They Come on White Horses: Chapter 2
Requested by: NoVacancyMind and many wonderful others
Sequel to Knights.
It was great hearing the wonderful feedback you guys had for me! Oh, by the way, I'm Back! This means you get an update. I really hate it when I can't update as I usually do, every Saturday. But being a senior in high school means I have a lot of crap that I need to do...all the time. -_- However you should have me for a little while now. :)
Please enjoy and review!
Disclaimer: Don't own. Never will. So sad.
Warnings: None! Let me tell you, that is a first for me.
So Much Fun
Dawn broke, and with it Loki's first peace of mind in a year. He was still trapped by Thor's arms, so he watched the sun rise through a far window. This would be the day he returned to Midgard. Wouldn't the mortals be thrilled that he would see them only a day after they had departed? Loki smirked a bit at what their expressions would be. Maybe he would finally make the Man of Fury blow that throbbing vein on the side of his head. Yes, that sounded like a good idea.
Thor began to stir, nearly rolling entirely upon Loki and crushing him. That was quite enough, thank you. Loki pursed his lips and wacked at Thor's arm and shoulder in an attempt to wake him.
"Thor, I cannot breathe! Get off of me you damn oaf." He kept at it for a good five minutes before the giant lug started to wake. He snorted and snuffled before raising his head and grinning blearily at his brother.
"Good morrow, Brother. Sleep well?" Loki knew for a fact the man was laughing at him and growled in return.
"Not with how you have the desire to crush me in said sleep. Now. Get. Off." Thor chuckled again, before finally relieving his brother of his 'crushing' weight. They both stood from the bed and Loki stared out the window as Thor dressed.
"I won't come back." Thor frowned at that and turned to Loki.
"What are you saying, Brother? Of course you will. This banishment is only temporary, Loki. You will fix things on Midgard, and then you will return to your rightful place in Asgard." Loki shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"No, Thor. Even if I somehow complete my sentence and am permitted back into Asgard, it won't be the same. I have forfeited my place in this realm and...and this family. I can't come back." Thor came up behind him and clapped a hand on his brother's shoulder and squeezed.
"If you keep thinking like that, then you will surely not. I have faith in you. You are the man that saved a little girl in the midst of a war. That man was my brother. I know you can fix this. It will be difficult, but you were never one to back down from a challenge." A knock cut off anything Loki would have said in reply.
"My Prince, the All-Father sends for you to bring the prisoner to the throne room immediately." Thor patted Loki's shoulder one last time before leading him to the doors. They were immediately flanked by guards when they entered the hallway. Thor growled when one stepped up with another muzzle to put on Loki.
"Orders of the All-Father." Thor looked the guard up and down, then realized he recognized him. This guard had been particularly happy when the news was spread that Loki had fallen from the Bifrost. It was no secret that Loki was difficult in his youth and sometimes the guards received the brunt of his mischief. However, this specific guard seemed to have a personal vendetta against Loki.
"I highly doubt that is true, otherwise Odin would not have given me permission to remove such a thing from him last night." The guard had the audacity to snarl and step closer to Loki.
"You cannot disobey the All-Father in this, My Prince. The prisoner should not be coddled simply because he is your brother." He spat the last word as if it were venom, a stain upon the royal family to have Loki considered a part of it. Loki raised a brow at the guard, then smirked when he saw Thor's face. Not a moment later, the guard was out cold on the freshly polished floor, muzzle clanging to the ground beside him. Thor glared at the other guards that stood around them, and Loki barked out a laugh.
"If anyone else has anything more to say against the House of Odin, you can hold your peace or speak your mind now." When no one said anything, Thor nodded, stepped over the downed guard and led his brother on.
As they walked, Loki observed that they were the only people around, not a servant in sight. Odin must have sent them away so as to not run the rumor mill upon seeing one of his sons leading the other in the midst of armed guard. Loki rolled his eyes, because since when did Odin care what the servants thought about them what with how Thor (especially Thor) and he had acted in their younger years.
Loki wasn't nervous or anxious or anything of the sort. If anything he was a bit bored and slightly curious as to how the Midgardians would react to seeing him again. He was the epitome of calm, that is, until he and Thor turned the corner and there was his mother standing outside the throne room doors. She looked towards them immediately, and ran forward. Loki stepped back, not wanting to see Frigga embracing Thor and wishing him luck on his journey. Therefore, he was startled when he was suddenly enveloped in his mother's arms. Because he would be lying to himself if he ever said that she was not his mother.
She pulled back, and Loki saw his reflection in the tears in her eyes.
"Loki, my dear boy, to have you in my arms and then pulled away again so soon is cruel." That was one of the few moments that Loki was ever without words. He had thought...surely she didn't still...the doors to the throne room were then thrown open. It was time to leave, but for the first time in a long time, Loki didn't want to. He looked back down at his mother, scrapped together enough false bravado to give her a confident smile then pulled out of her embrace.
Odin's grim face met them. Seeing Loki without a gag or chains, the All-Father raised a brow at Thor, but did not say anything. Loki almost dared him to. If he did, all Loki would have to do is call Frigga in to join them. The All-Father gave no words of wisdom or warning. He lifted Gungir, placed a hand on the Tesseract and once the butt of his staff met the floor, the brothers were shot straight down, to Earth.
"Are you going to tell us why you are ruining my day off, Nickie, or are you going to start playing charades?" Fury clenched his jaw and rolled his eye. He had called a meeting with the team and had been stalling them for a good thirty minutes. The Director decided he would wait for their two guests to arrive before he explained inter-realm traveling ravens and returning war criminals and way too much mind altering crap to the increasingly irritated and impatient Avengers. Even Rogers was starting to get ticked off. They had saved the world, three days ago. Normally, Nick Fury would have cut communication with them to allow them some recharge time, but it appears the universe doesn't like giving vacation time. Seeing Bruce's jaw twitch for the third time, Fury scraped his plan of waiting and decided to start on a debrief.
"I would rather not be here either, Mr. Stark, but it seems Asgard makes up their mind on things pretty quick." Clint crossed his arms over his chest, growing tense.
"You better be here to tell us they executed him the moment he set foot back up there." Fury sighed and hung his head. He was about to tell them about the negotiations he had, when Jarvis interrupted.
"Excuse me, Director Fury, but I am picking up a growing energy signature very close to where you are standing. I suggest you move approximately five feet to your left." Fury didn't hesitate, and the moment he was in the new spot, a bright beam hit the floor. Most of the team were standing when the smoke cleared, literally, and had their weapons at the ready. Bruce and Tony being the exceptions.
"Oh, hell no!" Clint yelled.
Tony started laughing his head off, while Bruce sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
Thor stood with his hand clasped tightly around Loki's upper arm. The trickster was smiling from ear to ear. Loki leaned close to Thor as if he were about to share a secret, but told it loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Thor, I don't think your friends like me very much." That set Tony off laughing again, at least until Steve, Fury and Natasha glared at him, and lets be honest. It was only Natasha that got him to stop. The Captain looked between Fury and their...guests.
"Would someone care to explain all of this? We thought Loki was going off planet, and staying off planet." Fury nodded and took his spot back near the end of the table.
"Yes, well the All-Father of Asgard sent some birds to have a conference and discuss some things with me. In exchange for a peaceful alliance with Asgard, we will be taking care of Loki's punishment." Clint sneered at Loki, while the man simply smirked back.
"So what are you waiting for? Aren't you going to lock in him some deep, dark hole somewhere where no one's ever going to find him, or are you going to let me take a crack at him first?" Superheroes and their assumptions. Nick was getting a little tired of it.
"Neither. I've decided that Loki's knowledge of magic could be very valuable in building up shields against it, and there is also the matter of another alien race that decided to help him invade. Beyond that, I don't care what you do with him. Just make sure he's still breathing when you decide you're done with him." Tony's eyes lit up at the prospect of getting to study magic, while Bruce's brows furrowed.
"I thought we determined that Loki had been controlled just like Clint?" They all heard Clint's growl of 'Yeah, right.' but all elected to ignore it.
"This is true. My real brother would never have done such things, but the All-Father deemed it a more...productive punishment for what he has done on Asgard to help you here on Midgard. Loki is truly good at heart if very mischievous. He will be a great asset I assure you. I have not brought my brother back here to be tortured Man of Fury. He is here to redeem himself in your eyes and help fix what he has broken." Thor was very passionate in his little speech, while Loki just rolled his eyes.
"Where do you plan on keeping him?" Steve had his arms crossed over his broad chest and kept a careful eye on the unchained trickster. Fury put his hands behind his back and smirked.
"That's a good question. He will be staying with all of you as you are all going to live here in Stark Tower." Tony stopped laughing.
"Wait a minute! I'm not having an unbound Rock of Ages wandering around my tower, that he threw me out of yesterday. I haven't even fixed the indent he left in my floor yet." Fury then glanced over at Thor and raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, about that. I thought your Daddy and I agreed Loki would be 'well restrained' while he visits?" Thor nodded and lifted up Loki's arm as if he were a rag doll.
"Yes, my mother had these built for him. They only allow him to perform magic in defense of himself or others, without completely draining and oppressing him as the previous bindings did." Clint scoffed.
"And what's to stop him from slitting our throats in the middle of the night with a good old fashioned kitchen knife?" Loki smiled big at Hawkeye.
"Why your charming personality of course." Tony snorted at that and jabbed Bruce in the ribs with his elbow. Bruce smirked slightly, but not at Loki's jab at Clint. He saw Loki tense when Tony jabbed him.
"Oh I think Loki will behave himself since he'll be sharing a roof with the Hulk. Won't you, Loki?" Loki scowled at the doctor for pointing out the chink in his armor. Thor patted Loki on the back, nearly sending the man flying into the table. He was still a bit tender from that part of the battle.
"My brother will behave. He is back to his old self, mostly. You have nothing to fear from him." Loki turned his scowl and now a glare at Thor for making him sound weak. Fury smiled and started walking towards the door.
"Well, good. Now that that's all settled, have fun kiddos. Don't kill each other." The elevator doors 'dinged' shut, leaving the team, plus villain on their own. Natasha surprised everyone by making the first move. She walked past all of them and stopped right in front of the trickster. His eyebrow was raised in both curiosity and amusement. She stared at him for a few moments, in which no one breathed, but Tony was making bets with himself in his head. Finally, she seemed to find what she was looking for, and put out her hand.
"Natasha Romanoff." Loki smirked, took her hand and brought it to his mouth, placing a gentle kiss on the back of her hand.
"Loki, God of Mischief." Clint was beet red with anger, while Tony was paying himself twenty bucks. The super spy took her hand back and nodded, stepping away to watch who would be next.
Big surprise it was Steve. The man tried to smooth away any unhappy lines from his face and to remain neutral as he offered his hand to shake.
"Steve Rogers. Nice to meet the actual you." Loki shook the man's hand, pleased to find it as strong as he looked and a hint of a threat in the squeeze. The man was wise not to immediately trust.
"Yes. I must say I am fascinated by the affects of the serum that turned you into Captain America. Perhaps you wouldn't mind answering a few questions..." Steve seemed flustered at that, unsure whether he should really give out that kind of information. Besides there wasn't much he could tell about the serum itself, only the effect it had on himself. Loki was honestly quite curious but was interrupted when Tony popped up, dragging Bruce along with him.
"I don't shake hands unless I know I'll like you. But we've technically already met, so let's skip the formalities. Since you're gonna be staying with us here, I think you need to hang with Brucie and me in the lab. There are a bunch of tests we want to run and demonstrations are always fun-" Loki raised a brow at the babbling man.
"I think you should at least take me to dinner first." Tony stopped mid stream then barked out a laugh. He winked at Loki once he caught his breath.
"Well, I don't know about your parents, but mine require I be back by curfew," he replied cheekily in Steve's direction. The Captain rolled his eyes, knowing now he would be getting inappropriate teasing from two people. As if one wasn't bad enough. Clint rolled his eyes and somehow managed to scowl deeper.
"You really think it's a good idea to let him anywhere near something that could be used against us?" Tony snorts while Loki smirks again, damn him.
"If that's what you think, then I'll get right on that nice padded room without windows or even a door. Oh and no toilet, because heaven forbid, he could beat one of us to death with the toilet seat."
"Tony." Steve already knew it was going to be a very long day.
"Sounds good to me." Thor glared at Hawkeye, not liking the man's hostility towards his brother, even if the thunderer understood.
"My brother was the face a great evil used to harm you and your planet. It was not his own choice. He would never do such a thing, and I would appreciate it if you did not talk of my brother as if he were a monster." Loki crossed his arms and arched a brow at Thor.
"You do know this monster is standing directly beside you and can hear every word you are saying, correct?" Thor turned and smiled at his brother, patting him on the shoulder.
"Of course, Brother. I was simply correcting Clinton's view of you." Loki rolled his eyes.
"I am not a maiden whose honor needs to be protected, Thor. Mr. Stark perhaps we can move our discussion to your lab now?" Tony clapped his hands together and led the way, dragging poor Bruce behind him.
"We are going to have so much fun!"
I got a new laptop and that means I don't have to spend an extra half hour re-editing my stories when i copy and paste them! :) I luv it.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. In my previous Avengers stories, I had Hawkeye eventually like Loki and become protective. However, this time I wanted to try something different. ;p
Please review! :)