(Author's Note: So sorry this took so long! But luckily, I've written two chapters so I will be uploading two, and Chapter 14 is halfway done. :) I know it's a little frustrating right now, but...don't worry. That's all I can say. Enjoy, and even though I've said this a billion times, REVIEW!)
Chapter 12
Your hearts a mess
You won't admit to it
It makes no sense
But I'm desperate to connect
And you, you can't live like this
Hearts A Mess - Gotye
Asgard had been taken over. Odin and Thor were rotting in prison, the civilians were giving in to subjugation, and the Allfather's staff/scepter was given to—or taken by—Loki. He had even put metal capsules over Thor's hands so he could not summon Mjolnir. Loki had everything he'd ever wanted. But something was bothering him. Loki wasn't going to pretend he didn't know what that something was. It was Emmeline.
She should be ruling by his side, sitting on his knee on the throne of Asgard. Why hadn't she gone with him? Why was she so angry? Loki knew she cared about Thor—he shuddered at the thought of it—and the rest of Asgard, but he didn't think it would tear her from him. He knew he should be angry with her, but instead of anger he just felt sadness. Loki figured the only way to be completely happy would be to forget about her. Focus on his growing empire.
Loki made his way to the prisons stopping in front of Thor's cell. He sat on the bed, his hands contained in confining shackles. Thor turned to Loki, glaring at him.
"Looks like the situation has switched now, hasn't it brother?" said Loki with a condescending smile. "Don't worry, you will not have to stay here much longer. I will be banishing you to Midgard to be with your beloved Jane Foster." Thor banged his shackles on the window.
"You stop this Loki!" he said. "Return Asgard to father!" Loki laughed.
"You think anything you say will make me surrender? Odin is not my father; I owe him nothing. And considering how much you love Ms. Foster, I thought you would be quite delighted. You can live as a mortal for the rest of your miserable life; I think I am being considerably generous."
"And what of father?" asked Thor, keeping his glare at Loki.
"Odin will remain here in prison until his death," Loki replied.
"Loki please," Thor said, tears in his eyes. "Stop this madness. You're my brother; we grew up together. We can stop this together."
"Stop what? I intend to bring peace Thor. No one is fighting or getting hurt. I'm doing a marvelous job, much to your surprise I'm sure. I don't understand what all the fuss is about. So be quiet as Heimdall sends you to your woman." Thor said nothing more, and Loki had guards take him out of his cell and into the observatory.
"Heimdall, open the bifrost. I am your king; you must obey me now." Heimdall looked at Loki for a minute, unwilling to do his bidding, but Loki gave him a stern look. "Heimdall!"
"Yes…your majesty," he said. As Heimdall pushed his sword into the pedestal, Loki looked at Thor who was standing in front of the bifrost.
"Thor Odinson," he said. "I hereby banish you to the realm of Midgard for being a danger to the king's rule and a disgrace of Asgard. Goodbye brother." Heimdall opened the bifrost.
"Loki—Heimdall please!" Thor shouted as the bifrost took him into its vortex. Loki stared at the spot his brother once was and slowly turned around. Heimdall was looking at him.
"You would banish your own brother," he said.
"Silence," replied Loki. "He is not my brother."
Emmeline sat at the table in the meeting room of S.H.I.E.L.D. with her arms crossed. Fury had called her in. She supposed he had heard about the split between her and Loki. When Fury came into the meeting room, he had Agents Barton and Romanoff with him. All three of them sat opposite to Emmeline.
"I suppose you're wondering why we called you here Ms. Collins?"
"I think I have a general idea," she said.
"Oh? And what exactly is that 'general idea'?" asked Fury.
"You're going to put me in prison," she replied.
"On the contrary," said Fury. "I was informed about the falling out between you and Loki. First off, let me say that I'm sorry. Secondly, I wanted to ask you if you would be willing to reenter the Avengers." Emmeline was confused.
"Really? You want me to be an Avenger again? After everything that happened?"
"It would be a shame to squander your intense power," Fury replied calmly, as always. "We believe in second chances." Emmeline looked at Barton and Romanoff; Barton giving her a little smile.
"Look Nick," she said. "If this is some kind of trick to get to Loki or something, I don't want to be a part of it. After all I've been through, just please spare me the heartache. …I've had enough of it already."
"No Ms. Collins, I assure you I am completely serious. This is an opportunity to go back to the way things were before…you-know-who." Emmeline paused and looked at them, thinking. After a few seconds, she un-crossed her arms.
"Alright," she said. "I'll rejoin." I've got nothing better to do, she thought.
"Good," said Fury. He nodded to her and left, with Romanoff closely following. Barton stayed behind and looked at Emmeline.
"Are you okay?" he asked. "I mean…you loved him didn't you?" Emmeline tried not to cry.
"Yes I loved him…and yes, I'm okay." Clint patted her hand.
"If you don't mind me asking—you don't have to answer if you don't want to—why did you guys break up?" he asked. Emmeline sighed.
"He sabotaged the Asgardian war with the Chitauri. He didn't tell me so I went to talk to him about it and we started yelling at each other. I realized…he was more dangerous than I thought. I thought he really wanted to help Thor. I guess I just thought he was less of a psychopath. But he wasn't…and he told me I was a distraction and told me to leave. So…I did." Clint paused briefly for a moment, soaking all that in.
"I'm sorry Emmeline," he said. "But maybe it's best now, because you know that he's a psycho, it will be easier for you to move on." Emmeline tried to smile.
"Yeah," she said, although she knew that wasn't the case. Emmeline worried about herself, because she knew she was okay with it. She loved the psychopath. But Clint was right. She needed to move on.
Days passed. Thor was gone. Odin was in prison. Everything Loki had planned worked out perfectly. But he was still unhappy. Depressed, in fact. He had become so depressed he couldn't eat. Servants would bring him his food every day and he would wave it away. He couldn't sleep either. No matter how hard he tried, his eyes would stay open. He eventually made himself sick. There were dark purple circles around his eyes, and he was paler than normal. He was weak as well. That irritated him. How could he be respected as a king when his hand shook every time he picked something up? But he just couldn't get her out of his head. She was in his head, his heart, his veins…he missed her. But he could do nothing to bring her back. He couldn't go to Midgard, he wouldn't know what to say to her. There was nothing he could say. In a way he was angry at her. Why hadn't she just complied with him? She had to go and protest, ultimately ruining his life. But that anger never lasted. It just faded back into depression.
He sat on his throne, his scepter in hand. No one was around, and everything was quiet. Normally Loki would enjoy the serenity. However, it didn't last long. Soon, several guards entered with four people in chains.
"Your majesty, we found these four denouncing your name as king. They pledge their allegiance to your brother and tried to rally the peasants." Loki glared at the guards as they threw Sif and the Warriors Three down at his feet. Sif looked up at Loki with hatred.
"You know Thor is the rightful king!" she yelled. Loki walked up to her and slapped her hard.
"You slag!" he yelled.
"What's wrong Loki? You don't look well," said Sif mockingly.
"Silence! You are all of you beneath me! Guards, throw them in prison, separate cells!" The guards did as they were told and Loki screamed as loud as he could when they had left. He cringed at the pain in his stomach and sat back down. He suddenly became very hot and started to sweat. He felt as if he would vomit. A servant girl came into the throne room with a plate of food. Loki held his hand up.
"I know your majesty doesn't want it," said the servant in a small voice. "But if you don't mind me saying so, you don't look well, my king."
"I'm fine!" Loki roared. "Why is it so blistering hot in here?!"
"I think you're sick, your majesty—"
"—I'm not sick! You're opinion was never asked for. If it bothers you so, leave the food here, and I will choose whether to eat it or not."
"Yes your majesty. But if I may, I suggest—"
"—Out!" The servant girl scurried away. Loki leaned back and sighed, trying to fight the heat. Although it seemed like no one else was smoldering as he was. Maybe he was sick. Loki decided he needed just a bit of reassurance. He got up and made his way to the observatory and stood next to Heimdall.
"Can you see her?" asked Loki. Heimdall looked at him, and then back at the stars.
"Yes," he replied.
"Is she alright?"
"Yes. She is reunited with her friends." Loki looked down. The Avengers, he thought. But she is so high above them!
"Are you alright…my king?" asked Heimdall, almost shuddering at the title. "You don't—"
"—I don't look well, I know. I assure you, I am fine." Loki said this, only he had realized that he was not fine. He was not fine at all.
Thor had been dropped in the middle of Midgard, with no knowledge whatsoever of where to go or where to find Jane. He looked around, searching for any sign of humans, and he set his sights on a small structure labeled "7 Eleven". Thor stood up and realized he was in Midgardian clothing. But it wasn't the first time this had happened. He ran into the 7 Eleven and approached a man standing at the counter.
"Earthling!" greeted Thor. "Where may I find the realm of New Mexico?"
"Sir…you're in New Mexico," said the cashier. "This is Puente Antigua."
"At least my brother has helped me in some way," said Thor to himself. He addressed the cashier. "Thank you, citizen."
"No problem," the man replied, giving Thor an odd look as he left. Thor ran out the door and then ran back in.
"Wait! Do you know where to find Jane Foster?"
"Nope. Sorry bro," the man replied.
"That's quite alright…but my name is Thor."
"Well I meant…never mind." Thor raced out of the 7 Eleven and started running to where he knew Jane's lab was—if his memory served him.
Luckily, some of the scenery in New Mexico became familiar to Thor and he found the location of Jane's lab. Despite being banished while his brother had stolen the throne of Asgard, Thor was excited to see her. He busted into the door to find Dr. Erik Selvig and Darcy Lewis standing in front of a desk.
"Thor!" exclaimed Darcy. "Oh my God, Jane's gonna freak! You look good, been working out?"
"Ah, my friends," said Thor. "Good to see you." He hugged Darcy and Erik. "Where is Jane?"
"She's talking with some S.H.I.E.L.D. girl that came here out of nowhere," said Darcy. "It's funny, 'cause she was talking like she knew you and stuff. Apparently the S.H.I.E.L.D. people sent her to recruit Jane or something. They wanna get into contact with your Asgert."
"Asgard."
"Yeah whatever."
"She spoke of me?"
"Yeah," said Erik. "If you want to see her, her and Jane are in the kitchen."
"Thank you," Thor said. He entered the kitchen to see Jane and Emmeline sitting at the breakfast table.
"Emmeline?" said Thor, and Emmeline looked at Thor.
"Thor?" she said. Jane jumped out of her chair.
"Thor!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. "Where have you been? I've missed you so much!" She kissed him and then slapped him. "What took you so long?"
"Problems at home," he replied.
"Thor, what are you doing here? Did…did Loki send you here?"
"He did."
"Wait what? You know her?" asked Jane. "I'm confused."
"Me too," said Darcy walking in. "But that's most of the time."
"Alright, everybody sit down and I'll explain everything," said Thor. Jane, Darcy, Erik Selvig, and Emmeline pulled up chairs to the kitchen table and sat, ready to listen to Thor.
"Alright, so you all know my brother Loki," began Thor. The three Midgardians nodded. "Loki kidnapped Emmeline when she joined the Avengers because she was protecting the Tesseract. Do you follow?" Jane and Erik nodded. Darcy just sat there. Thor continued. "To shorten a very long story, Emmeline fell in love with Loki and Loki fell in love with her." Jane, Darcy, and Erik all stared at Emmeline with wide eyes. She smiled and shrugged. Thor continued again. "Eventually Loki and Emmeline stole the Tesseract and gave it to the Chitauri, which is what caused the attack on New York and the war on Asgard. Loki didn't know they would go for Asgard as well, so he planned to help and after being imprisoned and Emmeline almost perishing, both of them fought the war in Asgard. However, Loki sabotaged it which caused he and Emmeline to separate. He took over Asgard himself, banished me, and imprisoned my father. Which brings us to this moment."
Jane, Darcy, and Erik sat at the table with their mouths hanging open. Thor and Emmeline looked at them, waiting for their response.
"Well," said Jane. "That's a lot to take in." Darcy chimed in.
"So what you're saying is that you're here because you're banished, and Emmeline is here because…"
"I rejoined the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D.," said Emmeline. "They want to recruit Jane."
"This has nothing to do with pretty boy?"
"No."
"Oh okay. I get it. Jane?"
"Um, yeah. I think so," said Jane. "I'm not joining S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Fair enough," said Emmeline. Thor stood up and took Jane in his arms.
"I've missed you," he said, and kissed her.
Loki leaned back against the banquet room wall and sighed after vomiting into a bucket. He was sick. He was sick because he was out of his mind. Emmeline had driven him to insanity—if he wasn't there already. He just couldn't forget about her. He tried very hard, but she kept entering his mind, with her spectacular smile and shimmering brown eyes. If his heart wasn't broken after he learned the truth about his parentage, it was broken now, and he knew it.
He stood up and decided that the only thing to do would be to distract himself. He went into the sitting room and got out his magic books to practice. He had mastered illusions and the switching of garments on himself and other people, but he wanted to work more on shape shifting. He could do it, but it took a lot of strength and in some cases it would fade.
He looked at the runes in the book and closed his eyes, focusing on shape shifting into Thor. Once he had completed the shape shift, he opened his eyes and looked down at Thor's armor. He went to the mirror and looked at himself as Thor. He couldn't help but roll his eyes at the reflection of his brother. He wanted to shape shift into something else. Could he try…Emmeline? No, it wasn't good for him. He needed to forget her. But Loki closed his eyes and shifted into Emmeline before he could tell himself not to.
He looked in the mirror at the reflection of the woman he loved; her auburn curls and long legs. She was beautiful and as Loki looked at himself as Emmeline, he noticed her expression looked sad. Because he was sad. That was when he lost it. The shape of Emmeline faded, and Loki slammed his fists against the wall as tears ran down his face. Loki screamed and raked a frustrated hand through his hair. In his agony, he heard the voice of Heimdall behind him.
"My king," he said, the term no more easily falling off his tongue. "Are you alright? What distresses you?" Loki turned to him, his eyes bloodshot with tear stains on his pale cheeks.
"Why can I not forget her?!" he screamed. "Why can I not be happy?!" Heimdall stood in his place and looked at Loki calmly.
"You love her," replied Heimdall. "I've known you ever since you were but a child, and you've always thought everyone below you in spite of your own insecurity and self-denial. Now you come to realize that she is not below you, that she is your equal. She was your partner, and you did not treat her as such. Therefore she challenged you and you dismissed her in fear of her ability to get in the way of your plans. You knew she had that ability because you unknowingly respect her. But now King Loki, you are sad. Do you now understand?"
Heimdall's wisdom did not surprise Loki at all, and he didn't want to admit it, but he knew he was right. Loki turned away from him, tightening his hands into fists and looking at the floor.
"What have I done? Tell me what to do," he commanded.
"Tell her how you feel. Tell her everything."
