Don't Hold Your Breath
Chapter 2:
Eir's mind was spinning as she teleported herself to Midgard. Thoughts of Loki, Thor not allowing her to accompany him, and what Midgard was like twisted in her mind. Then, she was hurled to a stop as she finally reached the ground of her destination. Eir slowly looked around. She was standing on a large area soft green grass, and surrounded by trees that were neatly spaced from one another. Eir looked up and saw odd tall structures lining the sky. She stood up in her dark green and silver Asgardian clothing and realized she was being watched by many Midgardians or humans, as she had been old by Thor. They watched her with a mix of confusion and fear in their eyes.
'They're not so different from Asgardians,' she thought as she continued to look at them.
Seconds later a black helicopter with an insignia of an eagle on it, hovered over an open field not far from where she stood. The helicopter landed and multiple humans dressed in what Eir conceived to be black battle suits, exited it and approached her warily while carrying strange weapons. Eir readied herself for a battle, but she soon saw a familiar red and silver form in the sky that was quickly approaching.
'Thor?' Eir asked herself as the figure got closer.
The figure landed a few yards from her, dressed in silver armor with a red cape attached from the neck, and a large silver hammer in his hand. He looked up at Eir and his face lit up with a smile and a frown.
"Thor? I didn't expect to see you here so soon." Eir said as Thor stood up and walked over to her.
"It is good to see you Eir, but you should not have come." Thor said.
"And why not?" Eir replied, as she placed her hands on her hips.
"Well, it is a-it is a long-it is complicated." he replied.
"Well that clears things up now doesn't it?" Eir said sarcastically.
"Excuse me, Thor and Eir as I heard, Director Fury wishes to see both of you." a man dressed in a black suit and his light brown hair neatly cut said.
"Who is this Fury?" Eir asked Thor.
"He is the leader of a group of humans who protect Earth. He is a bit serious but I think he is a good man." Thor said reassuringly.
"Very well then, but you will have to explain more about our situation when we arrive." Eir said as she followed Coulson and Thor back to the helicopter.
(At S.H.I.E.L.D. base)
Eir walked through the floating fortress's hallways with Thor and the man who had addressed her earlier, whose name she had learned was Phil Coulson. They walked past many rooms, which could be seen into via the glass windows that framed them. As they passed one of the rooms, Eir took a quick glance inside and saw two human men talking to each other. The one with messy dark brown hair and wearing glasses noticed her and his companion wearing a 'black Sabbath' t-shirt, they both watched Eir with interest as she walked past.
Eir was eventually lead into a large room with computers and many other electronic devices, with multiple humans running around hastily. She followed Thor and Coulson to a tall dark-skinned man dressed in a black trench coat standing by multiple monitors near the large pane of windows that encircled the room.
"I see you brought another one of your friends along Thor." the man said as he slowly turned around to face them.
As he turned, Eir saw that the man had an eye patch over his left eye. Hiding a scar no doubt.
"Why didn't you inform us of this?" the man asked.
"I did not know she was coming, as I specifically told her not to." Thor replied his gaze focused on Eir.
"Anyway, Eir, as I'm told, why have you decided to visit Earth?" Fury asked.
"To see if the rumors about Loki were true." Eir replied.
"And what rumors of him are there on Asgard?" Fury asked.
"That he survived the destruction of the bifrost and is here on your planet." she replied.
"Well, those rumors would be true. He is here on our planet and making a mess of it. Causing mischief as you could ironically say." Fury said in a negative tone.
"What type of mischief is he up to?" she asked.
"'Intent on conquering our planet and ruling it as its king' sort of mischief." Fury replied.
"Surely you are not serious? I know he's mischievous, but not capable of that sort of corruption." Eir said anxiously.
"Thor, I'll let you handle this." Fury said, then turned back to the monitors.
Eir looked at Thor, who seemed apprehensive to 'handle it.' Thor and Eir walked into the cafeteria, which was empty with the lunch break long over. They sat down at a table and Thor sighed deeply before looking at Eir solemnly.
"Eir, I dread this much but I must tell you the truth about my brother's actions." Thor said gravely as he looked across the table at her.
"What has he done? What has happened Thor?" Eir asked nervously.
"Loki has allied himself with the Chitauri, an army of creatures from an unknown world, and he has taken the Tesseract to aid in the over-taking of this world. He has killed many innocent humans on this world since his arrival as well. I do not want to give up on him, but this is the truth Eir, and I will bring him to justice." Thor said.
"This can't be true-it can't be! These accusations must be false! He would never do this, not something like…like this." Eir said in an alarmed tone.
"I'm afraid it is, and he has, but together we can stop him and bring him back home." Thor said.
"What happened the day the bifrost was destroyed?" Eir asked.
"I told you, Loki was caught in the-"
"No! What really happened Thor?" she asked.
Thor was quiet for the moment.
"Tell me!" Eir snapped.
"Very well. Before the bifrost was destroyed, while I was on Midgard and imprisoned, Loki came to me and told me that my father was dead. He lied to me. Not long after, he sent the Destroyer to kill me and our friends. When my powers returned, I destroyed it and returned to Asgard to confront him. When I returned, I found him in my father's chambers, then he blasted me with the Gungnir spear out of the castle. After that, Heimdall informed me that Loki had allowed the frost giants passage into Asgard the day I was to be made king. And then he had allowed Laufey himself into Asgard to allow him to attempt to murder my father as he slept, only for Loki to kill Laufey and make a hero of himself." Thor explained.
"That was the explosion I heard when I went to talk to him." Eir said in realization.
"Yes. Then I found Loki in the Bifrost setting it on Jotenheim and leaving it open so it would be destroyed. I tried to convince him to stop, but instead he attacked me and a fierce battle between us ensued. I subdued him and attempted to stop the Bifrost. I could not, and I knew the only way to stop it was to destroy it. And so, I did, but the force of its destruction threw Loki and I over the edge. I was caught by my father and Loki held onto the spear which I held onto. Then, just as you arrived, Loki let go of the spear and fell into the space between worlds. When I learned that he still lived I was filled with joy and informed you so. After I arrived here I was shown Loki's actions by those you see around you, and here we are now." Thor said, finishing explaining.
"It is true. I-I can't believe it…" Eir said in disbelief.
"I know will be hard to deal with, but perhaps it would be best for you to rest, get acquainted with this world and if you feel better, meet our newest allies." Thor said gently.
Eir said nothing, instead of speaking she slowly nodded her head.
Eir was lead to her room by a woman she learned was known as Maria Hill. Eir noticed that the other humans on the hovercraft seemed to ignore or avoid Maria, probably due to her serious mannerisms. Though all Eir noticed was the kindness she showed her as she lead her to her accommodations.
"There's a buzz going around that you're an Asgardian like Thor." Maria Hill said as she and Eir continued to walk.
Hill looked back to see Eir looking down solemnly as she followed.
"Are you okay? You look as if you just had a break-" Hill began to ask.
"I'm fine." Eir stated harshly.
"Very well." Hill said as they arrived at the room that was to be Eir's accommodations.
Hill opened the door and walked inside with Eir. Eir quickly looked around then sat down on the bed in the far corner.
"If you need anything, just press the blue button on this panel here okay?" Hill asked kindly as she pointed to a panel covered in multi-colored buttons by the door.
"Thank you, but I think I'll be just fine." Eir said bluntly.
"All right then." Hill said before closing the door.
When the door was closed, Eir began sobbing slightly. She looked at a small lamp that was sitting on a side table across the room. Eir sniffled, then lifted her hands and pointed them at the lamp. Anger surged through her, and was transferred through a bolt of blue lightning which shot out from her fingertips and shattered the lamp. Suddenly the door to her room slid open and agent Hill entered quickly, the door automatically closing itself.
"What happened!" she asked looking at the broken lamp and Eir.
Eir's anger turned to sorrow, and she abruptly burst into tears with her hands covering her face. Agent Hill rushed over to Eir and placed a concerned hand on her shoulder.
"What's wrong?" she asked anxiously.
Eir managed to end the tears long enough to look up at Maria, Maria knew that look and sat down next to Eir, placing her left arm around her sympathetically.
"Shh, shh. It's okay." Maria said kindly, causing Eir to slow her weeping.
"How will it be alright? How do you know what this feels like?" Eir said bitterly.
"Trust me, even on Earth we have relationship problems. If we humans can get through them, so can an Asgardian." Maria said, "You just need some time to think, alone."
"You're right," Eir said, wiping the tears from her eyes, "Time to think."
"How did you get here so fast anyway?" Eir asked.
"I was right by your door. After seeing your face I knew something was wrong so I figured I'd wait a little while before actually leaving. Just as I began walking away I heard something break and-here we are." she replied.
"Thank you for that. Now where might I find a secluded area, a forest preferably." Eir asked.
"Of course. Well, we're just over Vermont and there's a large forest just a few miles from here." Maria answered.
"Could you give me the exact location?" Eir asked.
"Sure, follow me." Maria replied.
Maria lead Eir into a large room, which had a large circular table in the center with the S.H.I.E.L.D. insignia on it. Behind the table there was a computer for personal use, where agent hill began entering the forest's location. While agent Hill researched the coordinates, Eir decided to sit down at one of the chairs encircling the table. She was surprised when the chair swiveled as she sat down in it. Though she soon got the hang of it and began swiveling for amusement. She was thoroughly enjoying herself when she interrupted by a sarcastically toned voice.
"Having fun are we?" said the man she had seen before in the room she first passed on her way to Fury.
"Well, yes. We don't have these kinds of chairs on Asgard." Eir replied.
"I'm sure you don't have a lot of things we do on Asgard." the man said bluntly.
"Excuse me?" Eir snapped.
"Just saying that your world lacks the advanced technology and stuff that we humans have on Earth. No offense though, to a mighty Asgardian such as yourself." he replied sardonically.
As they spoke, the man who Eir had seen previously with the sarcastic one entered.
Eir glared at the man. "Who are you exactly and what makes you so great?" she asked.
"Tony Stark, and I'm a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. And you are?" Tony said.
"Eir, and I'm a warrior, sorceress, healer, and a lady." she replied, mimicking Tony's tone.
"I like her. Looks like Fury's found himself a keeper." Tony said, speaking to his friend before taking out his cell phone to text.
"I apologize for Tony's-well for Tony. I am Dr. Bruce Banner, pleasure to meet your acquaintance." he said as he extended his hand towards Eir.
She looked at his hand curiously, then extended hers towards Bruce as well, their arms parallel to each other.
"Um. I forgot you're new to Earth. We're supposed to shake each other's hands." Bruce said awkwardly.
"Oh. I apologize for not following your world's customs." Eir said apologetically, then quickly shook Bruce's hand.
"You'll get the hang of it, don't worry." he said kindly.
"Here. I have the coordinates for you Eir. And I pulled up an image of the forest as well if you needed it." Agent hill said as she handed Eir a piece of paper with both numbers and images on it.
"Thank you." Eir said taking the papers from Maria.
"I will return soon." Eir said.
Eir breathed in deeply then focused her gaze on the image on the paper in front of her. She muttered a few words under her breath, and in a flash of green light she vanished from where she stood, much to everyone else's surprise.
Eir arrived in a clearing in a forest. She looked around to find herself surrounded by tall trees with emerald green leaves adorning their branches. She breathed a sigh of relief, then proceeded to walk through the forest. The walk was calming, with no structures in her way, no sounds other than the peaceful chirping of song birds, and no people to interrupt her stroll. Eir was completely alone with her thoughts. As she walked on, she eyed a rock that was large enough for her to sit on. Eir walked over to it and breathed out calmly as she sat down. Her mind was a sea of thoughts and emotions, her memories and thoughts circling violently like a whirlpool. Thoughts of Loki and the truth she had been told. Why it was kept from her so long she knew very well. She knew Thor didn't want to see her hurt, he was too sweet for that, but what was she to do? She couldn't give up on him, not yet, but how was she supposed to find Loki in this immense new and strange world?
"Eir?" said an all too familiar voice.
Eir turned around quickly to see Loki standing behind her, his eyes wide with shock.
"Loki." she said taken by surprise, then ran over to him and embraced him in a hug.
"How is this possible? How are you here? Did Thor bring you with him?" Loki asked as he embraced her tightly.
"No. I teleported myself here. When I heard that you were alive I-I had to come. I had to see you again." Eir said, tears of joy streaming down her cheeks.
"It is a joy to see you again." he replied.
"But-but why are you here? Thor told me that, that you have allied yourself with the Chitauri and that you mean to take control and rule over this world. Is this true?" she asked.
Loki pulled away from Eir's embrace and turned away from her.
"Yes, but there is method to my madness. I have come to rule over these mortals, and in doing so I will bring them peace by removing the bane that brings chaos to their lives. Freedom. When they face this truth, they will know peace, and under my rule I will bring this to them."
"You don't sound like the Loki I knew." Eir said.
"What?" Loki asked in confusion.
"Is this the Loki that let the frost giants into the vault the day of Thor's coronation?" she asked sharply.
"You know?" he asked in surprise.
"Yes I know Loki. Was that the gift you needed my magic to surprise Thor with?" Eir asked.
"I-" he started.
"Then after he was banished you sent the destroyer to kill him and our friends!" she continued.
"Eir-" Loki stammered.
"You used me? Abused my trust-my faith in you!" she barked.
"It wasn't what it seemed Eir. I did it for the good of Asgard, for the good of all, for you." he said.
"For the good of Asgard or for you? Why would you do all of this?" Eir asked.
"Because I was nothing but a shadow in Thor's greatness. He was to be king of Asgard and what was I? The younger brother who served my older brother graciously? Thor's not even my brother!" Loki snapped.
"What do you mean?" Eir asked, bewildered.
"Oh of course. Neither Thor nor the All father told you what I really am did they? Of course not. I'm a frost giant. I was taken as an infant from Jotunheim and brought back to Asgard to serve as a median between both worlds. But the All father told me himself that it was a failed attempt and that it no longer mattered-I no longer mattered!" he shouted angrily.
"Loki…" Eir said gently.
"Are you afraid of me now? Now that you know what I really am? A monster." Loki asked as he stood there looking at her with his fiery green eyes.
"No. I am not." Eir said bluntly.
"What?" Loki asked, confused by her answer.
"I've known you ever since we were little, you weren't a monster. You were a prince, a future king of Asgard and my friend." she explained.
"But I had nothing!" Loki snapped.
"You had everything!" Eir retorted.
…
"You had a family that loved you, friends who would have fought by your side until they breathed their last breath, and…you had me." she said sorrowfully.
"But-" Loki began to say, but was cut off by Eir.
"Then tell me Loki. Tell me what you didn't have?" she asked him.
Loki looked at her and stood there silent.
"Exactly, but you couldn't see that could you? You wanted more then you had or needed, and you put that 'want' before your family and before me." Eir said despondently.
…
"Now end this foolish desire of yours and come home, then maybe you'll finally see what you have." she pleaded.
"Eir, I'm sorry. I can't. I need to, I'm going to stay here and finish my task and if you would just see what I'm trying to do and join me-" Loki implored.
"See what you're trying to do? Do you need to kill innocent people? Do you need to conquer a planet and rule its people as a tyrant?" Eir asked earnestly.
"Eir if you'd just listen to me-" Loki pleaded.
"No. We're done here. It's over Loki. We're over." Eir said frankly, then turned away from Loki.
"Wait, Eir!" he shouted walking after her.
"Goodbye Loki." she said coldly.
Eir then chanted magic words, and with a flash of green light she disappeared, teleporting herself back to S.H.I.E.L.D. leaving Loki standing alone in the forest.