They Come on White Horses: Chapter 12
Requested by: NoVacancyMind and many wonderful others
Sequel to Knights.
Hey! I'm back and dealing with some really crappy jet lag :/ But still here and ready to update! I must personally thank Tamuril2 for her great reviews every single week. They really keep me going, and they are quiet entertaining. :) Thanks so much to you, and all of my readers and reviewers. :)
And because I keep forgetting to mention! One of Loki's children will make an appearance, but only one and only for a short time, and not for a while...Yeah. I keep getting that question and forgetting to answer it, so there you go! :)
Also, I put a poll up on my profile. I want you guys to decide which plot you want for my next Avengers fic! Like it says on the poll, all of the plots will happen (and if you haven't noticed, they are all Loki centric), but I need help deciding which on to do next. SO please, CHECK IT OUT!
Please enjoy and review!
Disclaimer: Don't own. Never will. So sad.
Thor Puts His Foot Down
To say that Director Fury was not happy, would be an understatement. He was brought up to date on all that they had found, including their encounter with the false 'Fury'. The highly influential and extra top secret leader of the most invisible protection agency in the world, was not pleased to find out someone had stolen his face. Understandable, but, the team had to bring him up to speed outside of Loki's room, leaving the boys with Loki, when he started shouting again. Tony clung tight to Loki and looked up at him, with a trembling lip.
"He's not going to take us away is he?" Loki pet his curls and shook his head.
"Not if I have anything to say about it." Bruce had been quiet for a while, but finally spoke up.
"He's different." Loki's brow furrowed, and he rubbed Bruce's shoulders.
"What do you mean by that, Bruce?" Bruce sat up so he could look Loki in the eyes.
"His…his eye. It was mean and angry before, this time, he seemed…" Bruce searched for the right word, "surprised? And…I think he was a little worried for us." Loki was impressed by Bruce's abilities to read those around him. It certainly helped him growing up, and made him a good listener as an adult. Loki felt his eyelids beginning to drag again, but did not want to fall asleep only to have it interrupted by Fury. The Trickster was about to suggest he tell a story, when there was a knock at the door.
Both boys looked up at him, anxiety rolling off of them, and he smiled at them.
"It'll be fine." He waited for them to nod, before he called in whoever was on the other side. No one in the room was surprised when Director Fury walked in through the door. At least this entry was less dramatic. He nodded to them, before clearing his throat.
"Well, at least we have a name to go with the threat now. You don't know the motive though?" Loki shook his head.
"She hold grudges for centuries and is still seething towards both Thor and I at the moment. Though why she would do something so deliberate, and delicate, to Stark and Banner, is beyond my grasp at the moment. I am…not at my best." Fury cocked his brow.
"Yes. I was informed that you aren't…feeling well. Something about your magic being blocked and being on babysitting duty for too long. Well, hurry up and get better. I won't go wasting SHIELD dollars on healing your sorry a-" The Director actually froze for a moment, seeming to take into consideration the children present, before correcting himself. "You, while we're spending all of our time trying to figure out a way to reverse what happened to two of our Avengers." Fury got quiet for a minute, rolling something over in his head. He stared at Loki long and hard, trying to read everything he could about him.
"If..if, we were able to get your magic…unblocked for a small amount of time, would you be able to fix this?" Loki shook his head regretfully.
"Unfortunately, only the caster of such a spell would be able to reverse it. If it was something a bit more simple, then yes. I would have no problem fixing it, but what Amora did was turn them back to a completely different state of being. She changed the very fabric of their being and either permanently erased their memories of their grown years or blocked them. Amora is the only one who can reverse what was done." Fury nodded gravely and clasped his hands behind his back.
"Is there a way to track her? She has a magical signature, yes?" Loki considered this.
"That…could be a possibility. I am unsure how she arrived on Midgard, but if you determine the date and location, that would give a starting point. Perhaps Thor's Midgardian lover would be able to assist you in that."
"Alright." He looked Loki square in the eye then. "I am putting way too much trust in you right now. I hope you understand that, and take into consideration what I will do to you should you break that trust." Without another word, Fury swept from the room, leaving the three on the bed to stare after him. It was silent, for a few moments before,
"He looks like a pirate." Loki couldn't hold in a bark of laughter at that. He heard Bruce and Tony giggling, and they all looked at each other. Before they could calm down, they all burst into laughing fits, unable to stop.
Unbeknownst to them, Steve and Thor had come into the room and were standing there watching them with smiles on their faces. It took a long while for the three of them to calm down, but they managed it and laid limply against one another, trying to catch their breath. Finally, Thor cleared his throat.
"I take it you are feeling much better, Brother?" Loki rolled his head towards the smirking Thunderer and shrugged as best he could.
"I am feeling more cheerful and more rested. May I leave my bed now, Mother?" Thor chuckled.
"Only if you promise to eat everything I put in front of you and rest often. If you don't, Natasha and Steve have pointed out a Midgardian contraption called a wheelchair to me. I will not be afraid to force you into it." Loki narrowed his eyes.
"You wouldn't." Thor crossed his arms over his chest and smirked.
"I would." Loki huffed through his nose, but still sat up and made to stand. Tony and Bruce happily clambered off the bed, but then turned back to Loki and each grabbed one of his hands.
"Boys, I need to speak with Thor for a few moments. Could you go with the Captain while I talk to him?" Tony and Bruce seemed a little upset, but perked back up when Loki promised it would only take a couple of minutes. Steve walked closer to the two toddlers.
"Come on, kids. I'm sure we can entertain ourselves for a few minutes. I found some crayons a little bit ago and…" His words trailed off as they left the room, the boys allowing him to lead them on. Before Loki could get a word out, Thor gently pushed on his shoulder, until he was seated on the edge of his bed. Loki raised an incredulous brow at the blonde, but Thor raised a challenging one right back.
"I was being serious." Loki rolled his eyes and muttered,
"The one time you actually get an idea…" But Loki let it go. It couldn't last forever, at least not if he had any say in it.
"I heard you mentioned Jane to Fury. You think she can help find Amora." Loki nodded.
"There is a chance that she could find when and where she arrived on Midgard, much like when you arrived." Thor understood what his brother was saying, much to Loki's surprise, and did not ask for an explanation, simply trusting what Loki had told him was possible.
"Good. I am eager to have her found and stopped. It worries me greatly that she would attack our friends and try to take them in their weakened state." Loki shared his feelings. Amora seemed to grow more unpredictable and unstable every decade. They had not heard much word of her for many centuries, which meant they had no clue what she had been up to in that span of time, who she might have gotten involved with. She was more of a wildcard now than she had ever been.
"As am I. I do not wish to see either of them hurt, and as I am unable to protect them as best as I would given my lack of magic…" Loki trailed off and played with one of the bracelets on his wrists. They felt like a much more severe punishment now, than they had before. Thor laid a hand on his shoulder.
"You are not alone in this, Brother. All of us here will protect our changed friends 'til the end. Amora will not win." The younger Asgardian would not admit that Thor's confidence for once gave him a bit of hope rather than a strong sense of approaching doom. With that, Loki smiled and stood, pushing Thor's hands away from helping him.
"You are right. Now. I promised Bruce and Anthony that I would be quick." They left the room and walked, slowly, to the main lounging area where the team usually gathered for movies. Finding them wasn't hard. They were all on the floor, kneeling around a coffee table. Papers and crayons were strewn everywhere, and all three seemed to be very intent in whatever they were each drawing. Thor turned off to go into the kitchen, and Loki sat down across from the young boys and tried to peek at what was on their papers. As soon as they saw him, though, instead of happily letting him see, they quickly covered it up with their arms.
"It's not done yet!" Tony cried. Loki raised both hands in surrender, and inclined his head.
"My apologies." The boys went back to their coloring, and Loki just watched. They hunched over their drawings to obscure as best as possible, and both Loki and Steve found it amusing. Bruce finished first, but he was going to wait for Tony to finish before he would show Loki his picture. Steve kept his eyes on the boys, as he asked Loki about his conversation with Thor and Fury.
"Everything get sorted out?" Loki nodded, much like Steve, without looking away from Bruce and Tony.
"Yes, I suggested to both that Thor's woman, Jane, might be able to track her somehow, as I am, unfortunately, unable to assist in magical matters right now." Steve accepted it, and leaned a bit closer to Loki, as if sharing a secret, though the smile on his face seemed to negate that.
"Well, I think you are doing just fine where you are." Loki allowed for a happy smile to push onto his face, before schooling it away and acting like he hadn't heard the Captain. A few minutes later and the boys had finished their drawings. They both stood and held them tightly against their chests. Tony was grinning so hard, Loki was sure the boy's cheeks would cramp. Suddenly the small inventor thrust his drawing at Loki, and Bruce held his out a bit less violently.
"We drew these for you!" Loki took one in each hand and examined them in great deal.
"These are beautiful, boys. Thank you." They really were, to him. Tony had drawn him, the way a four year old would (stick figures), holding what was obviously his hand and Bruce's. Steve was in the background with his shield, and another man stood off in the corner. Loki would have to guess that it was the real, human Jarvis. Bruce had drawn them in a bit more detail. The three of them were down in the lab working on….something colorful. What surprised Loki was that Thor was there, but what made him laugh was that Bruce had drawn what looked like clouds coming out of his ears. Loki remembered how he had commented that Thor had fluff between his ears, and this was how Bruce pictured it.
He looked up to find Tony and Bruce looking at him expectantly.
"I love them. I think these need to be displayed somewhere. Do you have any suggestions?"
"I do." They all looked up to see Pepper smiling in the doorway. Tony ran to hug her legs, and Bruce gave her a happy little wave. Pepper giggled at the little boy wrapped around her, and patted his head.
"Well, hello to you too, Tony." She looked up at Loki. "We can use magnets and hang them on the fridge." Loki was a bit confused at first, but at Tony and Bruce's happy smiles at her suggestion, understood at least that it was a good place.
"Very well. The fridge by magnets it shall be." They all gathered in the kitchen and put the drawings on the fridge. Once the boys put the last magnet up, they turned and hugged Loki, one around his legs, the other his waist. He patted their heads and chuckled. Loki had forgotten that Thor was in the kitchen, but was reminded when a large hand fell on his shoulder.
"These are wonderful, Brother! Truly magnificent, Bruce and Anthony. Now, Brother, I have food for you. You must eat." Loki closed his eyes but sighed fondly. He begrudgingly allowed himself to be sat down in the closest chair. Lucky for Thor, his brother didn't catch the wheel chair sitting around the corner.
Bit of a fluffy/filler chap. Kind of unsure where to go directly from here. I know where I want them to end up, it's just the middle of the road that has been evading me. :/ I will still have a chap for you next week, but a little bit of writer's block is creeping on me...
Please review! :)