Steve Rogers had been in the gym when he got the call. It wasn't what he needed at 11:30pm. But, ever a dutiful man, he took a quick shower and was on a plane to SHIELD's European HQ within the hour.
And as though hearing that a psychopathic god was back on Earth wasn't enough of a shock, finding Thor seated beside his booked seat, a beautiful, white-haired woman- were those pointy ears?- by the window, was enough to send his mind reeling.
The God of Thunder looked up at him- the look of complete sorrow in those aged, blue eyes made Steve hesitate before questioning him. He was dressed in- well, in human clothing, as was the oh-so-not-human woman beside him, but there was no doubting who he was.
"Thor...?" Steve asked warily. With Loki back on Earth and Thor acting so very un-Thor, things weren't exactly looking good.
"Captain Rogers... Please, we need your help."
Never let it be said that Steve wasn't loyal man when it came to his brothers in arms.
Already at the European HQ in Switzerland, Natasha Romanov quietly surveyed the satellite images taken barely two hours ago. Definitely Loki. Definitely not good. She had been trained as a child to never let her emotions be seen by others- it was a disadvantage, nothing more- and so no one around her could see her unease. No one but Clint.
He'd received similar training- no one's fault, just a (not-so-)happy coincidence.
So as he sat beside her, she already knew what was going through his mind, and she was sure he knew what was going through hers. (Loki is back. How many more people will die? Which one of us will sacrifice themselves this time? There's no such think as miracles- the Hulk might not be there to save the next person that decides to fly a nuke through a wormhole.)
"Tasha, I'm heading to the gym," Clint said. An invitation. Hell, she could do with a good fight. Why not?
Natasha stood and followed the archer.
Steve had been listening to Thor explain things for the past two hours. The plane was high in the air, and the majority of passengers were asleep by now. Steve had been feeling tired beforehand, but with all of this information... Suffice to say, it was keeping him awake.
Thor watched him with a frown as he finally finished explaining things. Steve had known there were some major family issues, but having heard it all from Thor and especially hearing that the Chitauri invasion might not have been Loki's fault put everything into a whole new perspective. He just didn't know what to think.
The woman had remained quiet throughout the whole story, her eyes trained on the passing, dark clouds below and a small frown on her face. Steve still had no idea who she was.
"Thor, I... I really don't know what to say..." Steve shook his head and heaved a sigh, leaning back in his seat.
"Captain, I need to get to my brother before anyone else. You are a man of virtue; I came to you because I trust you above all of our other allies."
"Say I believe you- which I'm still not entirely sure I do, by the way- how're we supposed to do this? You just show up in the middle of some field in Norway, grab your brother and disappear?"
"That is what I am here for," the woman said, speaking for the first time. She turned to face him, smiling weakly. "My name is Sigyn."
Steve smiled, albeit a little unsurely. "Steve Rogers. Pleasure to meet you, ma'am."
Her smile held some amusement now. "Loki was right about you: you are indeed not of this time. Far too polite."
Steve rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. He knew that he was old fashioned, but the way some people spoke to each other nowadays was just disgusting! He wouldn't dream of ever speaking like that!
"You were saying something, ma'am?" He pressed, changing the subject.
"Sigyn is fine, dear. And yes. I am here because I can get us in and out of Norway unnoticed by your SHIELD, but we must get there quickly."
"What do you need me for though?"
"That is where we must become a hindrance, my friend," Thor said, smiling apologetically.
Steve was dreading this already.
"How long until we arrive in Norway?" Phil asked May.
"Couple of hours yet. I hear Fury's called in the Avengers. Do you think they'll regroup after everything that's happened?" May asked, keeping her eyes on the sky in front of her.
After everything that's happened.
A lot had happened since New York.
Stark was dealing with severe anxiety and was a borderline alcoholic. The whole incident with the Mandarin and Pepper was reducing his nerves to nothing. Surveillance around Stark Tower told Phil that the billionaire still had panic attacks every now and again.
Dr. Banner was doing better than most, now that he had Dr. Ross around him again, and he hadn't had an... episode since the invasion. But there was always a team on standby to control the situation if things ever got out of hand.
Agent Romanov was the same as always, but Phil had a sneaking suspicion that she wasn't as 'fine' as she led others to believe; she was always excellent at hiding her true feelings. Her talk with Loki on the Helicarrier had shaken her more than she let on. The God of Mischief had known her pressure points and had used them mercilessly against her.
Rogers had been dealing with things as he always had; just taking every strange event in stride. That is, until the recent events about the Captain's old friend, James Buchanan Barnes, unfolded. That had been particularly difficult for Rogers to deal with. Phil was just thankful that he had Romanov with him to help, but the SHIELD agent got the feeling that the situation had dampened the Captain's optimistic view on the world. That, and the fact that he was dealing with PTSD, meant that he, too, had to be monitored constantly.
Agent Barton was suffering from the effects of Loki's scepter- though Phil had to say he was doing a lot better than Dr. Selvig, at least- and had been on suspension for six months after the invasion, in continuous therapy. It took time, but eventually he had been cleared by a psychologist and was now back in the field. Phil dreaded how he'd react to the knowledge of Loki being back on Earth.
Then, of course, there was Thor. The first and last time he'd been heard of since the invasion was during the alien attack in Greenwich. Phil was relieved that he had been there to deal with the situation, because the energy readings from the centre of the Convergence- (That strange, glowing substance that showed on the videos. No one knows what it is.)- were off the charts. Nothing human would have been able to get even remotely close to the source to stop it. Someone had spoken with Dr. Foster afterwards, but all she had said was that she didn't know what the substance was, that she had been in Asgard with Thor when the anomaly had begun, and that no one on Earth had to worry about Loki anymore, as he had been killed in battle. Clearly, something was wrong with the last statement.
Phil just wanted to know what the hell was going on and get this whole fiasco over and done with.
Steve sat back in his seat, mulling over his options. Sigyn and Thor assured him that he didn't have to do anything he didn't want to, but that it would be overall easier and safer if he assisted them. Steve wasn't a fan of Loki, even after everything Thor had told him about the God of Mischief's 'true intentions', but the look in both Thor and Sigyn's eyes were so completely desperate that Steve found it hard to refuse. So he didn't.
"Alright. I'm in."
Thor breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at him. It was a small smile, but ti was the first genuinely happy one Steve had seen on the Thunder God during the whole flight.
"Thank you, my friend. I am forever in your debt."
Steve sighed and half smiled. He knew that, no matter the outcome, this was the right choice. Thor trusted him, and Steve would never break that trust. "Don't thank me yet. At least wait until we've got your brother."
Bruce let himself be led back to his seat by Betty. Neither she or Tony asked him what was wrong, and for that Bruce was grateful. He wasn't sure he could answer at this moment in time... Not when he was barely in control of himself. He couldn't believe that Fury had so blatantly told him that they needed the Hulk.
For the past two years Bruce had been asked to come into SHIELD HQ to help with science and physics- not once had the Other Guy even been mentioned. He knew it was too good to be true, that the only reason they even wanted him around was so that they could keep tabs on him rather than keep an eye on him from the other side of the globe, but a part of him wished that it was real- wished that he was wanted at SHIELD because he could do good and help others. Not just as a tool of destruction.
He couldn't believe he'd been so foolish.
He'd never trusted Fury- or anyone at SHIELD, including Natasha and Clint- but he had thought that the Director was... well, bigger than that. That there was more to him than just another shady agent of a shady agency looking for more power.
He guessed he was wrong.
Deep inside him- (Not deep enough. Never buried deep enough.)- the Other Guy growled and struggled for release. Bruce closed his eyes and counted to ten.
He'd been doing so well- he'd barely even had to think about losing control lately; it had just come naturally to him hen Tony and Betty and Pepper were around- but now he could feel himself reverting back to the nervous, unsure person he was before the Chitauri invasion.
(Breathe.)
(Just breathe.)
Then there had been the nightmares. Terrors of killing Natasha, destroying the Helicarrier and killing everyone on board, of being unable to save Tony, of the Other Guy destroying New York alongside the Chitauri, of even Betty being unable to stop him in the end.
"Bruce?" The sound of Betty's voice brought him back down to Earth, and he took one last deep breath before forcing himself to relax.
He smiled at the woman. "I'm fine. Everything's under control."
"You sure?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow. "You were looking kinda green for a moment there. I was worried I was gonna have to rebuild my tower again."
Despite his mood, Bruce found himself smiling. Even if he couldn't trust anyone at SHIELD, he knew he always had Betty and Tony.
And yet, despite everything, how he resented Fury and SHIELD and everyone that just wouldn't leave him to his life, Bruce couldn't help but think of Loki, and how many people had been killed as a result of his last coming to Earth. If Bruce could stop it, he should so something, right? He'd come to something of an understanding with the Other Guy, so it wasn't as difficult to control his actions when he... had an episode. By that knowledge, he really had no real reason not to go after Loki.
He looked at Tony and Betty, both of whom were looking at him worriedly- well, Betty was lookiing at him worriedly while Tony was offering him a Skittle in his own way of showing his concern. He swallowed his anxiety and took a deep breath as he made his choice.
"I'm going after Loki."
Odin had not yet returned to Asgard. There was too much on his mind to bother dealing with the frivolities of court. More specifically, there was his youngest son on his mind.
(Oh, Loki, what have I done to you?)
Through Hugin and Munin, he had witnessed the small exchanges between Loki and Sigyn, had seen the growing brotherhood between his sons, had watched as his youngest boy suffered every day and every night, though he did his best to hide it from everyone. Odin did not know what it was that Loki was hiding, but he had his suspicions. After all, Loki did not just happen to come by the Chitauri in the Void. There was someone else behind the invasion.
It was, perhaps, witnessing his son's suffering that spurred Odin into motion- something he regretted greatly now. (Now that I have hurt my son and driven him away once again.)
After he woke from the Odinsleep, he recalled everything Loki had said to him. He considered Loki's warnings not to send a search party after him, but thought it best to do so anyway, for to safety of the Nine Realms. But when Odin saw how... how well Loki had been managing Asgard's recovery after the Dark Elves' attack, he hesitated. And so he sent Fandral to tell Thor instead, and let his eldest son decide the course of action to take.
Naturally, Thor had left Midgard immediately and grouped a search party to look for Loki. Odin sent Hugin and Munin to watch over Thor on his journey, much like he had done when he and Loki were boys. What the king had not been expecting was for Thor to stumble across a small house in a meadow, deep in the forests of Alfheim, where both Loki and Sigyn were living quite contentedly. It was then that Odin began to watch Loki carefully, searching for any signs of the monster who had stood before him in court so recently. All Odin saw was his youngest boy- (Lost, scared and hurting)- trying to grasp onto whatever peace of mind he could find.
Every two days, Hugin and Munin had reported back to Odin to tell him of his sons' welfares. The magical raven had powerful magic though, and they were able to see past the glamour that Loki had over himself, even when Odin could not. They saw him staring at his own scars- both hauntingly old and disturbingly new- during the night, occasionally muttering to himself so quietly that even the ravens could not hear it.
These troubling night were what finally made Odin realise what a fool he had been. There was indeed something more to what happened on Midgard- even to what happened in the Void- and Odin, in his exhaustion as he awaited his next Odinsleep, had overlooked it completely and sentenced his son to an eternity in the dungeons.
(Oh, my boy... I am so sorry...)
It was then that Odin decided that he would no longer allow his pride to get in the way of his family. No one else would be hurt because of his own poor choices.
Asgard could wait for a little while longer.
Odin travelled to Midgard; to his son.
Loki stared blankly at the sky, having given up on sleep many hours ago. He watched as the sky started to lighten and the Aurora and stars faded into a grey haze. (It will be back soon. I see no reason to move. I'll wait here for the stars to appear again and again, day after day after day... At least, until some unfortunate mortal decides to drag me off.) To anyone else, it would have been freezing, but Loki was quite comfortable. His breath didn't even leave white puffs of vapor in front of his face. (Perks of being a Frost Giant, I suppose.) The sun was hidden by the mountains in the distance, and Loki guessed it would be like that for a while longer. Loki preferred it that way.
There was little to no sound, other than that of his own breathing, and even that was quiet. He rather liked it here. He did not want to move. It was the very picture of serenity.
That is, until the first signs of human life came closing in around him, accompanied by the crackle of familiar magic and locking weapons.
He had been a prisoner- both physically and mentally- far too many times for his liking, and he would not allow himself to be locked up again. Loki smirked viciously, a shadow of his older self revealing itself. Something roused deep inside him, screaming like a caged beast to be let loose upon the approaching people- (Enemies). He readied his magic, resolutely deciding that he would not be taken by anyone without a fight.
(Let them come.)
A/N: So, I hope that was okay. The plan between Steve, Thor and Sigyn will be revealed next chapter, and there should be come action. Thank you so much for the reviews, follows and favourites! Oh, and I saw Captain America: The Winter Soldier on Saturday (it's amazingly amazing and words cannot even begin to describe the sheer magnitude of amazingness of that movie) so I just want you to know that this story takes place before the events of the movie. I may or may not include it in the plot, but at the moment it looks possible that this story will steer well clear of Captain America 2.