Hi, guys! I'm updating early! Yay! My grandparents are here, and I'm graduating high school tomorrow. I might post again this week in celebration of being freed from the American Public School System. Hooray!
Anyways. I'm pleased to say that this chapter is even longer than the last and one of the more fun ones to write-if a little heartbreaking. Hope you ejoy!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter Seven
Rogers took both of my hands and tied them together with metal bands that I would easily be able to break out of if I needed to. As Stark picked up the Scepter and started to walk away, my heart pounded against my ribs, speeding up more and more the further away the Scepter got. I rushed forward, but Rogers grabbed my upper arm and held me back.
I swallowed and breathed deeply. I had to calm down. It's not like they would-or could-harm the Scepter, but I was still terrified that I wouldn't get it back.
"What's the matter? You need that staff to live or something?" Rogers questioned, pushing me forward.
"Scepter," I corrected. It was so much more than just a staff.
"Scepter, then," Rogers sighed.
The vehicle in the sky flew off a ways and lowered itself to the ground. Rogers forced me towards it, and it wasn't long until we rounded a corner and the vehicle appeared on the street with Stark standing beside it, the Scepter in his hand. A ramp lowered out of the belly of the vehicle and joined with the ground, a woman I recognised as Natasha Romanoff stood at the top with a hand on her hip.
The closer Rogers brought me to the Scepter, the more I needed it again. I couldn't be this close to it and not have it with me. I pleaded that I would be able to stay connected with it somehow. It was the Infinity Stone of the Mind. Couldn't it connect to my mind?
The Scepter's light increased, and Stark glanced at it. The power of the Scepter washed over me as we passed, instantly calming my anxiety. Rogers led me up the ramp and pushed me down into one of the seats. Stark followed us up and handed the Scepter to a man who appeared through a door that must lead below. Stark held the Scepter out to him. "Lock this down tight in the cargo hold," his filtered voice ordered.
The man nodded and accepted the Scepter. Why was he touching it? He wasn't worthy of its power.
I moved to get up, to get the Scepter back into my grasp, but Rogers grabbed my shoulders and forced me back down. "You really need that scepter, don't you?" he said, looking me over as he strapped me in.
The metal floor vibrated, and gears whirred as the ramp was pulled up. Romanoff passed without a word and lowered herself into the pilot's chair. She clicked a few buttons and flipped a few switches, causing the Midgardian vehicle to rise from the ground and tear off into the sky.
Stark removed his helmet, and Rogers took his mask off and hanging it off of his shoulders like a hood. Stark placed his helmet on a shelf next to him, and they both stood by the cockpit.
They had put the Scepter below, but it shouldn't be there. I knew that I would have to be separated from it when they captured me, but I didn't imagine that it would be difficult. My heart jumped as the familiar power of the Scepter came into me. I closed my eyes and let it in, needing it more than before, now that I was separated from it.
"We are connected," it whispered, as the calming rush of power faded.
Once the power was gone, I was instantly anxious about being away from the Scepter again, but I felt better than before. I was connected to it now. I'd never be without it.
"Is he saying anything?" a filtered voice asked. Director Nick Fury.
"Not a word," Romanoff muttered.
"Just get him here," Fury ordered. "We're low on time."
Low on time? The Chitauri must be breaking through on their end. I could only hope that Erick had made more progress.
"I don't like it," Rogers muttered, glancing at me.
"What? Rock of Ages giving up so easily?" Stark questioned. What was with these strange nicknames? They made no sense.
"I don't remember it being that easy. This guy packs a wallop."
"Still. You are pretty spry for an older fellow," Stark remarked, looking to Rogers. "What's your thing? Pilates?"
"What?"
"It's like calisthenics," Stark explained. "You might have missed a couple of things doing time as a Capsicle." I almost smirked at the comment.
Rogers stared at him for a moment before continuing, "Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in."
Thunder rumbled outside of the hull, and white lightning flashed through the viewport in the cockpit.
Thunder and lightning. There wasn't a cloud in the sky when we left Germany. This was unplanned for.
"Yeah. There are a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you."
The thunder boomed, and a streak of lightning broke the sky with an almost blinding white light that drowned out the florescent lighting inside. My stomach churned, and my chest tightened. How could he be coming? The Bifrost was broken, and even if it could be repaired, it would take years.
"What's the matter?" Rogers questioned, turning to me. "Scared of a little lightning?"
"I'm not overly fond of what follows," I answered, glancing up through the small viewport above.
He would be here any second. I didn't expect him to come. There was no telling how this would change what I had planned.
The thunder and lightning intensified, swirling around us until something impacted the top of the hull, rocking the entire vehicle.
Stark grabbed his helmet and slipped it on, white lights blinking to life in the eyes of the mask. He marched forward and hit the button that lowered the ramp.
"What're you doing?" Rogers called as he picked up his shield, his mask already on.
As the ramp lowered, exactly who I expected dropped onto it, his Hammer clanging against the metal of the ship. I strained to keep my breathing under control, but it was more difficult than I thought it would be. He was here, and who knows what he'll do to me for trying to destroy Jotunheim and take the Earth.
Stark raised a glowing hand, but Thor thrust his Hammer froward and threw Stark several feet away. Thor reclaimed the Hammer and turned to me wrapping his hand around my throat. I instinctively grabbed his wrists, the Midgardian binds instantly snapping from my quick movement.
The look in Thor's eyes was not the same one I saw when I fell. He looked ready to kill me rather than save my life.
Thor forced me towards the ramp and spun Mijoner. The Hammer picked us up and dragged us through the air until we landed atop a rocky hill in a forest. Thor dropped me on the ground and I fell hard into it, a sharp pain from the rib that broke when I fell through that void leaving me breathless. I couldn't help but laugh with the little air I had. Somehow, Thor must know that I broke my rib and that it never properly healed.
"Where is the Tesseract?" he questioned.
"I missed you too," I laughed.
"Do I look to be in a gaming mood?" he shouted.
"You should thank me," I corrected as I started to get up from the dusty ground. "With the Bifrost gone, how much dark energy did the Allfather have to muster to conjure you here to your precious Earth?"
A deep thud sounded as Thor dropped his Hammer. He grabbed my arm and dragged me the rest of the way up. He put his hand on the back of my neck for some reason. Probably to make sure I wouldn't escape, but his tense muscles were quickly relaxing with his expression. "I thought you dead," he whimpered, the whites of his eyes turning slightly red.
I know he did, but the reminder made me think of the tears that were in his eyes as I let go. They were so similar to how he looked now. "Did you mourn?" I asked.
His eyebrows drew together in confusion for a moment. "We all did. Our father-"
I held up a finger, cutting him off. "Your father." My heart clenched as some thorn bit into it, and I pushed his arms off of me. "He did tell you my true parentage, did he not?"
I started to walk off down the thin path towards level ground, my side aching. Had it always hurt this bad and I had just never noticed? If it had, it must be the Scepter that drowned the pain.
"We were raised together," Thor voiced. "We played together. We fought together. Do you remember none of that?"
"I remember a shadow," I muttered, turning back to him. "Living in the shade of your greatness." I might have been the one to let go of the staff, but he was the one who made me. Everything in my life led up to that. "I remember you tossing me into an abyss. I, who was and should be king."
"So you take the world I love as recompense for your imagined slights?" Thor questioned.
They weren't imaginary. I was always left alone. Thor would run off with his friends while I always had trouble making any. Odin doted upon him, giving him everything that should have been mine.
"No. The Earth is under my protection, Loki," Thor said.
I laughed in disbelief. "And you're doing a marvelous job with that. The humans slaughter each other in droves while you idly fret. I mean to rule them, as why should I not?"
"You think yourself above them."
"Well, yes." We were stronger, more advanced, have a longer lifespan. Both of our races are above them in every way possible.
"Then you miss the truth of ruling, brother," Thor breathed, his mouth gently twitching upwards. "A throne would suit you ill."
I growled and pushed him away as heated anger coursed through me. I marched back up the pathway to try to get as far away from him as possible, but we were atop a cliff, so there was only so far I could go. "I've seen worlds you've never known about!" I argued. "I have grown, Odinson," I spat the name, "in my exile. I have seen the true power of the Tesseract, and when I wield it-"
"Who showed you this power?" Thor interrupted, raising an accusatory finger towards me. "Who controls the would-be king?"
"I am a king!" No one controls me. Not the Other or Thanos or Odin.
"Not here!" he shouted, grabbing my arms and shaking me slightly. "You give up the Tesseract! You give up this poisonous dream!" Thor's expression slowly softened, and his hand moved to the back of my neck again. "You come home," he begged.
My vision spun for a moment, and his image somehow sharpened. He wasn't angry. He was sad and disappointed. He wanted me home?
The power of the Scepter rushed into me again, even from this distance-I truly am connected with it now-and Thor's pleading words became entertaining enough to make me laugh lightly. I shook my head and shrugged. "I don't have it." Thor bared his teeth and roughly backed away, Miljoner flying into his outstretched hand. He raised the Hammer in threat, but I cut him off. "You need the Cube to bring me home, but I've sent it off. I know not where."
Thor huffed in exasperation before bringing the Hammer inches from my chest. "You listen well, brother. I-" The golden light of Stark's flight path ran right into Thor, sweeping him away.
"I'm listening," I voiced in his absence.
I glanced off of the cliff and found Thor throwing his hammer at Stark's suit. The two collided, and Stark was forced meters away. He crashed through trees and landed hard on the ground.
This would be entertaining, watching Stark try to face off against Miljoner. And if these two and the Captain were to fight against me, I would gain an insight to how they all fight together. I took a seat in the dirt and settled in to watch the ensuing fight like it was theater.
Thor clearly spotted me. He held his hand out and the Hammer flew to him instantly. I chuckled as I watched Stark rise to his feet unsteadily, Thor spinning Miljoner at his side. Stark delivered a golden blast that threw Thor into a tree, and before he could get up, Stark ran up to him and kicked, breaking the trunk of the tree into pieces. Thor was separated from his Hammer and thrown to the forest ground. Thor got up and summoned the Hammer. Once he had it, he raised it towards the sky and created a bright bolt of electricity. He sent the lightning directly towards Stark, and his suit sparked and glowed dangerously.
"Oh," I muttered. "That must hurt."
When the bombardment of lightning ended, Stark's suit had bright orange cracks spider webbing across his entire armour. But after a moment, he sent another golden blast towards Thor, and it hit him square in the chest, sending him further away than before. Thor managed to land on his feet, and he glared at Stark in his crouched position. They both flew towards each other, and Stark caught Thor, taking them both crashing through the trees and tearing up the side of a mountain. After a moment, their wild flight path brought them back where they started, several trees coming down around them.
"That one's worse," I laughed, watching them get to their feet.
Thor threw a punch towards Stark's face mask, and Stark tried to return it, but Thor dodged and caught his hand. Stark readied another punch, and Thor caught that one as well, crushing the metal of the suit in his grasp. Stark opened his hand and blasted Thor again, but my brother held firm. Stark decided to hit Thor with his metal helmet, but he had no idea how many goblets I've seen Thor crush with his thick skull. Thor returned the moved and sent Stark staggering backwards until he fell and rolled into another crouch. He flew towards Thor, grabbed him, spun and threw him into the trunk of a fallen tree.
That might leave a bruise tomorrow morning.
"Hey!" Rogers' voice called, and I turned around to find him standing behind me, his parachute gliding to the ground. Rogers rushed towards me and hastily bound my hands together with the rope from his parachute.
"You're just in time," I said, leaning back into the rock wall I was next to. "Your friends are putting on a marvelous show."
"They're not my friends," Rogers corrected as he got back to his full height. "I hardly know them."
Rogers raced down the path towards the fight and stood atop one of the uprooted trees. "Hey!" he shouted, throwing his shield between them. The shield bounced off of Thor's hammer and Stark's chest and went right back to Rogers. "That's enough!" He jumped down from the tree and looked towards Thor. "Now, I don't know what you plan on doing here-"
"I've come to put an end to Loki's schemes!" Thor shouted.
Schemes? That's a hurtful word.
"Then prove it. Put that hammer down," Rogers ordered, though he shouldn't have. Thor never liked putting down his Hammer, especially when he's told to.
"Uh-yeah. No. Bad call," Stark interjected, a slight panic in his voice. "He loves his hamm-" Thor brought Miljoner up and hit Stark in the chest without looking at him. Stark rolled through the debris of the trees for several meters before finally stopping.
"You want me to put the Hammer down?" Thor growled, his voice rising in volume with each word.
Thor jumped up and was bringing his Hammer towards Rogers, but the Captain brought his shield up at the last second. The result was a resounding clang that sent a wave of energy in every direction. The hair stood up on the back of my neck from the electricity sparking in the air. The remaining trees were shoved down, leaving an empty crater around the three men.
They all got up and looked around them, glancing between each other. "Are we done here?" Rogers panted, making me choke as I strained to keep back laughter at his statement. He might look young but his age showed in every word he spoke
"No," Thor voiced. "There's still Loki."
They all looked up to me.
"I've got him tied up," Rogers assured, though their voices were so low now that I could barely hear them.
I stood in response and sharply separated my hands, instantly snapping the thin cords. "Weren't you two taking me in somewhere?" I called.
Thor spun Miljoner and flew up to me. He didn't talk this time. He grabbed my collar and dragged me down towards Stark and Rogers, dropping me between them. Despite the rough treatment, my side didn't throb. The power of the Scepter was racing through me. Perhaps it was acting as a sort of painkiller, and for that, I was ever more grateful to it.
I picked myself up from the ground and looked between the three men. "Guess we're going back to your flying vehicle?"
"Uh..it's called a jet," Stark corrected.
"Is it a vehicle?" I challenged.
"...Yes," he hesitated.
"Does it fly?"
Stark groaned, rushing towards me. He took my hands and held them together behind my back. His suit clanged as he bound my wrists together again. I didn't know what he was binding me with, but it felt stronger than the flimsy metal ties that Rogers tried to use. Stark took the back of my tunic and pulled me towards him. He jumped up from the ground, and the golden stream came from the boots of the suit. He flew us upwards and the Midgardian vehicle we left came quickly into view. He landed us on the ramp and shoved me towards a seat as Thor dropped onto the open ramp with Rogers in hand.
The three men came into the vehicle and surrounded me. Stark pushed the button that retracted the ramp as Romanoff called, "You boys done playing in the dirt?"
"Just get us there, Romanoff," Stark ordered.
I hope you all enjoyed! This chapter almost made me cry because of Thor and Loki's interaction. What did you guys think?
See you soon for chapter 8!