Chapter 8
Several days had passed since Jane last entered deep space.
She'd spent most of the time camped out on the roof to escape the looks of pity from her peers and the walls that reminded her of the darkness closing in on her. The only downside were the stars. They were a constant reminder of her failure.
She looked away from the twinkling sky and rolled over on her cot only to bolt to her feet with her heart pounding in her throat.
A small flame hovered mid-air.
Torn by whether she should go get someone or move toward it out of curiosity, she stood immobile. Regardless, hope blossomed in her chest. It could be a sign from Loki.
The little candle-sized fire exploded into an inferno, and knocked her back onto her cot.
Out of the blaze, stepped two Fire Demons, then their king.
"Midgardian," he said as the raging fire behind them disappeared, "you have not returned."
She blinked with eyes that had to be wider than an owls before she came to her senses and scrambled off the cushion to stand before him. "Forgive me." She cleared her voice to steady it. "I've been busy searching for my friend."
Looking around him at the building and all the others surrounding their high position, he said, "Midgard has changed greatly since my time in isolation."
"Time is a luxury mortals do not have," she said.
Loki had told that her that. Apparently, he'd been just as surprised after a thousand years away. At the time, she'd taken offense to how he'd made her realm sound, like some kind of third-rate, backwater world. But now, she was grateful all theses fantastical beings had no interest in them.
His yellow eyes found hers. They were just as penetrating and calculating as Loki's, which made her miss him all the more.
"Does all of your kind have the ability to travel between realms?"
She shook her head, and disappointment flitted across his beast-like face.
Curiosity toppled her fear and decorum. Just as she was about to ask what he wanted, Tony, clad in his Iron Man suit, streaked through the night sky like a comet and landed between her and the Fire Giants with his hands raised, ready to fire.
"You alright?" he asked her. "I would've been here sooner, but I was on a mission."
Surtur laughed. His guards, however, shifted into fighting stances. "You mortals are full of surprises."
"Jane?"
She steeled herself with a quick inhalation and walked around him to gesture to the horned being, standing taller than them all. "This is King Surtur of Muspelheim." She faced the immortal and introduced Tony.
"Is he a friendly?" Stark asked her with his hands still raised.
That was yet to be determined.
Surtur looked at her. "She was just about to speak of her quest."
Another comet streaked through the sky, and she almost rolled her eyes.
Rhodey landed beside Tony with a thud. "Interesting," he said as he took in the Fire Demons.
The rooftop was getting crowded and far too tense for her liking. Pretty soon all of the Avengers would be up here and a fight would most certainly break out.
"King Surtur," she asked, "am I correct in assuming you know of Loki Odinson?"
His gaze jerked to her. "What of the Trickster God?"
"He is the one I'm looking for. He sacrificed himself to save us."
There was a long pause before he chuckled. "You are amusing, little one. Loki thinks only of himself."
Tony coughed. "Not when it comes to Jane."
Ignoring him, she said, "That's why I traveled to your realm. Again, I apologize for the intrusion."
"I take it you have not found him."
Relaxing slightly, Rhodey lowered his hands. "We know where he is."
Surtur peered at each of them, then lingered on her crumpled form. "What holds you back from achieving what you desire?"
"Nothing, and yet everything." She glanced at the glass door to the common room of the tower. "Forgive me, but I need to excuse myself."
"He's in deep space," Tony said before she could move a muscle. "And the only person capable of interstellar travel is suffocated by the emptiness there."
She shot him a glare. Why didn't he give him the nuclear codes while he was at it.
His faceplate popped up and he gave her a what-are-you-gonna-do grin. "He might know something that can help."
"I do," Surtur said. "There is a flame that can light up the Void and warm the depths of your core. Between that and your Asgardian amulet, you will be at ease enough to find your beloved."
She stared at him as thunder rumbled in the distance. "Why help me?"
"The most powerful Midgardian and the God of Mischief will owe me a favor."
"What kind of favor?"
"The kind of my choosing."
She should go inside and try to forget the entire night, but her legs refused to budge. Lightning struck overhead and she looked up to find the God of Thunder speeding their way. The Fire Demons shifted around their master to protect him against this new threat.
In the next instant, Thor was beside her, pointing his hammer at Surtur. "Believe none of their lies. He is after the Eternal Flame."
"Rest assured, Odinson, I will get back what is mine." He smiled, showing sharp teeth that seemed to be made of volcanic glass. "For now, though, my only goal is to help retrieve your brother."
Several emotions flickered across his face before he spun to her. "As much as I want Loki back, you cannot trust a son of Muspel."
"I know this," she rebuked him, "but what other choice do I have?"
"Give me a chance to convince Odin of my need to be by your side during this perilous mission."
She raised a brow. "Have you not already?"
"Aye, but—"
She sighed and tried to go to the king, but the Asgardian blocked her path. "Thor, I need you to step aside."
When he didn't move, the cracks in Surtur's skin lit up in flames. "The Midgardian asked you nicely. I will not." A flaming sword appeared in his hand.
The two faced each other with centuries of hate filling their eyes. They clenched their weapons, though neither raised them in aggression.
Tony and Rhodey looked around like they weren't sure who's side they were supposed to take.
"That very hammer was used against you," Jane reminded Thor. "You were pinned to the floor like a helpless child until Loki freed you." She touched his arm, corded with tension, and squeezed. "He freed all of us from the threat of Doom. Help me free him from the Void."
His breath rushed out and he turned his back to Surtur. "Go. Quickly. Before my father sends others to do what I could not."
She nodded and stepped to the king. "You have my word that I will repay this debt, so long as I come back with Loki."
His lipless mouth stretched wide. When he lifted his burning hand, she flinched but managed to not move as he touched her chest. Liquid fire seared her veins. She gasped and would have fallen if the Fire Demon hadn't caught her. Surtur spoke words she'd never heard in her ear until the pain subsided and all that was left in its place was a tingling pleasantness.
"The magic will not last long," he said. "Your best chance at success will be if you depart now."
She ran past Thor and straight to the teleportation room. With both forms of magic protecting her, she didn't bother putting on the spacesuit. The last exotic matter vial slipped in place and she darted to the landing pad.
Seconds later, she was drifting in a cloud of light amongst darkness so thick it pushed against her like a thousand bodies in a crowded room. She shoved back and turned on the locator device. It pinged an affirmative and zeroed in on Loki's location.
As if propelled by a rocket, she zipped through space until a green jacket reached the edge of her illuminated bubble. She stretched out to it only for a hand to clasp her arm. A metallic hand.
She jerked back, but Doom pulled himself to her. As the rest of him came into view, she grimaced at the half frozen corpse, dented like a wrecked car.
"Help me," he said from behind his mask. His voice was brittle and thin, nothing like the man who had stood triumphant on the roof with his hand clenched around her neck.
The fire raging inside her manifested itself on her skin. The magical flames licked at his fingers, yet his grip did not lessen. She grabbed onto his arm, stared into his black, void-like eyes, and let the fire consume him.
Still, he held on.
Metal oozed over her skin and dripped into the Unknown. She waited until nothing left of Doom existed before searching out Loki. The device said he was there, but she saw nothing.
"Mortals certainly are impatient," he said from behind her.
She whipped around, barely believing her eyes. He was well, as well as she'd last remembered him, and just as handsome. She half expected to find him in a similar state as Doom.
"I planned on coming back." He drifted closer to her, but then stopped. "I just had to wait for the Void to claim him."
Keeping the smile threatening to break free under tight control, she said, "Well, I wasn't going to wait another seventeen years to see you again."
For a brief moment, his brows lifted as surprise overcame him, but, just as quickly, he recomposed his features into the haughty one she was most familiar with. "I suppose one such as you cannot afford to be patient."
He drifted even closer.
Her entire body was aware of his nearness. Too aware. His presence called forth all of her desires and made her toes curl. After closing her eyes to take a calming breath, she found him staring at her like a desperate man on the verge of rescue, and yet, he was a wolf ready to devour her.
She crossed the distance between them and closed her lips over his. Their hands found cloth and skin, curves and hard planes. They touched each other for the first time, exploring what had been left to the imagination. And it was everything she'd expected, everything she could've hoped for.
His kisses were intoxicating. His firm grip was all-encompassing. She wrapped herself around him and let herself float away in bliss.
oOoOo
Jane held Loki's hand as Fury looked at the glowing box with creased brows.
"It will power your bridge for years," the God of Mischief explained. He had used another of the forbidden spells to make it, but that was their little secret. "When it grows dull, we will come back to recharge it."
The director's gaze snapped to her as soon as Loki had said 'we.' "Where are you going?"
"To study the stars."
"To properly explore Yggdrasil," Loki corrected her with a twinkle in his eye.
He didn't consider her mad dash around the galaxy as sufficient. She wholeheartedly agreed.
"I'll send regular reports to both you and Tony about my progress," Jane said. "Anything I discover will be published and available to all." She gave him a look when he went to object. "If you horde all the knowledge, growth stagnates. Let humanity rise to take its place amongst the other great realms."
"Humanity is capricious and often brutal," Fury declared.
"The good far outweighs the bad." She smiled. "Regardless, these are my terms."
They left the disgruntled director to say goodbye to her friends who had all gathered in the common room at Pepper's behest. Ms. Potts had filled the space with pictures of Jane's time at Stark Tower, newspaper articles of her accomplishments, and all the foods she loved and would certainly miss.
Natasha looked down at their empty hands in approval. "You pack light."
"It's easy when you have a personal multidimensional storage closet." She nodded to Loki.
The redhead's lips quirked, and she slipped away when Barton waved to them.
As Jane cracked off the edges of her Poptart, Steve made his way to her with a bright smile.
Loki tensed and she gave him a sideways glance before hugging the Captain.
"You take care," he said, and then faced Loki. "I trust you'll keep her in one piece and put out all the fires she's bound to cause."
That had only happened twice, but he'd never forget it. Her chuckle died as Loki stood with a jealous cloud hanging over him. She nudged him with an elbow, and he put on a pleasant face.
"She could be in no better hands than mine," Loki said.
After an awkward silence, Steve parted ways, and she tuned to Loki with raised brows. "What was all that about?"
He shrugged.
"Steve's engaged, and I've only ever been interested in one person."
His eyes found hers and the hard line of his jaw softened.
"Hey, kid," Tony called her. "Come back and visit often." He wrapped an arm around her for a long moment. "I'm going to miss you."
When he pulled away, she was taken aback by the sincerity written on his face. She'd expected a witty barb, something sarcastic, or, at least, humorous.
"I'll miss you too," she said.
Her heart swelled as she looked over Sam and Bucky antagonizing each other, over Bruce and Erik talking passionately about the latest scientific discovery, over the home she'd made there.
Loki squeezed her hand. "Are you ready?"
She nodded but didn't move.
"We will be back before they turn grey," he said.
"Speaking of that." She turned to him and brushed back a strand of his hair that had fallen from its meticulous placement. He leaned into her touch, and it took all of her willpower not to kiss him right there. "Do you still have that apple?"
He opened his palm and it appeared, sitting perfectly upright and practically luminous. "You mean your apple?"
"Ours," she corrected him.
He raised a brow in question.
"This is for us. I only want to live a millennium longer than my natural lifespan, if you'll be mine."
Placing his forehead to hers, he whispered, "I have always been yours."
Author's Note: Well, there you go. I hope it's been a fun ride. You all have been awesome, and I really appreciate all the kind words.
I couldn't have done this without my sister. Thanks for being so encouraging, and yet a hard ass who tells it to me straight.
