The goddess stood on her balcony overlooking the great land of Asgard. In all its regal beauty it shown before her. She ruled this land alongside her king and yet she would give it all away just to look into her youngest sons brilliant green eyes. The queen despaired over her Jotun born son. Loki was her baby. No matter what had transpired over the centuries, he was still her little boy. Misguided at times; he was ruled by his emotions, always had been. She loved that about him. When he was younger he was such a thoughtful child. It wasn't until his teenage years that he grew more distant and closed himself off from everyone. His mother was the only one to see the real Loki. After Thor's banishment to Midgard and his perceived betrayal by Odin, did her baby boy slipped into madness…and then he was lost.
She mourned more than anyone at his fall. After his stint on Midgard and hitting rock bottom, did he come back to her. He began showing signs that her little boy was still there wrapped up amongst the fear, hopelessness and betrayal.
Frigga discovered after his many trips to Midgard to make reparations for the mischief and destruction he had caused, that he had found love. Not that he knew it himself, but a mother knows. It was shortly after that he had mentioned Anthony Stark. She had questioned Loki wanting to know more about the mortal who captured the attention of her misguided mischievous son. He talked about the man of iron in abundance, whether it was how he infuriated him or how strongly he felt for him; he was never far from Loki's mind. Frigga rejoiced.
She remembered the day Loki wanted to bring Anthony to Asgard so she could meet him. He knew it was not allowed, the rules be damned. She convinced him that it would be in their best interest if she traveled to Midgard to meet with him in the near future. Loki had begrudgingly agreed, but was enthusiastic none the less. Not that anyone other than his mother could tell.
Frigga had never dreamt that her first encounter with the man of iron would be over her son's 'death'. She saw that his love knew no bounds by the way he clutched to Loki's body and his refusal to let him go. The marking on his wrist hadn't gone unnoticed either. She only wished she had better news for him. They had returned with Loki more than six months ago and he had made no progress.
Heavy footsteps in the corridor signaled the approach of her eldest son. The skies of Asgard had seen more than their fair share of thunder storms since their return. Thor's presences brought her out of her reverie. "Any news?" She looked upon him with hopeful eyes.
He stood beside her looking out over the great landscape. "I'm afraid not, Mother. I fear he will never wake."
The goddess took his hands in hers and gave them a gentle squeeze. "Have faith, my son. Loki will come back to us."
"Time is running out. If he does not recover in a year's time—"Thor met her gaze with sadness.
"He shall Thor, he will." She squeezed his hands a little tighter giving him her best motherly smile.
Suddenly the chamber doors burst open. "My Queen. Forgive the intrusion; the young prince had made an improvement." The elderly healer woman spoke swiftly.
Frigga's smile grew. "See, progress already. Let us go to him."
~break~
Slepnir could see the bustling around the healing room where his father rested from the place he pretended to graze. Slowly, he made his way closer. The Queen sat with him now, Thor standing by her side. Both of them smiled softly. Lady Frigga brushed her fingers through Loki's ink black hair. Watching the rise and fall of his father's chest gave him comfort. A few moments later, Thor departed in greater spirits than he had been in months. Slepnir moved nearer still, peering around the large brush that separated the pasture and the healer's chambers. There was a firm clasp on his back startling him. Stumbling backwards he felt the grip tighten.
"Whoa there nephew; be calm." Thor said gently. Slepnir backed away warily, fearing punishment for venturing too close. "No one will harm you." Thor ran his hand down the horse's mane to comfort and steady him. No one ever spoke of Loki's children. There were considered an abomination to the rest of Asgard, meant to be hidden; forgotten. Slepnir was Odin's war horse and that's how he was looked upon, not as the child of the second prince of Asgard. "You are worried for him, are you not?" He made a nodding gesture. "Come, you will see him." When the steed hesitated, Thor gave him a wide grin. "Come."
The eight legged beast followed his uncle tentatively to the large window that overlooked Loki's bed. Thor patted him on the back. "Stay here." Appearing in the room once more he pushed the bed that held the comatose prince directly under the window. The thunder god stood next to his mother whose hands were folded neatly in front of her. The steed eyed them guardedly. Frigga nodded, a soft smile graced her features.
Slepnir stuck his head through the window and observed his father. Loki was as pale as he ever was, dark sallow circles under his eyes, but instead of looking like death, he appeared to be peaceful. His chest rose and fell in a steady pattern. The man of iron was right. He leaned down nuzzling his muzzle into Loki's ebony locks, nudging him as he normally would. His eyes filled with sadness when there was no response. He whinnied and clicked softly and tugged at his father's hair lightly to no avail.
"Slepnir." Frigga's soft voice snapped his attention to her. Her eyes were wet with unshed tears. No one in all of Asgard, not even Thor, had ever seen the interaction between father and son. The steed shook his head wildly, agitated, he ducked out of the window and took off in a strong gallop.
Thor held his mother's shoulders lightly as she brought her hand to her mouth. A sudden feeling of great injustice overwhelmed her.
~break~
Weeks passed and still Tony was no closer to a solution. He found if he concentrated hard enough he could get the magic to flow down to his fingertips, but after that he was at a loss. He teleconferenced Bruce twice from India to get his input on if introducing it to gamma radiation would help. Yeah, that idea was nixed almost before it was formed. He had Jarvis run diagnostic after diagnostic on the arc reactor. The best the AI could come up with was Loki's magical signature, but no way of controlling or guiding it.
He had visited Loki's children multiple times for sanities sake and to see if they could help shed any light on how magic worked. Slepnir had become more approachable after confirming that Loki was indeed alive, but no further progress had been made.
Jormungandr would listen to Tony's rants and try to help him put the pieces together. However, his knowledge of Midgardian technology was limited being a sea dwelling creature and all. The brood was convinced that Tony had his own brand of magic when he pulled objects out of thin air seemingly holding them in his hand before making them disappear. The introduction of Jarvis took a little explaining but they eventually got it. The boys let the AI run scans on them and filed them for future reference once he returned to the lab. He had hoped to find a common link between Loki's magic and how they were summoned to the grove.
Tony sat in his workshop now analyzing the latest data over a glass of scotch. He noted the energy spikes from his core were greater when he interacted with Loki's children. He was so fixated on the graphs in front of him, he hardly noticed the workshop fill with a dense fog until it impeded his vision.
Tony looked up slightly concerned. "Jarvis, are we on fire?"
"No, Sir. The haze appears to be coming from a visitor."
"A visitor? Jarvis, do we need to have the conversation again as to what qualifies as a security breech?" Tony tried peering through the fog to no avail. Dummy whirled by his side, fire extinguisher in its grip. "Put that down Dummy, false alarm." He mumbled.
"No, Sir. However, being that your guest has the same signature as Mr. Laufeyson, I did not deem her a threat."
Her? Oh shit. Tony was on high alert. "Jarvis, kick the fans up to 45%. Let's get a little air in here."
"As you wish. Ventilation at 45%"
As the smoke cleared a lone figure stood near Tony's prized car collection. He plastered on his best fake smile, already having slipped on a gauntlet just as a precaution. "Hel, and what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"
The goddess of the dead glided over to him like a specter, smoke still churning about her. My God, does she even have feet? Dummy raised the extinguisher as she approached. "Dammit Dummy, put that thing down or I swear I'll turn you into a glorified coffee maker." The robot lowered the extinguisher, whirling sounds of disappointment, trudged off to a far corner in the shop.
Hel wandered around the room touching this and that. "Your time is coming to an end, man of iron. Have you made any progress on bringing my father back to the realm of the living?"
He skirted away from her around one of his work benches while remaining casual. "To be honest, not a lot. Don't suppose you're here to help me with that?" Hel blinked back at him blandly. "No? Didn't think so. So, um, why are you here?"
"I was bored."
"Riiiight. So you decided to pay me a visit. Well it's been real sweetie, but I'm a busy man. Trying to revive the god of mischief and all." Tony quipped. He was even more decided that he didn't want her here, not that there was any question before.
A tinkle of laughter left her throat. "I see why father keeps you. You are quite amusing. Tell me; were you jesting about giving your life in exchange for his?"
Shit, this conversation got serious quick, but he was certain this hadn't been a mere social visit anyway. Look corpse bride, Loki doesn't 'keep me'. I am not a pet. He is my partner, my life, my heart and soul and right now a huge pain in my ass. So yeah, when I said I would die for him, you bet your dead ass I meant it." He came back around the table to stand in front of her, eyes never wavering. "Is that why you're here, to kill me? I got news for you, queen of the damned, his magic is all right here." He tapped his chest. "You kill me, you kill him."
"Not if I can extract his essence from you." She leaned in bringing one bony hand towards the reactor. Green magic flared and began to pulse. Damn, not again. Though this time it was different. He could feel anger and possessiveness spreading throughout him combined with the fierce need to protect. Tony unconsciously brought the gauntlet up and fired at Hel. The goddess disappeared in a puff of smoke only to reappear seconds later. He shot at her again this time with his ungrieved hand. His fingertips glowed and crackled with the god's power. The blast hit Hel full on and held her in place on her knees. He brought the gauntlet up again, the repulse ready to strike.
Hel cackled painfully. "It is good to see you again, Father."
Tony's eyes glistened with jade sparks. "You would do well to know your place child." He stalked towards her, circling with all the grace and elegance of the god of mischief. "What is the meaning of this? You should know I would not be foolish enough to leave him unprotected."
"He said he would die for you. I merely wanted to test his devotion, Father." Hel winced as the increase of power made her sink lower to the ground. "It was just a bit of fun."
"You would be wise to leave the mischief to me. Do not play with this one, Hel." He hissed.
She looked up at Tony, over his fine features. He was pleasing to the eye, fitted for a god. "He loves you deeply. Any man, even a meager mortal, willing to give his life for you is more than worthy. Does he make you—happy?"
Loki/Tony paused, releasing his daughter from his hold, helping her from the ground. "Yes my child, more so in the short time we've been together than I have been in centuries. He accepts me as I am. For what I am and does not try to change me, unlike everyone else throughout my life. He is not frightened of the calamity or the chaos—"He paused, a small sob caught in his throat. "He truly loves me."
Hel embraced him. "Then I hope he can find a way to bring you back to yourself, Father, because it would be such a pity to take you from him." She cupped Tony's cheek and bid her farewells to Loki as the glow faded back into the reactor. A lone tear fell from Tony's eye. It quite possibly could have belonged to the god. Tony had recollection of the entire conversation between the two. "Find him Stark. Bring him home. As much as I ache to be with my father once more, for it has been so long, I do not wish to deny him this. He has finally found love. Make him whole again." And with that, she was gone.
The man of iron sank to the floor and openly wept. The emotions running too strong and far too deep for both of them. Looking up he saw a box of tissues dangling in front of him. Dummy whirled in concern as Tony took the box. He patted him on the head, "Good boy."
AN: eh, I don't know about this one.. what do yall think? Did it suck rocks?