Chapter 2 - They Call Me The Liesmith

In where Nora manages to land herself in the middle of a Norse-god-family-feud.

-o-

She was running. Running for her life, in fact. This was not the first time she ran for her life, but this was definitely the most terrifying. Not even when she was sixteen years old, running through the woods with an upset bear chasing her – not even that had been as terrifying as this. One upset bear was nothing compared to five angry aliens. So Nora ran, jumped, ducked, and ran some more.

She wasn't going to get away. She was screwed. It was a miracle they hadn't managed to actually hit her yet. Thank God for small mercies. Those small mercies wouldn't last though, so she had to find a way to escape, and rather fucking quickly at that.

Her escape came in the next moment as she jumped up on the hood of a car, then he roof, and her plan was to just keep running. Until one of the small spaceships – those weird wagon-things the aliens kept flying around in – came toward her. Nora made a split-second decision, and jumped.

Well, she had escaped those five aliens chasing her, but she didn't quite know if this was better. She was now hanging on to one of those weird-ass-wagon-spaceships, and the spaceship was ascending. It was too late to change her mind, however, because should she decide to let go now, she would fall to the ground and die. Simple as that.

Desperately hanging on, Nora tried to think. She wouldn't be able to hang on forever, so either she had to actually climb up on this spacewagon (and somehow take out the alien spacewagon chauffeur), or she had to just hang on, hoping that the alien would fly past somewhere she could jump off without dying.

Briefly thinking about how it was somewhat strange that she was still holding on without problem, Nora began climbing, just to realise the alien chauffeur was just about to take the scenic route past Stark Tower – right over a place she could jump off.

Shitshitshitshitshitshit, Nora thought as she looked down – realising this was as good as it would get – and let go.

The distance to the ground was rather – well, not good. This would hurt. It would not kill her, but it would definitely hurt. She would probably break a bone or two. Or twenty-five. It all depended on how she landed.

She tried to twist in the air, but realising she didn't have time to pull of any kind of stuntman-acrobatics, she just went for landing on her feet, hoping she would manage to make her body flexible enough to not be stiff as a board when she landed – because that would put all the weight on her feet, something her ankles would most definitely disapprove of.

She landed on her feet. Hard. She squeezed her eyes shut as she waited for the pain that would most certainly follow when breaking both ankles in such a brutal way, but when several seconds had passed without any pain at all, she hesitantly opened her eyes, and found she was perfectly fine, standing there as if nothing had happened.

She curiously moved her feet, finding them perfectly in order, something that made no sense whatsoever, but she didn't have time to contemplate that right now, and she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

She looked around, trying to figure out where exactly she had landed. Well, her aim had been off, because she had wanted to land on the outside path-thing, but instead she had landed higher up, on a circle-shaped plateau. Square in the middle of it, even.

She shuddered when she realised that if her aim had been slightly more off, she would have plummeted to her death.

Shaking off the unnerving thought, she looked around. To her right was the outside pathway-thing, and in front of her - a pathway directly into Stark Tower. Into something that looked like a living room.

Now what, though? She should probably get back down again. Or something. She didn't exactly have a course in 'alien invasion 101'.

The 'humming' she had felt earlier was even stronger now, and she looked around again, trying to find a...source? Reason? She didn't quite know.

She still didn't feel as if it was something dangerous, though, and she just hoped her intuition was correct this time as well.

She walked down from the plateau, wondering what the hell to do. Could she even get down?

"Well, hello," a dark voice suddenly said, and Nora's eyes widened when she saw a man walking toward her on the pathway leading into Stark Tower.

Her entire being went into a state of complete alert when the man walked closer, and she saw his attire.

I'm in big trouble, she thought, looking at the man walking toward her. He seemed completely at ease, and it was obvious that he felt as if he had nothing to fear from her, even though he could see she had weapons on her. And something told her it wasn't just an act. She had a feeling she would have absolutely no chance against this man, no matter what she did.

This was not just any man, that much was clear. His attire was truly something out of the ordinary – full leather getup in black and green, black, shoulder-length hair, blue eyes that sparkled with mischief, and a smirk confidently planted on his face.

His getup reminded her a bit of the modern Viking. It was completely different, but it was just something about it, something about the way it was pieced together, or…something – nevertheless, it reminded her of the modern Viking. And said modern Viking might or might not be Thor – the God of Thunder.

So…if this man walking toward her was something similar… If she had a Norse god walking toward her… Well, not only was she in big trouble, she was in seventh-layer-of-Hell trouble.

The smirking man walking toward her was carrying a staff, and the staff had a blue crystal at the tip. Interesting. Even more interesting was the fact that the blue crystal had the exact same colour as the man's eyes. But the most interesting of all? The man was humming. Not literally, of course, even if she wouldn't have put it past him, considering how unnerving it would be.

But that humming-vibrating-something she was feeling? This man gave her the same feeling. He didn't feel like the source of it, though, which was a relief.

"What have we here?" the man asked as he got closer. "You I have not seen before. Another one of 'the Avengers', perhaps?"

Nora had no idea what 'the Avengers' was. Power metal band? Resistance group? Probably the latter.

"Not an Avenger, then," the man said, apparently seeing the confusion on her face. "So, pray tell; who are you?"

Nora didn't quite know what he expected, and she didn't really know what to tell him either. "I'm Nora," she eventually said, in lack of something better.

"And what else?"

She still had no idea what to tell him. "I - I am a literature student."

The man snickered, and there was something dangerous in his eyes. "Nora, the literature student. I see. And yet, you are standing here, fully armed - and let us not forget the way you fell from the sky, landing on your feet without a scratch. I may not be the most knowledgeable in Midgardian anatomy, but I know enough to realise how unlikely it is, for you to be standing here without any form of injury." He stopped right in front of her, and she had to tilt her head back to look at him. "Now then, Nora," he continued. "Do not mistake me for a fool. Who are you? And why are you here?"

A thousand thoughts ran through Nora's head. He had said 'Midgardian anatomy'. Midgard was what Earth was called in Northern mythology. Could it really be? Could she be standing in front of a Norse god?

Also, she realised how ridiculous her explanation sounded, and had no problem understanding why he didn't believe her. What could she say to convince him she was telling the truth, though? For a moment she considered making something up, but figured that would only make things worse. So what could she do?

Tell the truth, I guess, she thought, and decided to do just that.

"Believe me, I do not mistake you for a fool," she said, because she did not mistake him for a fool. "But I am a literature student. I have military training, thus the weapons. As for why I am here – there were some aliens very keen on killing me, so I hitched a ride with one of the-" she waved her hand in the general direction of the fighting going on below, "space-wagon-ships. It flew past here. I jumped off."

"Indeed. You jumped off. So why are your legs not broken?"

She glanced down at her feet before looking at him. "I have absolutely no idea. It doesn't make sense."

"Honestly," the man said, and actually rolled his eyes, "that is the story you choose to go with?"

She sighed. "Yes."

"And this you expect me to believe?"

"No," she said, quietly. "But it's the only explanation I have, save for making something up. And I thought perhaps you wouldn't appreciate that."

"Well, the latter is true, if nothing else," he said, studying her. "Do you know who I am?"

"No."

Gazing at her, he cocked his head. "A skilled liar will recognise a lie," he said, still studying her. "And yet, I recognise no lie in you." He paused before continuing. "They call me the Liesmith. I am the-"

He stopped mid-sentence when her eyes widened.

"Loki," she almost whispered. "You are Loki."

He looked slightly surprised, but then he smirked. "Yes. The God of Lies. And yet I see no lie in you."

"That's because I am telling the truth, even though my story sounds completely ridiculous."

"I am almost inclined to believe you. But I-"

He was interrupted by a booming, angry voice. "Loki!"

Nora saw the shift in the raven-haired man (god?) in front of her. His expression turned to stone, his entire body tensed, and just to top it off, he was surrounded in a golden glow for a moment, and when it faded, he was wearing a golden helmet, a green cape, and the leather 'coat' he had before was now suddenly armoured with metal platings on his shoulders, parts of his chest, down his arms – even his vambraces had changed from their dark bronze to a golden colour.

He looked ready for battle.

Turning around, Nora found another person ready for battle. The modern Viking was standing there, and he did not look happy.

She heard Loki chuckle from behind her. "Thor."

Correction; Thor was standing there, and he did not look happy.

"Stop this madness, brother."

Nora heard an angry hiss from Loki. "I am not your brother!"

Well, great. She had managed to land herself in the middle of a Norse-god-family-feud.

Thor's expression saddened. "Loki. Stop this madness."

"I think not."

Thor's expression hardened again, and he took a step closer. "Then I will-"

Nora felt hands on her shoulders, pulling her until her back was against Loki's chest. Mostly, anyway. He was quite a lot taller than her.

"There is no stopping it, Thor," Loki hissed. "I suggest you leave, 'brother'. Or, you could not leave, of course, but then I would be forced to kill her."

Nora felt something cold underneath her chin, and swallowed nervously when she realised it was that staff with the glowing crystal.

"Please, brother! See reason."

"Leave, Thor!" Loki exclaimed. "Leave now! I will not-"

He had pulled her back, and she had almost lost her balance, something that resulted in her instinctively reaching for something to hold onto, and that 'something' was Loki's hand. The hand holding the staff. It hadn't been intentional, but happened nevertheless.

The reaction was instant. Loki cried out in pain, and let go of the staff, of her, before dropping down on his knees, clutching his head.

"Brother!"

Nora had read the stories. A lot was fiction, probably, but in that moment she knew that not all was fiction. The worry in Thor's eyes was so painfully obvious that Nora felt a twinge in her heart on Thor's behalf.

The God of Thunder dropped to his knees in front of Loki, and looked like he was about to grab the raven-haired man for a moment, but then he withdrew his hands. "What is wrong?" Loki didn't answer, so Thor looked up at Nora. "What did you do?"

Nora had no idea, obviously, but dropped down to her knees next to the God of Thunder. "I have no idea."

Thor took a hold of Loki's shoulders and straightened him up. "Brother," he said again, softer this time. "Are you ill? What ails you?"

Loki's eyes opened then, and Nora watched in fascination when the Liesmith's eyes changed colour. The piercing blue colour changed as they watched, and in the end, Loki was looking at Thor with green eyes.

Thor stared at Loki. "What… what happened? What happened to the colour of your eyes?"

Loki took a deep, shivering breath. "My mind was not my own, you imbecile."

"What?"

"By the Norns, Thor," Loki said, and the jaded tone in his voice was almost amusing, had not the situation been anything but amusing. "Do you pay any attention at all? Do any of you pay attention? Or are every single one of you complete morons?"

Thor did not look pleased at all. "Do not speak of-"

Nora could see a spark of fury in Loki's eyes as he cut Thor off. "I shall speak however I want! You are -" Loki froze, and his eyes widened in an almost panic. "No no no," he said, and there was a hint of desperation in his voice. His hands went up, clutching onto Thor's arms. "The Mad Titan - he - I am-"

Nora watched as Loki's expression went blank, and his eyes flickered.

Oh, Nora thought. They are turning blue.

His eyes had changed from blue to green, and with it, his whole posture had changed as well. 'My mind was not my own' he had said. And now he was changing again, and his eyes were turning blue. She didn't know who 'the Mad Titan' was, but if the God of Mischief, Chaos, and Fire feared him, he was probably rather powerful. Powerful enough to affect someone's mind, even from far away? And what had snapped Loki out of the whole 'mind-control' thing in the first place? It had happened when Nora touched him. Could she do the same again?

How the hell should she know? She was new at this. It didn't harm to try, however, so Nora reached out a hand, touching Loki's hand. He was still clutching onto Thor's arm, and Nora realised he was fighting. Fighting what? Was there a mind-battle against the Mad Titan - whoever the fuck that was - going on?

How the hell should she know?

As it turned out, Nora could do it again, because when her hand touched his, Loki's expression shifted, and suddenly he sighed. He had been squeezing his eyes shut, and when he opened them again, they were green.

Okay. So that happened. Okay. Except…what the hell?

Loki's focus shifted, and he fixed his eyes on Nora "How are you doing that? Who are you?"

"Nora, literature student," she said before giving him a small wave with her free hand. "Hello."

She could swear there was a flicker of amusement in his eyes, but then his expression darkened as he turned his eyes on Thor. "What is it – one year, three months since I…" Loki shuddered for some reason before continuing. "Fell from the Bifrost? What exactly do you think I have been doing all that time? Sitting somewhere, cackling madly, while planning world domination, like some stereotypical mad villain?"

"I thought you dead! Had I known… I would have-"

"That is not an answer to my question, Thor! What do you think I have been doing? Where do you think I have been?"

Thor looked uncomfortable now. "When I learned of your return - I did not know what to think. I assumed you had been…hiding somewhere…planning – brother, I do not know!"

"Hiding? Hiding!?"

Loki's eyes were almost glowing with fury, and if looks could kill, Thor would have been in big trouble.

God of Fire, indeed, Nora thought. How apt.

"You call yourself my brother," Loki hissed. "But would not a brother recognise…something? Anything, Thor!"

Loki proceeded to stand up in one fluid motion, pulling Nora with him in the same movement.

"I am sorry, brother," Thor said, mournfully. "I did not realise something was wrong."

Loki gave Thor a dark look. "I do not have time, nor patience to soothe your guilt."

Thor's eyes widened as Loki turned to pick up the staff. "Wait! Where are you going? What are you-"

"I am going to stop this idiocy."

Loki picked up the staff after hesitating for a moment, and it almost seemed as if he let out a relieved breath when nothing happened.

"Loki," Thor said, quietly. "Please, brother. Tell me. Where were you?"

Loki just looked down at Thor with an emotionless expression. "Did you know, Thor, that time flows differently in the Void? It moves…slower. When one day has passed here – one year has passed in the Void."

Thor looked at Loki with a blank expression at first, but then Nora could see a flicker of…something in his eyes before his expression changed, and it looked like he was slowly moving toward a horrific realisation. "Brother," he whispered, "speak plainly. Where were you?"

"Will you inform your 'avengers' that it would be a very poor decision to kill me on sight?"

Thor stood up, taking a hold of Loki's arm. "Loki! Where were you?"

Loki ignored Thor's question. "Will you inform your little band of misfits?"

Thor eventually nodded. "I will."

Loki nodded as well. "Good. As for your question – I think perhaps you are able to figure that out all on your own."

Nora didn't know what happened, but suddenly their surroundings changed, and looking around, Nora realised they were in front of the device that seemed to be the source of the blue beam.

Nora also realised this was the source of the humming. Vibration. Echo. Guitar string. Whatever.

"That blue thing," she said quietly. "What is it?"

"The Tesseract."

She didn't quite know how to reply to that, so she merely watched as Loki raised his staff – and after hesitating for a moment – driving the staff directly into the energy barrier.

-o-

If her head hadn't been so full of questions and confusion, and had she been slightly less terrified than she was in this moment, Nora would have found this situation hilarious.

She was on one of those space-wagon-ship-things, Loki was the chauffer, and they were moving through the streets, narrowly avoiding buildings, other space-wagon-ship-things – while being shot at from left and right all the time.

Nora was trying her best to retaliate, of course, but considering how she had only one free hand, it was rather complicated.

Her other hand was holding Loki's hand. And that was the hilarious part.

Loki had one hand on the controllers of the space-wagon-ship-thing, and was rather unable to do anything but steer the space-wagon-ship-thing because his other hand was currently occupied.

And that would have been hilarious, if not for the alien invasion going on around them.

Loki eventually put the staff in the hand holding hers, and now they were holding the staff together, and it was just utterly ridiculous.

He had barely spoken to her since they – he – closed the hole in the sky. Iron Man showed up just in time to see that Loki was the one shutting things down, and he had been confused to say the least. Loki had told him to ask Thor, and then teleported away – with her, of course.

And now they were speeding through the streets of New York, holding hands as if they thought alien invasions were totally romantic. Not to mention they were holding the staff together – fingers entwined, curled around the magical spear. It probably looked like they had a 'oh, darling, let us invade the world together! Murder, darling! Murder!' thing going on.

They were like Bonnie and Clyde – alien invasion edition.

The whole thing had been hilarious – if not for the severity of the situation. Loki had merely grabbed her hand, pulling her with him like she was something annoying he was forced to drag around. (well, this was true in a sense, but still) He was barely speaking to her, and did most certainly not ask for her opinion about anything.

She could of course protest, resist the whole 'being dragged around' thing, and demand that he at would least speak to her, but she had so far refrained from doing so. Loki was immensely powerful, so with him on the right side of the invasion, and the hole in the sky closed – well things were looking up.

Nora decided she could hold off the protests for now, because maybe, just maybe stopping the alien invasion was slightly more important at this point.