Hey guys, back again with Chapter 3, still not a great amount of support for this but that just makes the reviews/faves/followers I did get all the more precious and awesome. So let me thank:

shalmarrose
rose246
KrazyKawaiiGG
CaptainShy
You guys are awesome and keep me writing. This is the last prequel like chapter, the action really gets started next chapter to hang in there!

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Stories and Stone

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The brothers arrived at the lab just the sun was setting. They walked into what appeared to be a disaster area. There were parts scattered everywhere, metal and plastic and plaster littered the floor and in the middle were a very distraught and messy James and Jane. James was muttering to himself about what had gone wrong this time and Jane seemed to be meditating. It took Thor tripping over an aluminum conduit cover to shake them both from their own thoughts.

"Thor? What are you doing here?" Jane stood up, walking carefully over to him.

"Riley told us about the ship. Is it truly Malekith?" He held her softly by the shoulders, unsure whether he wanted her to yes or no.

"It looked like it, from what we could see. Earth satellite imaging isn't quite as good as Heimdall I'm afraid." She smiled sheepishly, ignoring the small sound of disgust from Loki.

"Can you tell me where he will be landing?" He turned to James, pulling the man firmly out of his mind and into reality.

"You mean assuming he lands? He isn't flying like he plans to land anywhere. I don't know what kind of propulsion system he's using but he isn't slowing down at all and he's getting really close to the moon. I don't think he can even see us." James pulled up the latest scans his satellites had recorded and charted the path of the ship, showing where it would hit or, far less likely in James' mind, land.

"Very good. How long until he arrives?" Thor asked.

"At this rate, he'll be here by tomorrow afternoon." James said, sounding much calmer than he felt.

"We will be ready for him." Loki took note of the area the ship would land and was gone before Thor could say a word. He caught up to him outside.

"Where are you going? You have no weapons and no armor. How will you fight him?" He grabbed his brother's shoulder, drawing attention from passer-bys.

"I have my daggers and magic, I will be fine though it touches me to know that you will worry over me." Loki quipped, pulling his arm out of his brother's grip and starting back down the street. He heard his brother begin pursuit again and growled softly, phasing out of his sight so that the blonde idiot ran right past him. He smirked, setting off quickly to Riley's apartment. He would need those rune stones if he was going to pull this off properly.

Riley was dancing around her apartment, scattering cigarette ash over the carpet as she jumped around to "The Phoenix" by Fall Out Boy. She didn't normally go in for this kind of music, too shallow and whiny, but something about the beat of the song made her love it. She was well on her way through the bottle of rum she'd opened when the boys left and was feeling pleasantly ignorant of everything but the music and her cigarette. Just as the song ended, switching to "Ramble On" by Led Zeppelin, she tripped over her overly long sweat pants and was unexpectedly caught by an invisible pair of arms. She was about to scream when the form of Loki shimmered into visibility.

"Wow, thanks." She gripped the counter, pulling herself out of his arms and turned, putting her cigarette down in the ashtray and stepping back.

"What are you listening to?" He asked in the same tone as someone smelling dog shit and she felt herself getting angry.

"Got something to say? It's Led Zeppelin and it is awesome." She took another swig of her rum and glared at him.

"I have no time for this. I am taking the Rune Stones from your altar." He held them up, sliding them into a small pouch.

"No! Give those back!" She lunged for them, missing by a few inches as he stepped away from her, leaving her to fall to the kitchen floor.

"I will return them when I have finished with my business. Fear not mortal, I will not lose your precious decoration." He sneered at her, flashing invisible again.

"You son of a bitch! Get back here!" She screamed, throwing a whiskey bottle at the spot she'd seen him facing. She heard a small hiss when the bottle shattered, but it was against a wall, not a head. She saw his face shimmer into visibility for a moment, a small line of red along one cheek and death in his eyes before he vanished, the door slamming shut behind him.

It was all Loki could do to not turn and end that pathetic mortal where she stood. How dare she! The stones were not even from her realm. She had no right to them save what she claimed in sentimentality. A small voice in his head said that neither did he, but he chose to ignore that and concentrate on his anger instead. The insolent woman had thrown a bottle at him. It would've done nothing, even if it had hit him, but the cut he'd received stung in the wind of the day and he found himself feeling almost betrayed that she had attacked him.

He caught himself in that train of thought and promptly changed the subject. He was not beginning to like her. She was an irritating mortal and he couldn't wait to be rid of her, even if she was an interesting conversational companion occasionally. Her food was sub par, compared to the banquets he'd attended in Asgard and her music was atrocious, though it did stir the blood in a primal sort of way. Her domicile was cramped and small, though if there were less people in it, it could be quite cozy.

He shook his head, pulling himself away from the consideration of the woman entirely. He may be developing a liking for her, but it didn't matter, soon they would be gone and Malekith would be dead, he had to plan how he would seize the throne. He had already ruled out by force, it hadn't worked very well the first time and now they all knew his tricks. He knew he would never been able to fool Odin, the All Father was too smart for that. But what about Thor?

He felt his face split into a grin as he picked up his pace. His gullible brother would be the perfect target. The All Father knew him too well for him to take Thor's place, but how much did Thor really know of his precious father? It would have to be done delicately. The whole of Asgard would erupt in anger if the King suddenly disappeared, but, after a fierce battle or after more grievous news, like the death of an ill gotten heir, would be perfect. They would all assume that he would be in chambers until the grief ran its course. And in that time Loki would capture and secret him away, taking his place as the reluctant and sad leader. It was perfect.

Thor turned to Jane, concerned at the time lapse since his brother had left. It had been almost an hour and there had been no sign of Loki. He was beginning to think that he'd run off, choosing to live as an outsider in the universe instead of go back in his brother's custody. He was just gathering himself to begin a search when the door to the lab opened, revealing an angry, bleeding Loki.

"Brother, why are you bleeding?" Thor stood away from the console, obviously expecting an army to charge through the door after Loki.

"That blasted mortal threw a bottle at me." Loki drew a thumb across his cheek, wiping the blood from it and glaring at James as though this were his fault.

"Riley did? Why?" James turned from his monitor, concentration being replaced by panic.

"I took the stones from her altar and she shouted at me and threw the bottle. Are all mortal women this irrational?" He asked, his eyes fixed on Jane, glittering with mischief.

"Oooh, you touched her altar? Man, you are brave. She's put guys in the hospital for messing with that thing." James laughed softly.

"For an altar? That seems a little much for something you can rebuild in like, ten minutes." Jane said, looking incredulously at James.

"Yeah well all the stuff on it came from her mom or grandmother. She didn't used to be so protective of it, but since the accident, she's been really zealous about no one messing with it. She says that their energy is the only thing she has of them anymore." He explained quickly, like he wanted to get it out before anyone could actually hear.

"Accident? They died?" Jane's face went from amused to shocked to saddened faster than Loki had ever seen.

"Yeah, there was some kinda pile up on the interstate a couple years ago, something about a tanker flipping across all four lanes and then they just didn't come home. The cops showed up a few hours later and gave her the news, she didn't take it well. Sometimes I think she still isn't coping." He sighed, going back to his monitor and figures. Jane bit her lip, looking at Loki.

"You have to give them back. It's all she's got left." She gave him a soulful look, something he was sure worked on most men.

"Tell me, Jane, what remembrance do I have of my mother? Or Thor of his? It is a happy thing to have, but no necessary. She does not need it as I do." He tucked the pouch in a pocket, turning. "Thor, if we are to reach the ship in time, we must go now." He stood by the door, motioning with a hand for them to leave.

"Yes. Jane, please stay with James and Riley. They will make sure you are safe until we can remove the Aether from you safely. Do not follow me." He leaned down and kissed her softly before turning and walking out of the lab with his brother.

"Alright, well there isn't anything else we can do here today, all this stuff needs at least a day to set up. Let's go check on Riley, I'm sure she's gonna want to get drunk, if she hasn't already." James grabbed his stuff from the table, the only clean surface in the room, and waited for Jane to leave the room so he could shut off the lights.

Thor had just taken off. It had taken some doing, convincing him that his help wasn't needed, but finally Loki was alone. He scanned the area, looking for any of the colorful pockets that would allow him to travel between realms, grinning softly when he caught sight of one in the side of a building. It was just large enough for him to slip through and, if the scenery on the other side was anything to go off of, was near the spot where the ship would land. It made him smile to know that some things in life never changed. Whoever created this universe was just as lazy as the one who'd made his. There were little holes all over the place, made easily accessible by the humans' need to build. He walked to the building, ignoring the horns going off on either side of him as he crossed the road and leaned against the wall, taking a breath as he felt his body begin to fall into the space between worlds. He straightened up in the riot of light and color that is the area on nothing that packs the space around worlds and crossed the short gap to the other side, stepping out in a cold place.

It was snowy here, but bright, so close to what Jotunnheim could have been if their leader had but tried a little harder. He smiled, bending and feeling the snow between his fingertips. It was cold and wet, and the sensation seemed to remind his body what he truly was, shifting his skin to that of a jotunn male, all pale blue and carvings. He laughed as the sensation of coldness descended through his whole body, inuring him to it from any outside source. It was still a foreign sensation, something he had never had the opportunity to get used to due to the stigma set on his kind by his supposed father. He felt a sneer pull at his lips and pushed the thoughts away, hearing the telltale sound of Mjölnir coming up behind him.

"Here already brother? I am surprised." He turned, the blue fading from his skin.

James knocked on the door softly, half afraid of what would be waiting for him on the other side, but was greeted with the tear stained face of a very drunk Riley. She was mumbling something under her breath about "son of a bitch gods" and snake venom, but none of it was too worrying for him. He'd seen her when she was in the grips of true misery and so long as she was moving around and talking, he knew she would be alright. Jane on the other hand rushed into the room, grabbing her up in a hug and directing her to the now booze free couch. She motioned with her free hand for him to get rid of the remaining bottles and sat with Riley on the couch.

"Oh sweetie, don't worry, he'll bring them back." She shushed her softly, rubbing her arms as the woman reached a shaky hand out to her pack of cigarettes.

"If he doesn't, I'm gonna kill him." Riley sounded dead serious, a tone that chilled Jane's blood and made her look to James, who was busying himself in the kitchen. It didn't take long to figure out what he was doing as he appeared with three cups of coffee and a plate of toast, eggs and bacon.

"Alright lush, time to wake up." He snagged the laptop off her lap, setting the plate in front of her and shoving the table so close that it brushed her knees when she leaned forward.

"Not hungry." She mumbled, turning her face away from the food.

"Bull shit, I know you, you only get this bad, this quick, when you haven't had anything to eat. Now scarf or wear it." He fixed her with a pointed glare and she crumbled, sticking a tongue out at him as she started shoveling food into her mouth. "Coffee too, I can't have my best candidate too hung over to work now can I?" He smiled as she grinned, flipping him off and trying to hide her smile.

So, there you have it. Next chapter is when things really get rolling so please R&R and stay tunes!