A/N: Hey folks, next chapter's up and a surprise awaits our main characters. To all who haven't seen The Dark World yet: People, you're in for a treat.
And thanks to the guys who either left a review, favourited the story or are following it. But I know there're so much more viewers out there (I can see your numbers) so pleeease leave a comment so I may know what you think.
Ok, enjoy!
It was not exactly a smooth reunion with Thor that Tony and Steve held back in the mansion. Constantly someone's eyes would flicker towards the dark figure that sat at the far corner of the long sofa the two gods had seated themselves on. While the conversation flowed easily with Thor, cordial words exchanging lips together with the occasional laughter, neither Tony nor the Captain could shake off their nervousness and their gazes often traveled to his brother.
To say Pepper had not taken the news well that a slightly mental mass murderer was sitting in their living room, or would be staying in their house for that matter, was a bit of an understatement. Tony had tried to calm her down and the result was her standing in the doorway frantically biting on her thumbnail. They were all put on edge by the situation.
Loki had not talked at all, his gaze remained fixed on a spot on the floor and his legs were crossed one over the other. This gave Tony the opportunity to study the man's appearance and what he saw was almost not recognizable anymore.
He remembered sleek raven hair brushed away from a fox-like pale face and a constant air of arrogance dancing around those sharp green eyes and thin lips. But that sharpness had left his eyes, though haughty and cold they still were. They reminded him now of scuffed glass, a strange haze hanging over them. His pale skin was almost greyish white and he could see some blue shining blood vessels beneath the eyes and on the neck. His hair was no longer groomed back, but instead fell flat down in soft waves, loose strands tucked behind his ears.
He looked like a deflated balloon...or a rock star on crack.
"How are the others? Lady Romanov and son of Banner?" Thor had also noticed his friend's worried expressions and felt sorry for Loki.
"Natasha's gonna be here in a few hours and the Green Guy is coming the day after tomorrow if all works out. We thought about having a private discussion before going back to New York to meet up with SHIELD. Relations are, well, a bit strained since last time." Stark got up and walked to the bar at the corner of the room. He really needed a drink.
"I'm glad to hear they are all going to be here soon."
"Yep." He watched the amber liquid spill into the glass. "Anyone else fancy a drink?"
What will the others say? Tony stroked his forehead with two fingers. What will Barton say to this?
No one heard the soft chuckle that escaped Loki's pale lips.
"Why the hell should I calm down, eh? You let him inside, how could you let him into the house? You crazy?" Clint's shouts were growing louder and louder by the minute as the man waited for an explanation that would change his mind about ripping that guy's head off with his bare hands. "Damn it, how on Earth could this possibly a good idea? Have you forgotten what happened last time he came here? This is sick!"
"Calm yourself man. It's not like we're letting him on the loose." Steve had both his hands on Hawkeye's shoulders, trying to stop him from killing Loki right then and there.
"No, that's the only thing missing. Now I feel so relieved!" Sarcasm rolled off Barton's tongue as his eyes resembled a wildfire, dark with rage. "What the hell! Stark, tell me what's going on!"
"Okay, okay, take a deep breath." Tony felt like this would be a very long day and he missed his bed already. They were still in the living room. "We found them both about a mile away from here. Thor has come to help us against those alien thingies and he brought Loki with him."
"I thought you'd said he would get punished for what he's done. How could you bring him back here?"
Thor took a step forward, deep frowns drawn on the surface of his forehead. "Please, my friend, listen. Loki is the only one capable of helping us against the Svartalfar."
"The what?"
"The Dark Elves, a powerful race settled on the Realm of Svartalfheim. They are skilled wielders of dark magic and few are able to match them in a fight. They use spells to trick their enemies."
"Which is why we need Loki." Steve said.
Loki meanwhile was still sitting on the sofa and playing with his fingers. His jade eyes were trained on them as if they were the most interesting thing in the room as he slowly moved them and his wrists as if to see if they were still there. The action seemed to have a strange effect on the man; his eyes were wide but unfocused, staring blindly through skin and air.
"The hell we do." Clint freed himself of the hands holding him back, slowly gaining more interest in the reasons why the others were so quick in defending the strangely silent God of Lies. He ordered himself to take a deep breath.
Thor spoke slowly as if to a child. He had to make them see reason. "We can't fight them with just strength and willpower. We need magic to defeat them – my brother's magic. Only he can help us."
The look Clint gave him, Tony and Steve dripped with venom. It contained a threat; a promise that should that madman hurt anyone he would not be held back from tearing the skin from his flesh. "I need to tell Nat about this."
"Don't call her!" Tony said.
"She has the right to know."
"And so she shall, so she shall, but she'll be here in a few hours any way. Don't give away the surprise yet." Tony winked into the round.
"I don't like this Stark. I don't like this." But he held out his hands in defeat.
"Join the club."
Instantly everyone could feel a heavy weigh being lifted from their shoulders. None of them liked the idea of cooperating with the Sly One, the Mischiefmaker, the Shapeshifter, of needing his help. But they had no other choice and one after the other they realized that they all, with the exception of Loki, really had no clue whom they would be fighting. If indeed those creatures proved to be somewhat of a nuisance.
"How are we going to keep the fact that Loki is on Earth hidden from Fury?" Steve asked after a while.
"Leave that to Jarvis. This house could hide an elephant without anyone noticing." Tony pored himself another drink.
Just then the computer piped in. "Sir, Miss Romanov has arrived."
"What? So early?" Steve and Clint exchanged glances before carefully eying Loki, who didn't seem to pay them much attention.
"Ugh, of course." The last drops of scotch flew down into Tony's throat. He knew Pepper would answer the door and bring the assassin upstairs to them. She must be scared to the bone with Loki in the room and he would have to think of a way later to make it up to her.
"Okay, chicas!" He rubbed his palms together. "Here comes the next one."
Fara had not slept well that night, her mind filled to the rim with pictures she could not seem to make sense of.
A forest covered with thick layers of snow.
A tall modern house surrounded by dark trees, the massive building towering over the sea of black and white.
Then her visions had travelled further in time, into a future more uncertain. She had found herself in a dark cavern-like hall, walls build up high in dark stone. Two cuboids made of solid rock stood in the centre, stacked one over the other. The air around her felt cold, rejecting her presence. She did not understand where she was or what this meant, but then the scene shifted again.
Had she felt unwelcomed in the unfamiliar stone hall, she could sense her breath freeze at the next sight. Of all pictures it was two eyes that were unsettling her the most, the reason why she had feared to fall asleep for years - two orbs shining in all shades from light jade to deepest emerald according to their owner's mood. So full of life, sharp with wit and the next moment softened instantly into what she could only describe as an invisible embrace, then ruthless and filled with the traces of death and desolation.
She had grown to fear those eyes. She shouldn't be seeing them. Not anymore.
Nat had planned for them to leave at around eight in the morning. What was that meeting with the Avengers really all about?"
Thankfully Nat was driving and so Fara tried to distract herself by looking out of the window. Her bronze locks were kept on the back of her neck by a thick tie and around her shoulders she had spread a soft shawl she had gotten from the red-head as a Christmas present the year before. She hadn't known then what Christmas was. "Didn't you say it was just outside the city?"
"Mhh, it may be a bit further away." Natasha said without looking away from the street. "Maybe Tony wanted to have a place with more privacy, you know. Away from all the media and the attention."
"I understand." Curious eyes gazed out as houses slowly got fewer and fewer and the edge of a forest began to open in front of them. It looked exactly like the one she had seen in her visions.
They did not talk much during the ride, each of them valuing the quiet the other provided. Even if Fara had lived with Nat and both women had developed a sort of firm friendship, they didn't need to talk about their thoughts and secrets.
Mile after mile of endless wood and snow meet them on their way until finally they reached their destination – an imposing structure, fifty feet taller than the highest tree and one side completely made of glass.
"Way to go Stark." She heard the assassin next to her sniff at the sight.
This too Fara had seen as she'd been laying on her hotel room's king sized bed, legs tangled into damp sheets. She wondered what awaited her, what the other pictures meant.
As they approached a flat gate into the underground garage slowly opened up. In closed state it would be almost impossible to detect it and both women were impressed by the security measures Tony had chosen for this holiday lodge.
They drove down a winding path and Fara realized that the house was actually bigger that it appeared at first, most of its levels hidden below ground.
They were being expected already by a young pretty woman, dressed handsomely in a light blue two-piece and her fiery red blonde hair tied into a neat ponytail. Her fine features were accentuated by a welcoming smile and as soon as they had stepped out of the vehicle the smile widened.
"Hi Pepper." Nat returned the gesture.
"Good to see you Natasha. Tony said you wouldn't be here until later in the afternoon."
"Yeah I thought he wouldn't mind us getting here a bit sooner." Nat shrugged her shoulders and the woman's – Pepper's – eyes fell from her to Fara, the question already forming in her head."
The Black Widow winked at her companion. "Fara – Pepper; Pepper – Fara. Fara is a friend of mine and Pepper is Tony's girlfriend. She and Jarvis are the only sane minds in this household."
"I take that as a compliment." Jarvis' electronic laugh caused Fara's eyes to widen in wonder. She hadn't met such advanced technology yet.
Pepper held out her hand to the young woman. "Hi, it's nice to meet you."
"You too." Fara took her hand, something Nat had showed her during her first months on Earth.
"I've informed Mister Stark of your arrival. He and the others await you in the salon." Jarvis disembodied voice almost sounded careful and the thought made Fara smile to herself. From what she had learned about computers they were still a long way from developing anything close to emotions or a conscience. On the other hand Jarvis sounded almost like an actual person. How could that be?
She almost the first part of Natasha's and Pepper's conversation, her thoughts drifting away as they stepped into the elevator.
"Is everyone here?"
"Banner is coming the day after tomorrow, he's currently in Chicago. But apart from him yes. Do you want to say hello to them first or shall I show you your rooms." Pepper's got slightly lower towards the end and her eyes moved faster around. Something was making her nervous.
"No, let's say hi first."
"Okay." The doors of the elevator parted and in front of them a long corridor stretched out in front of them. At the end it turned to the right and lead to the mansion's large living room and dining area. They could already hear muffled voices coming from behind the corner.
"You might want to take a deep breath before you go inside."
"What do you mean?" Fara asked as she stepped after Natasha into the room and she instantly felt like her legs had transformed into two strings of jelly.
In between the Avengers she recognized a face she thought she would never see again in her life. Two startlingly blue eyes, framed by strong features and a mane of blond hair, met hers and she saw the disbelief in them the moment realization hit Thor.
"Lady Fara?" Thor's voice was barely audible yet she heard every word as she slowly regained control over her body.
"Thor?"
"Fara!" A few long strides on his part and she could feel two strong arms hold her in a tight embrace as laughter mixed with tears of joy. "This is really you. I can't believe...I...You are here, on Midgard!"
"Yes! Oh, my lord, I never thought we would meet ever again." Her own arms softly pushed him a few inches away so she could look into his face. His hair had grown longer and his eyes looked older, but all in all he was still unchanged. "You look exactly the same."
"And look at you!" He noticed her Midgardian attire and confusion mixed into his voice. "How come you are here, on Earth? We thought you had gone back to Vanaheim. How long have you been here?"
"For almost three years." She shook her head. "Tell me, how is my sister? And the Allfather? And the Queen?"
"All are well. Father has fallen into the Odinsleep a few days ago and my mother watches over him. Your sister, she had told us you had left, but she didn't know much else. She...does she know you are here?"
Their fast exchange of words was interrupted by a baffled Steve before Fara had the chance to answer, his expression reflected by Tony, Clint and Pepper.
"You two know each other?" Tony asked.
Thor's grin reached from ear to ear. "Knowing each other? The Lady Fara has spent a short amount of time at the court of Asgard as an honored guest and she is still greatly missed among the gods and goddesses of the realm. She is one of the most loyal people I know."
"What? Wait! You mean she's one of you?" Clint crossed two tense arms in front of his chest.
Fara's eyes searched for Nat, unsure of the other woman's reaction. She herself felt a little dizzy, elated by the surprise and sheer disbelief of meeting Thor again after nearly three years, and on Midgard of all places. Was this why Natasha had insisted she'd come all the way to Canada? But she didn't know, she couldn't have known, right? Her gaze flew across the faces in the room.
Then her smile instantly disappeared.
She noticed the last member of the group – Thor apparently had not traveled alone.
Standing slightly separated from everyone else she had not seen him at first, hidden from anyone by Thor's mighty form.
His hands hung loosely down beside his tall frame. Unmoving. Frozen like marble, just like her own limbs. Not one muscle in his body twitched, eyes just staring.
She felt his gaze piercing her skin, her mind, her whole being and she forced herself to meet his eyes.
Gold met Jade. Three years.
Three years she had dreamed of those eyes, had been tormented by their silence and followed by them day and night, but to actually see them again after all this time was indescribable.
Loki.