Chapter 8
Thor insisted on bringing Sif and the Warriors Three with him and Loki to Jotunheim. Loki thought they would just screw it up, but Thor believed they would help distract the Frost Giants. The real problem was getting Heimdall to let them out. This time he had put his foot down and was being stubborn.
"I have already committed treason against my king a number of times for you," said Heimdall. "I cannot keep doing these things; he will remove me from my position."
"It's not treason," said Loki. "We just want to go to Jotunheim."
"Unless the king has authorized it, I cannot let you leave Asgard." Heimdall stood still. Thor looked at Loki, and Sif and the Warriors Three stood silent.
"Look Heimdall," Loki said. "I don't have any big plans at the moment to launch an attack on Asgard. All I want right now is to save the woman I love from death. Do you understand? Is that too much to ask?"
"Heimdall she is dying," said Thor. There was a long pause. Loki looked at Heimdall, waiting for an answer.
"I only do this to save the life of the mortal," said Heimdall, as he opened the bifrost.
"Thank you," Thor said. Heimdall sighed and all six of them stood in front of the portal to be taken to Jotunheim.
When the bifrost dropped Loki, Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three into Jotunheim, Loki shivered. It was very cold. Thor whispered to all of them,
"Loki and Sif; you retrieve the Casket. Volstagg, Fandral, Hogun and I will distract the Frost Giants." Loki nodded and looked to Sif. She glared at him.
"Surely you can tolerate me for a few moments," said Loki, smirking.
"Let's just get this over with," Sif replied. Loki looked toward the Frost Giant palace and motioned Sif to follow him.
"We'll hide behind it," said Loki. "And when Thor has all the Frost Giants fighting him, we'll sneak in and take the Casket."
"Who put you in charge?" replied Sif.
"Your arrogance is amusing," said Loki, smiling. "Just do it, Sif."
Loki hurried behind the palace of Jotunheim, and sat with his back to the wall. Sif followed him closely.
"Wait until Thor and the others have been fighting for a while. Then we will go," whispered Loki. He listened as Laufey, King of the Frost Giants and Loki's biological father, conversed with Thor.
"What have you come for, Asgardian?" asked Laufey.
"I have come to avenge my grandfather Bor, and the past battles he fought with you," Thor replied.
"Do you think me an imbecile? You have come to pick a fight with Jotunheim. And if it is war you want, it is war you will get." Loki heard Frost Giants enter on the other side of the palace, and Thor let out a yell as the fighting began. Loki looked into the palace through a circular window. Sif put her hand on her double-bladed sword.
"Wait," said Loki, holding up his hand. The palace looked clear, at least around the Casket, which was the important thing. Loki looked at Sif.
"Stay here," he said. "Keep watch, and yell if you see anything. Give me your sword."
"What? No!"
"None of us have any time for difficulty! Do you want to survive or not?" Sif sighed in frustration and handed Loki her double-bladed sword. He slowly made his way into the palace from the back entrance, and when he entered, he saw the Casket. It was shining blue like the Tesseract, and its energy was contained in its glass outer shell, with black handles so the Frost Giants could conjure their power.
Loki approached the Casket and stood over it, lifting his hands up to grab the handles. As soon as he had his hands on the Casket, he heard the voice of Laufey behind him.
"I should have known this is what you came for," he said. Loki stood still and smiled to himself.
"Are you going to kill me?" he asked without turning around.
"As I recall, son of Odin, you should already be dead. Had it not been for the Asgardian king, you would—"
"—Why?" asked Loki. He turned around to look at Laufey. "Was I such a horrible child?" Laufey smiled and a thick layer of ice began to form in the shape of a dagger in his hand.
"You were small, weak and pathetic. An abomination to the name of the Frost Giants. Not suitable for the throne at all. And I see nothing has changed." Loki looked at Laufey with hatred, and stood in his position, ready to strike him when he made his first move.
"You will not be allowed to take the Casket, Asgardian. You know you are to die." Laufey charged at Loki, but his ice knife went through him. Loki had been sitting behind the palace the whole time. The one talking to Laufey was an illusion.
Before Laufey could turn around in confusion, Loki ran into the palace and jumped on his back, holding him down with Sif's sword. He leaned down to Laufey and gritted his teeth.
"You dare speak of weakness! The Frost Giants are a weak race, and soon you will die at the hand of an Asgardian prince! I don't want your pathetic throne, your miserable kingdom of ogres! You are nothing you disgusting creature; and now you will die!"
Loki attempted to stab Laufey in the back, but Laufey whirled around and put his hands on the sword, trying to push it back. Ice formed on the sword and Loki stood up and kicked Laufey back. Laufey stood up and Loki's sword clanged against Laufey's icy arm. The two fought with Loki having the upper hand, slicing Laufey's leg; his blood splattering on Loki's face.
With one flick of his sword, Loki held Laufey by his neck against the wall. Loki smirked.
"How does it feel to surrender your life to the son of Odin?" Loki whispered. "And I ask you, who is the weak one now?" Loki smiled and jabbed Sif's sword into Laufey's side. He dropped onto the floor and Loki stood and looked at him smiling.
"See you in Hell," he said. Laufey looked at him and Loki watched him disappear out of existence.
After Laufey had vanished, Loki grabbed the Casket and turned around to Sif. He felt the dried blood on his face and he had an ache in his back, so he stumbled down the stairs out of the palace. Sif held her hand out for her sword. Loki smiled as he handed it to her.
"Impressive, wasn't it?" he said. Sif smirked and rolled her eyes.
Loki and Sif walked together to the front of the palace to join Thor and the Warriors Three in fighting the Frost Giants. As they walked, Loki looked down at the Casket. His hands were blue where he was holding it and he knew that his whole body was blue and his eyes red. The Casket brought out his Frost Giant form.
When Loki and Sif made it to the front of the Jotunheim palace, Thor called out to Loki.
"Help Fandral! They're surrounding him!" Loki looked toward a hoard of Frost Giants and saw a sword go through one of them. He ran to them and stabbed two with his daggers. Fandral was in the middle of them, and he had a stab wound in his side.
"Go fight with Thor, he has it under control," said Loki. "I'll take these." Fandral ran in Thor's direction and Loki finished off the four Frost Giants that were close to him.
Suddenly, the bifrost opened up, and before Loki could even look at Thor, it took them into its vortex. When the vortex stopped, Loki, Thor, and the rest of them were dropped into the observatory in Asgard. Odin was standing in front of them.
"You fools!" he yelled.
"Father—" Thor started.
"—SILENCE!" screamed Odin. "Do you know what you've done?! We already have the Chitauri against us, and now you go and anger the Frost Giants?"
"Odin, we went there for a purpose!" said Loki. He held up the Casket. "I needed to retrieve something. This is the only way I can save Emmeline."
"You can't now!" said Odin. "I've sent her back to Midgard!" Loki froze and widened his eyes at Odin.
"What? She-She'll die! You could have waited an hour!" he screamed.
"The nurses said there was nothing left they could do," said Odin. "She belongs in Midgard, so I sent her back." Loki glared at Odin, consumed with hate. He walked back in front of the bifrost, carrying the Casket and feeling his skin changing into that of a Frost Giant.
"I am going to her," said Loki. "I will not let her die; certainly not at your hands! Heimdall, open the bifrost!"
"Son—" Odin started.
"—Don't call me that!" Loki screamed at the top of his lungs. He was so angry tears fell down his face. "YOU ARE NOT MY FATHER! …You never were." Odin said nothing.
"Where is she?" Loki asked Heimdall.
"Your majesty, I—"
"—Heimdall!"
"…S.H.I.E.L.D."
Loki walked up to the golden sword and pushed it into the pedestal, opening the bifrost, and he glared at Odin as it took him through its vortex to Midgard.
When Emmeline opened her eyes, she was in front of the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters building. She was still encased in the glass box, and she didn't move. She couldn't move. She was sick and dying now. It would be any minute, and she knew it. She remembered Odin sending her back to Earth because her flames were getting so high it was a danger to Asgard. But Emmeline was okay with it…she didn't want to endanger anyone. But she was heartbroken for Loki. She couldn't even tell him goodbye.
Emmeline struggled to sit up, and leaned on the glass wall, looking at her arm. It was enveloped in flames like the rest of her, and her bones were showing through. It made her sad that she couldn't see Loki before she died. She slowly lifted her head and looked into the sky, knowing Heimdall could see her. She mouthed the words "Tell him I love him."
It wasn't long before Emmeline heard a man exclaim:
"Oh my God!" She turned her head and saw Hawkeye running toward her. He stopped in front of the box and kneeled down to her.
"Emmeline, is that you?" he asked. She smiled weakly, the best she could.
"Y-yes," she struggled to say. "I can't control…the fire…I'm dying."
"What? Why? God, I need to get you somewhere…" Hawkeye looked around frantically.
"Rogers!" he called out in a panic, and Captain America ran over to him, stopping in his tracks when he saw Emmeline.
"Help me get her in," said Hawkeye. He put his hands under one side of the box and gasped, taking them out. "It's hot."
"I'll get Fury. He has a machine." Captain America ran inside S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hawkeye looked at Emmeline with great concern.
"Is there anything we can do? What…happened?"
"L-long story…" said Emmeline in a hoarse voice. "There's nothing that...can be done."
Shortly, Nick Fury came with a machine that could take Emmeline inside S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. They set her in the glass room they held prisoners in, bigger than her glass case. She sat there, burning in flames just like she had for the past week. She sat motionless, wasting away. Hawkeye tried to explain what she told him to Captain America and Nick Fury.
"So there's nothing we can do?" said Captain America. Hawkeye looked over at Emmeline and she slowly shook her head. Just then, Tony Stark ran into the room and put his hands on the glass wall, looking at Emmeline with horror. He looked up at Hawkeye, Captain America, and Nick Fury.
"Please tell me we can do something," he said. No one said anything.
"Tony…" said Emmeline. "I missed you."
"What happened to you, where's Loki?" Tony said to Emmeline.
"He doesn't know I'm here," she replied. "It's okay though…just let me go." He looked at her and angry tears formed in his eyes. He looked back up at Hawkeye, Captain America, and Fury.
"We have to do something!" he yelled. "We can't just leave her here to die! She needs…"
"What?" said Fury. "If you can tell us what she needs, then we'll get it. There's nothing we can do for her, Stark."
"No!" He stood up and knocked a chair over in his rage, sending it to the other end of the room. "I'm going to find out how to fix her!" Emmeline shook her head, though Tony wasn't looking at her. She wanted to explain, but she was too weak to try and say anything. Tony looked back at her and she tried to smile at him. Tears ran down his face and he left the room quickly. Emmeline had never seen Tony cry.
Later that evening, Nick, Hawkeye, and Captain America had left, and Tony came into the room. He sat next to Emmeline on the other side of the glass.
"So…what exactly is wrong with you?" he asked. "Why are you all…ablaze?"
"I…got stabbed by a soldier," said Emmeline. She could barely speak. "And it—it damaged my nerves that controlled…my powers. So I can't use my ice, and…my fire took over. It burns everything, so I can't eat or drink and that's why I'm…dying."
"Oh," Tony said, leaning on his side against the glass. "I wish I could help you. I just…I'll miss you Red." Emmeline could see he was fighting back tears and she put her burning hand up to the glass.
"Don't cry," she said in a whisper. Her eyes started fluttering and she tried her best to keep them open. She felt out of it.
"You can sleep," said Tony. "I'm going to stay the night here with you." Emmeline smiled.
"I'm going to miss you Tony," she said. "You were always my favorite."
As soon as Loki set foot in Midgard, the Casket in his hands, he took off running for S.H.I.E.L.D. The bifrost had dropped him in New York, luckily, and he knew how to get to S.H.I.E.L.D. Loki didn't worry about scaring any Midgardians in his Frost Giant form, in fact, it was convenient since he would probably take it over later.
Loki ran not knowing how much time Emmeline had left or if she had any at all. She hadn't eaten or drank anything since she had burst into flames. It had been three days. When Loki saw S.H.I.E.L.D., he ran faster and froze the door when he approached it so he could kick it open, shattering the glass. He ran through the corridors of S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, knocking over agents and frightening a few. But he didn't stop.
He came into the experiment room where he saw Nick Fury, and took one hand off the Casket to pin Fury to the wall by his neck.
"Where is she?!" Loki demanded. "Now!"
"The—study room," said Nick Fury, struggling to speak. Loki let go of him and ran to the study room, knocking over Dr. Banner. Suddenly Loki stopped in front of yet another glass case. Emmeline was inside, burning, on her last breaths. Loki saw Tony Stark and banged on the glass.
"Let me in," he said. "I can save her—hurry!" Loki was surprised at how quickly Stark opened the door. Loki put both hands on the Casket, changing into his Frost Giant form so he wouldn't be burned by Emmeline. He entered the glass case and kneeled to Emmeline.
"Don't worry love," he said. "I told you I would fix this." Loki then pushed all the ice powers he could conjure through the Casket and onto Emmeline. Her fire fought back a great deal, and Loki tried harder. The fire and ice were getting stronger and stronger until finally it shattered the glass case into tiny shards. Loki stood up and clenched his eyes shut as he forced a wave of ice over Emmeline. He had done it. She was frozen.
Loki dropped the Casket and fell over in exhaustion for a moment. He tried to catch his breath and stood up to look at Emmeline, frozen in place. Unlike Emmeline, he had no heat powers so he could not unfreeze her. He ran his hand lightly over her frozen cheek, and tears flowed over his face. He was embarrassed to cry in front of the Avengers, but he could not stop himself.
"I'm sorry darling," he said sorrowfully. "I tried so hard to save you." Loki didn't notice Iron Man look at him in disbelief. He just leaned on Emmeline's shoulder and cried. He longed to feel her warm skin and her soft breath on his neck, but instead he felt an icy shell; his failed attempt to save her.
As Loki stood in despair, leaned against Emmeline, he felt the ice get slippery. He stood upright and looked at her, as the ice around her began to melt. Loki smiled. The ice quickly turned to water and melted off of Emmeline, her heat power melting it. As soon as the ice was melted, she turned her fire off. She smiled at Loki and wrapped her arms around him quickly.
"Loki you did it!" she exclaimed. "You saved me!" Loki put his hands on her back and squeezed her. He put his face in her neck.
"I almost lost you," he said, closing his eyes. Emmeline put her hands on Loki's face.
"But you didn't," she said.
"I love you so much," Loki replied, putting one hand on her face as he kissed her. How good it felt to have her in his arms again. Loki paid no attention to the Avengers as he kissed Emmeline. He let go of her and looked at her, remembering that she still looked extremely sick.
"You need sustenance," he said. He then looked to Tony Stark.
"Get her something to eat and drink; now," he said. Without a sarcastic comment, Stark left the room to get food for Emmeline. Loki knelt down to her.
"I'm going to get you well again," he said, putting his hand on the back of her neck. "I will see to it that you have time to recover until you are fully well again. After Stark feeds you I will take you back to Asgard to be cared for."
"Will they let me in?" Emmeline asked.
"They will, whether they do it willingly or not," Loki replied.
Shortly, Tony Stark came back with food and water for Emmeline and she ate quickly. Loki smiled at her.
"Loki…" she said. "Don't watch me eat; it makes me self-conscious." Loki laughed.
"Self-conscious? You were minutes away from starving to death; that is the last thing you should be worrying about. But it's alright. I'll go terrorize some Midgardians on the streets." Emmeline smiled at him.
"Don't get into any trouble," she called out to him when he was near the door. Loki looked back at her and smiled.
"I never get into trouble; it follows me," he said, and left the room.
