(Author's note: So- after crashing into writer's block and getting much needed suggestions for what to do with the remaining chapters of this story, I'm back. :) Thanks to bitch-tony for helping me regain my muse! Happy early birthday, by the way!)
"Sir?," A raspy tone made its presence known as its owner gently stepped toward the towering figure; the brawny individual idly pacing to and fro greeting him as he found himself searching for the appropriate words to explain the latest report.
"What is it?"
"Reports have come in that King Odin of Asgard has fallen into a deep sleep. If you are wishing to go with the plan, now is the time to strike."
"Indeed, it is. Tell Corvus to set a course for Asgard. Looks like it is time to take what is rightfully mine." A pleased smile formed on his features as he continued his idle pacing.
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**
*
Rolling over on the mattress, the small astrophysicist groaned softly in confusion as the familiar presence of the dark haired God of Mischief was absent; a soft pillow greeting her palm and causing her confusion to increase. "Loki?," Jane muttered sleepily as her eyelids cracked open. After spending the day having lunch and receiving an early wedding anniversary present, the urge to nap had made its presence known as she recalled suggesting that the two of them head upstairs and rest before they headed back to Asgard. The memory played on as she recalled vividly the warmth of his body settling behind her as he held her close; his lips brushing along the smooth column of her neck before he softly told her to rest. That was four hours ago, her brain announced, as her vision recovered from its previously blurry state. Where was he?
Curiosity about her husband's whereabouts propelled Jane from the soft mattress; her feet sliding from the cushioned support to the hard, cold wood floor beneath her as she stood. Was he in the kitchen?, her mind suggested as she drew a hand up to rub at her eyes as she proceeded to step toward the open door leading out to the hallway. "Loki?," she called out once more as her head peeked out from the bedroom; hope bubbling within her as she waited for his response. The hope that had been forming was extinguished as the lack of his reply greeted her; a knot of anxiety blooming in the pit of her stomach as she tried to decide where else to look. In situations like this, she would typically wake up to a note explaining his whereabouts. Once more, hope made an attempt to form as she glanced over her shoulder into the bedroom for a piece of paper. The knot of anxiety that had presented itself seemed to increase in size as her worried filled eyes were unsuccessful in locating a note.
Taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm her anxiety laced nerves, Jane's mind flooded with suggestions about where Loki was: one in particular offering up the idea that Heimdall would know of the Prince's location as he, in the past, had brought up the fact that he was able to see all of the nine realms. All she would need to do was to have Heimdall transport her back to Asgard and she could ask him if he knew where Loki was once she arrived. With that idea in mind and the hope that had been pushed aside twice so far roaring loudly in her veins, Jane raced down the steps and toward the front door; her right hand reaching desperately out to the doorknob before twisting it and yanking the door out of her way. As soon as her bare feet kissed the cement, she continued onward to where the street met with the home she shared with Loki; excitement and hope working together to hasten her steps.
Reaching the curb, she briefly considered looking around to make sure she was alone on the block, but the excitement was not willing to offer her that chance. Instead, she drew her head up and took a deep breath before calling out to the gatekeeper of Asgard. "Heimdall, open the Bi-Frost!" Nothing happened. The knot of anxiety from earlier told her something was wrong; that she should have been well on her way to Asgard by now. Taking another deep breath in another attempt to push away the now elephant sized knot of anxiety, she called out to the towering gatekeeper; the anxiety working its way throughout her body as fear for her husband's well being took over. Something was definitely wrong, her mind announced, as she looked down at the street; the all too familiar sting of tears threatening to fall formed. Where was he and why had he left without letting her know where he was going?
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"Hurry everyone, hurry!" A panicked voice rang out amongst the massive crowd as the roar of Asgardian soldiers racing toward the invader echoed around them. Blonde locks spilled over the shoulder of the panicked voice; its owner trying his best to summon the courage to remain calm in the predicament he and all of Asgard had found themselves in.
"Thor, I've located safe passage for everyone, but we must go!" Loki called out; panic also filling his senses as he strode quickly over to his brother; his green eyed gaze roaming over the large group of Asgardians that had followed his brother. "It's in Vanaheim and all we must do is to head for the Bi-Frost. Heimdall is waiting for us there, but- " his sentence was caught off as a loud explosion went off near them only to followed by the crashing roar of a tower crumbling down to the ground. Whomever these invaders were, their skill in destruction was commendable. Worry for the citizens as well as the safety of his mother forced the dark haired God of Mischief away from the fallen tower; the sight of Thor bellowing out a command for everyone to follow him as he turned and raced for the Bi-Frost awaiting them greeting Loki as he followed after the large group. Screams of fear and panic echoed throughout the group as explosions continued onward around them; the once gloriously built realm falling with ease.
The sight of Heimdall and his mother standing anxiously at the opening of the Bi-Frost greeted Loki; the latter looking pale and pained as she seemed to look around at the place she and its citizens had once called home. Slowing down to a jog as the first half of the group led by his brother entered the mouth of the Bi-Frost made their way in, the sound of unfamiliar footsteps alerted the God of Mischief's senses causing him to spin around only to need to look up at the large figure approaching him and the others. The width of the figure's shoulders put both his brother's as well as Odin's to shame; the figure's sheer size towering over Heimdall.
"The Tesseract," the figure began as he continued to close the distance between the remainder of Asgard's citzens and himself; his large hands swinging to and fro as he walked in almost leisurely manner, "it is not here. You - Loki Odinson, will help me find it."
The sound of his name being said by the strange being caught Loki off guard as he tried his best to keep the fear in the back of his mind a secret. He knew he needed to get everyone out of Asgard; that he needed to get home and be with his Jane. The memory of being woken up by Fandral calling out to him from outside replayed itself; the blonde warrior in a panic over an invasion on Asgard and that Thor needed him to come back to help get everyone to safety. Now as he faced who he assumed was the leader of the invasion, Loki found himself wishing he had known about this attack in the past as he would have notified Thor so the two of them could have come up with a better plan. "If I don't?"
A menacing smile appeared on the being's face as he looked at the group of people; the sight of a muscular blonde looking back at them and running toward them. "If you don't, I will kill everyone you love; starting with that astrophysicist and that precious cargo she's carrying. I have a soldier at your home, Loki Odinson, and if you will not agree to my terms, the astrophysicist will be without a head."
His heart felt like it was going to stop at the thought of Jane and their unborn child being executed. Who was this individual to come here and threaten him if he didn't do his bidding? He couldn't risk defying this man, though; not with Jane and the baby in danger.
"Loki, let us leave!," Thor cried out; the sight of his dark haired brother standing dangerously close to the invader worrying the God of Thunder immensely. What was going on between the two of them for Loki to be choosing to stand close to the muscular stranger? He was inches from his brother when he saw Loki bow his head. "What is this madness? Loki, we must go! Jane is waiting for you."
"No, brother. You need to go; go back to Midgard and keep her and the others safe," Loki muttered; his heart wanting to stop beating at the thought of going with this individual instead of going with Thor and the others.
"What? Loki, no, you're coming with us. Let us go together, brother. Please," Thor was at a loss of what was going on between his brother and the invader.
"Thor, go! Please. Keep her safe, I beg of you." Loki turned to look at his brother; his green eyes filled with tears as the horrific thought of Jane dying seemed to have somehow embedded itself in his thoughts.
"Loki..," Thor groaned; worry for his younger sibling evident as he looked from the tall figure to his brother.
"Your majesty, we must go!," Heimdall called out; the large group of Asgardian citizens all bunched together along with Frigga and the slumbering Odin who was being supported by Asgardian soldiers.
Thor was about to speak to Loki when he felt his brother push him toward the group; the pained filled eyes of the dark haired God of Mischief greeting him before he followed after the tall figure who was leaving through a portal. Before he could say anything, the sight of the two of them vanishing through the portal greeted him.
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Two months later
The sound of birds chirping outside the window greeted Jane as she busied herself with making breakfast; the sight of the blender waiting for her to fill it up with the mixed berries that she was cutting up. While she, at first, had struggled to follow the guidelines of what foods to eat and what to avoid during each month of her pregnancy at the beginning, she felt confident that she had been able to follow the meal suggestions with ease. For breakfast, she usually opted for a fruit smoothie or a healthy cereal. The first time, however, when she had attempted to make her favorite meal, she had dissolved in tears as the omelet was one of the many things connected to Loki and given that it had been two months since she had seen him or anyone else from Asgard, she could not handle any form of reminders without becoming stressed out.
Adding handful upon handful of the cut up fruit to the waiting appliance, she was about to turn the blender on when the sound of her cellphone ringing drew her attention; the simple ringtone calling out to her from its spot on her desk. Stepping lightly over to the desk, the sight of Darcy's name along with a phone symbol beneath the name presented itself. Unplugging the device from the USB cord attached to the charger, Jane drew the device up to her ear as her left thumb accepted the call. "Dar-" she was cut off by the sound of her intern's frantic talking.
"Jane! It's Thor, he's back!," Darcy exclaimed.
"Wait, what? You can't be serious, Darcy. Thor hasn't been here for years and Loki - he, he's been gone for months." The old pain threatened to burst as she struggled to regain her composure.
"No, I know, but Thor really is here on Earth, Jane. Look - I know this has been a crazy past few months what with Loki being gone and you moving back here to London, but I'm serious: Thor is here and he wants you with him in New York."
"Why? Darcy, i don't know if I can." The thought of seeing Thor after being practically abandoned by him and his family for the past few months seemed almost too much to deal with. She didn't know if she would be able to handle seeing him or anyone from Asgard again.
"Jane, you have to. Crazy stuff is going on and your safety is important right now. Look, we'll be able to keep in contact, I promise. Just go, ok? Coulson sent a plane for you at Heathrow Airport and he said you'll be escorted. Then when you get to the States, you'll be staying at Stark Tower. Just go pack up some stuff. Thor's been driving all of us crazy waiting for you to show up."
"I.." the rest of the sentence was caught off as the sight of a black car pulling up in front of her apartment drew her attention from Darcy. "There's a car here."
"Yeah, that'll be someone from S.H.I.E.L.D. ready to take you to the airport. So go on, boss lady - go to your room and pack your essentials. Call me when you get to the airport, ok?"
"Darcy, I -"
"Jane, please. I know all of this sounds really crazy and I know - I know the idea of being around Thor after everything is scary, but he needs you there. He said once you get to New York, you'll understand why you came." While she understood Jane's hesitation, she knew Jane needed to go stateside for a very specific reason.
"A-all right. I'll go pack stuff. I'll call you when I get to Heathrow. Thanks, Darcy. Really." While she was still feeling overwhelmed with the still healing wound created by being abandoned by Loki and his family, the fact that Thor was around would allow her the chance to finally get the answers she desperately needed.
(Whew! Sorry for the wait, everyone, but the muse finally woke up thanks to help from a very dear person. :) Will be working on Chapter 22 ASAP.)
