himself for being so clumsy for saying such a thing. He thought he would say he was sorry, but guessing that he would only mess that up to, and he reminded silent as they landed in England.
They all stepped out of the plane when they had landed. Cara looked at the familiar views and felt all the memory wash over her, they were near the place where she had grown up and she tried not to think about it at all.
"So now we need to find a town called Ellington or rather Low Ellington," Tony said and looked at the poster.
"It's this way. I takes around 15 minutes to walk there," Cara said and pointed towards north.
"How do you know? Everything looks the same out here," Clint said and pointed at the English landscape.
"I grew up not far from here, so I have been here before," she only said and started walking north.
"So you grew up out here? It must have sucked. So boring, nothing to do," Tony said, he had only been living in bigger cities, and he would have been crazy living like this.
"It did suck, as you so fine phrased it, but for different reasons then you think. Living out in the country side was lovely," she told him.
"So want to go and visit someone when we are here? Any old farmer friends?" Tony joked.
"There is no one to visit. My family is dead, and my friends, well we aren't friends anymore, and I am not sure if they even are alive," she said and fought back the memories of her family, and the war she had fought during her school time.
"I am sorry, I didn't know," Tony said.
"I know. And well there is nothing to be sorry for, your family normally dies when you kill them or get them killed, and people die at war," she only said.
"You killed your own family?" Steve asked.
"And what war? There hasn't been a war in England for years," Tony said.
"Well I got my mother killed when I was born. I got my godfather killed for helping me runaway, just as my fiancé," She said. "My daughter got killed by my father and Loki finally killed my father."
Cara gave Loki a grateful smile and he only nodded.
"And there was a war here, you guys just don't know about it since it was a war between magicians, and our world is hidden for you. Just like Thor's and Loki's was before," She told them.
"Sounds like your dad had it coming," Clint said and she nodded.
"He had. He just didn't think the threat come from Loki," she told them.
"And there is a whole world that are hidden from us?" Tony asked and she smiled.
"There is. But can we please talk about something else, since this is things I prefer not to think off. I left that life behind years ago," Cara said and the others understood and agreed. Loki gave her a worried look but she just smiled. The memories were painful but she pushed them aside, not wanting to worry Loki, he had other things to think about.
The soon reached Ellington, it was a small village, where most people worked at their farms, and they kept to their own business.
"Here we are," Cara said.
"And there are the tent," Thor said and pointed and they all looked at the red and black tent.
"Let's see if we can get tickets," Tony said.
"That shouldn't be a problem, can't be many people who want to watch it here, it's like teen houses," Clint said.
"I guess people from all over England comes here to watch the show, so it may be hard to get in," Tony said and Cara stopped them.
"Before we go anywhere you need to alter your looks. You are to famous to just blend in," she said and they all looked at each other.
"And how would we do that? It's not like we have a closet of masquerade cloths with us," Clint said.
"You may not have that, but you have me. And a little bit of magic will do wonders," she said and looked at them before she started.
When she was done she had hidden their weapon. And in front of her stood a blonde Natasha, red haired Clint, taller and older looking Bruce with grey hair, a shorter Steve and Thor, both with black hair, and a younger Tony with brown afro. Cara smiled at all of them as they looked at each other and then at themselves and tried not to laugh.
"You are professionals, then act like it, before you blow your cover," she told them "We are here for a reason!"
Cara then turned around to Loki to see if he needed change, since she wasn't sure how much of his magic he could use. But instead of looking at Loki she looked at a woman. She could see that it was Loki, mostly because of the eyes, but besides that it was hard to tell.
"Wow you look hot," Tony said and Loki lowered his head at those words.
"Tony," Steve said and Tony looked at Steve before he looked at Loki.
"Oh sorry, Loki, I didn't mean it like that," he said, but Loki didn't look up. Cara gave Tony an angry look before she walked closer to Loki.
"I am here with you, no one is going to touch you!" She said and he slowly nodded. "Want to hold my hand?"
Loki only nodded again and took it and she smiled.
"Then let's go."
They managed to get tickets and it seemed like no one payed any attention to them, they were just a part of the crowed. They sat down in the dark tent, lit by torches, wondering what place this really was. The people around them looked like they were dragged out from the darkest corners of the world.
"It don't feel right," Thor said and Cara gave him a look that told him to be quite. They needed to blend in, and no one else was talking. Cara looked at Loki, or rather the woman that she knew was Loki, who sat very anxious next to her. Cara squeezed his hand and he looked at her, Cara gave him a friendly smile and Loki nodded but then looked back to the centre of the tent.
"Ladies and Gentlemen. I welcome you to my circus," a man walked out from the shadow, wearing a traditional circus managers outfit, but in dark colours instead of the bright happy ones they normally wore. "Tonight we have a magnificent show, so be prepared!"
The other started to applaud and Cara and the others did the same, even if they felt like this wouldn't be anything they wanted to see.
The evening seemed very long, and Cara could feel how upset the others got. She switched off her feelings, knowing that if she didn't, she wouldn't be able to handle the situation. People around them enjoyed the show, she could tell. How they could she, could not understand, but she guessed none of them had children.
The children had done awful things, that she really hopped they didn't do out of free will, because then she was worried for their mental state. They had been hit with different weapons, just to amuse the audience to see them heal, and what they could heal from. Cara had a feeling that some of the wounds would leave scars, and take a long time to heal. They had walked through fire and melted, only to become humans when the fire was put out. They had been put in positions that shouldn't be possible if you were only human. It was more or less a show of torture.
"Are you enjoying the show?" The managers said when he walked out from the shadows again and the crowed was cheering and he smiled. "I am glad to hear that. But we have saved the best for last."
You could hear that the audience was whispering.
"The best and the hunter," the man said and stepped into the shadows as a wolf jumped out, one of the twins.
Cara felt Loki tens up and how he was about to stand up, but she was still holding his hand and he looked at her.
"Not yet," she whispered to him and he gave her a sad look, but he understood. Cara was glad for that, because she didn't know what would happen if they tried to act now. Before their eyes the wolf walked around, looking terrifying, with music and backgrounds creating an illusion, a story without words. The wolf showed its teeth and growled and a woman in the front seat screamed.
Then the other twin jumped out, magic glowing from his hands. The wolf looked at the young boy walking towards him and the boy made a spear out of magic and threw it at the wolf. The wolf dodges it and jumped at the boy who lifted one arm to shield himself and the wolf bit him. The boy screamed, the blood started dripping, and he summoned magic again. He created a sword and slashed against the wolf.
"You do not want to see this," Cara said to Loki who had stared at the scene and she saw how it affected him. "Loki!"
Loki couldn't stop looking and Cara squeezed his hand gently and then pulled him into a hug and covered his ears, she did not want him to see or hear it. Loki leaned against her shoulder, holding her tight, she could tell that he was really scared.
Cara looked away and tried to not hear the screams from the boy, and the growling from the wolf. She could hear the weapon clash with teeth and claws. She heard the music getting loader and darker, the audience cheering and then how everything went quite. She slowly watched and saw how the wolf lay still, bleeding on the floor. The other boy stood over the wolf, bloody with a sword in hand.
"The hunter was victories this evening," the circus manager said and walked out from the shadows. "But the wolf will be back, and who knows what will happen then?"
Loki tried to look but she hold him tightly.
"Loki you do not want to see them like this," she said friendly.
"Are they alive?" He asked in a low voice.
."They are alive" she told him and she felt how he started to cry and she gently stroke him over his back. Cara was more than pleased to see that the twins was immortal, at least Odin hadn't changed that.
"I welcome all of you back, hoping to see you in our next town," the manager said and bowed, the people applaud as the manager left the centre with the bloody boy and the bloody limping wolf. The people started to empty the tent and they all looked at each other, when the tent was almost empty and the guards started to walk towards them, Cara lifted the magic and let them turn into themselves. The avengers looked at each other before they nodded and sprang into action.
Cara left the guards to the others while she calmed Loki, letting him take his time. She sung the song for him and he finally calmed down.
"Thank you," he said in a low voice and Cara smiled.
"Anytime," she said and stood up when he did. Loki turned back to himself and they walked down the stairs and to the back of the tent, where the others had gone. Loki stopped for a second and looked at the blood and Cara took his hand.
"Let's go," she said and made him continue walking towards the others.
When they entered the backer tent they saw the manager locked in a cage and the children standing scared in the middle with Thor, Steve and Tony guarding them.
"You are scaring them," Cara told them and they all looked at her and Loki who walked next to her. Loki looked really nervous and she understood him, he wasn't sure how his children would react when they saw him.
"But we are the good guys, they don't need to fear us," Tony said.
"How should they know that?" She asked "So just take a few step back and they will feel a bit safer."
The guys did as she said and the kids still looked scared, but not as much. Cara looked at all of them, she guessed that they were around 4 to 15 or 16.
"Who are you?" One of the older girls finally asked.
"We are the avengers," Steve said and the kids still looked at them.
"Superheroes," Tony added and the kids didn't say anything.
"How do we know that you are who you claim to be?" A boy asked after a moment.
"You have to trust us kid" Tony said and the kids didn't look convinced at all.
"I know that they look scary, but they are really nice. A bit dumb, but nice," Cara said.
"Hey!" Tony protested.
"And we are just like all of you, different," she told them and made a green flame of magic appear in her hand. The kids now looked at her and Loki who stood next to her. The children stared at the flame, and then at her, but they didn't trust them and she didn't say anything more. She let them think about it, understanding that it was a difficult moment for them.
Suddenly the twins walked out from behind a door, they were still bloody, and seemed to be a bit hurt. They were holding hands when they looked at the other children who gave them hateful glances, and Cara understood that the other kids didn't like them for some reason. Then they looked at the direction the other kids looked and first the stared, before they actually smiled.
"Father," they both said and started running towards Loki who kneeled in the sand and opened his arms to hug them when they ran towards him. The boys threw themselves at Loki who hugged them tightly and Cara smiled at the scene. It made her happy to see Loki finally holding two of his children in his arms. The boys started crying which made Loki cry to and she stepped back to give them space.
"It's really hard to see that it's the same Loki that tried to take over earth," Tony said as he watched the God hug his kids.
"He seem so happy to see them, and they him," Steve said and Cara rolled her eyes, normally families are happy to see each other.
They all turned to Thor when they heard him sob.
"Are you crying big guy?" Tony asked in a friendly voice.
"I am glad that they are alive, and I am glad that Loki got to meet them again, he hasn't seen them in years," Thor said and Tony nodded, he understood that Thor was happy for his brother, especially since what happened to his other children.
"Let's make sure that Odin can't touch them again," Tony said and the others nodded.
"Yes," Cara said as she watched Loki and his children, before she observed at the other children who did not look happy at all. Cara wondered what they would do with them?
"Cara?" She turned around to face Loki when he called for her and she smiled and walked over.
"Do you need something?" She asked when he stood up with the kids in front of him.
"I want you to meet Narfi," Loki said and pointed at the twin with dark blue eyes, and then at the other boy. "And this is Váli."
Cara kneeled in front of them, so they could look her in the eyes.
"Hi nice to meet you, I am Cara," she said in a friendly voice.
"Hi," Narfi said and Váli nodded, hiding a bit behind his twin.
"Have you father told you why he is here?" She asked and the shook their heads and Cara laughed. "How can he forget something so important. He is here to take you home."
The twins looked at Loki who only smiled at them.
"Would you like that?" Cara asked.
"Yes," they both said and she nodded. "Then it's decided, you are going to go home with your father."
Cara started to stand up when Narfi grabbed her sweater and pulled in it very gently.
"Cara?" He said and she stopped and sat down again.
"Yes?"
"What will happen to the other children?" He asked and Cara looked at him and then the other children and smiled, Narfi still cared about them, even if they didn't seem to like them.
"We will make sure they can go home too," she said.
"They don't have any homes. They were all sold, just like we were," Narfi said and Cara felt her heart stop for a moment, what did he mean? She looked at Loki who looked very upset.
"Narfi what do you mean with sold? Who sold you?" Cara asked very nicely.
"Our families. Their families was scared of them or thought of them as monster and didn't want them," Narfi said and pointed at the other kids.
"And you?"
"Mother left us here when she met a new man, the manager told us later that she had sold us," Narfi said in a low voice.
"Sigyn…" Loki said in a low cold voice that Cara hadn't heard before, and the twins seemed as surprised, and almost scared when Cara stood up and looked at him.
"Loki," she said with a warm voice and he looked at her and then at the twins and nodded. He smiled at the boys who smiled back.
"Why didn't mother want us?"
"I don't know. But don't worry, your father will never leave you," Cara said and the twins smiled.
"Really?" Váli asked and Loki kneeled.
"I will never leave you," he said and hugged them.
"We told mother that you hadn't left us, and that you would come back. She always said you wouldn't, just like the other kids did. They told us to stop dreaming," Narfi said and Loki just hugged them tightly.
Cara walked over to the other kids who was viewing the twins with angry eyes.
"Hi," she said friendly but the children didn't say anything. "Do you have homes to return to?"
The children didn't answer her and she took that as a now.
"Do you have any place to go?" She asked instead and they still didn't answer. "Do you want to leave this place?"
"Yes, who wouldn't?" A girl said and Cara smiled.
"Cleaver girl," Cara said with a laugh. "Do you want us to find you a home?"
"No! You will just sell us again!" A boy said in an angry voice.
"We will never sell you! I can promise you that. I know that my word doesn't mean much, but I will not force any of you to come with us. You are all free to go wherever you want, but if you want we can find a home for you," she said, not sure where, but she would find a place.
"There is a place outside New York, it's a school and a home that are ran by a man called Charles. They are all mutants there, and they teach people to use their gifts," Tony said and walked over to them. "He would welcome you all to his family if you want to go there."
Cara smiled at Tony for helping her.
"Could we leave the school if we wanted?" A young girl asked.
"Whenever you wanted. If you want to go there it's of free will, no one will force you," Tony said and started to tell stories about the school to the kids who listened.
Cara walked back to Loki and the twins.
"We are offering them a place at a school for people with special gifts," she told them.
"Are you going to send us there too?" Narfi asked.
"No you will stay with your father," she said and the twins smiled.
"Will you be there too?" Narfi asked and Cara looked at him, kind of surprised that he asked.
"I will be there too," she answered him and Narfi smiled.
"Good, because I like you. You seem like a very nice person," he said and Cara only nodded, not sure what to answer him, instead she smiled at them before she walked back to Tony to see how it was going. She was still a bit unsure to have children around her, especially if they liked her. Despite meeting a lot of children over the years, it still always affected her, and it took her some time to adjust to it. The memories of her own daughter and losing her was always bubbling up r and she pushed them aside for now, focusing on the children in front of her.
Most of the children had chosen to come back with them, wanting to leave the circus and all the memories behind them. Some of the older children had choose to stay in England and to manage on their own. The children on the plane asked a lot of questions that the Avengers tried to answer. They wanted to know more about the place they were going, the USA and what kind of power the Avengers had.
Loki sat with the twins at his side in the back smiling, leaving the rest to the others, which the others didn't say anything about. Cara sat opposite of Loki smiling at him, not saying anything. She could see how happy he was, and she was happy for him, glad that he could see his children alive again. She knew that Hel also was alive, but she lived in the realm of the dead, so she guessed it wasn't the same, and Loki couldn't have her at his side.
When she looked at Loki, she could tell that he was very observing towards the others and she understood him, he wanted to protect the twins, afraid to lose them again. So when Narfi jumped down from the seat, she could tell that Loki very worried until Narfi walked over to her. Cara looked at the child as he tried to get up in the seat next to her and she helped him.
"Thank you," Narfi said and she only nodded. "I wanted to sit next to you, you looked so lonely here. And father has Váli at his side."
"That was very kind of you," Cara told him, actually smiling at him. This boy was really sweet, and she was glad that he was after what he had gone through.
"I hope that's okay father?" Narfi asked and Loki nodded at him and smiled. Cara could tell that he was very proud at his son.
"Narfi look," Váli said and pointed at the window. It was night outside as the city lit the night sky.
"Wow, so many light'. It's so pretty," Narfi said.
"We are landing in 15 minutes," Natasha said.
"Let's get you kids seated," Tony called and started to put the other children at their seat and look the seatbelt, as Cara and Loki did the same with the twins.
When they had landed Tony, Steve and Natasha took the other kids and went towards X-mansion, while Loki lead his children inside the tower. Cara watched Loki as he relaxed a bit more, feeling safer inside the tower. The twins were looking around the place, very curious.
"But why aren't we in Asgard?" Narfi asked and Loki stopped in the middle of his step he looked very unsure to what he should answer.
"It's because I am from earth, and I live here," Cara said and Loki smiled at her and the twins smiled too.
"Aren't you from Asgard? How did you meet father then?" Narfi asked.
"No, I am from earth. And when it's not late and we aren't tired I may tell you," Cara said with a smile and the twins looked disappointed at her.
"But we aren't tired!" Narfi said and Cara laughed.
"You may not be, but we are," she said and the twins looked at her and then laughed to, not sure why. "Let us show you to your room."
The twins had loved their room and had asked if it really was for them and Cara had assured them that it was. She told them that Loki's room was right next to theirs, and hers was further down the hall if they needed something. She had also told them about Jarvis, telling them that they could ask him if they needed anything.
After the twins had gotten cleaned and changed into some clothes to sleep in, they told them to go to bed. Even if the twins had claimed that they weren't tired they had gone to bed, and almost fallen asleep at ones. Cara had just shook her head as she left the room with Loki who smiled happily at his sons. When they left the room he looked at her.
"Thank you," he said and she smiled at him.
"No need to thank me. It's your children, we had to get them back," she told him and he pulled her into a hug and she hugged him back.
"Are you alright?" He suddenly asked and she knew that he had seen how visiting England and meeting the twins had affected her.
"I will be in time," she told him and he only nodded. "But I need some sleep."
Loki looked at her nodding.
"Good night," he said.
"Good night Loki, just call for me if there is something you want," she said and then went to her bedroom.