AN: Hey guys, sorry for the delay! Hope you enjoy this next chapter! Thank you for reading and favoriting! :)

Thinking of her father, Jormungandr lounged by the wide window as dark clouds above released droplets of rain that pattered against the glass. The manor Hel had raised up with her powers was dark and gloomy. Gothic, a fitting word for the three-story building. Loki's children and Natla gathered in the room Hel deemed to call her throne room.

Hel rested on her black throne of skulls; it matched the one in Helheim. Natla was stationed behind the throne, acting as a pathetic servant to Hel, Jormungandr thought. Fenrir crouched somewhere in a dark corner, out of sight. Slightly regretting her decision to ally with Hel, Jory glanced down at the crumpled, ancient letter between her fingers.

Hel and Natla spied on the Avengers as they returned to Midgard from Asgard through a mirror that could display anything they requested. There was only one added person to their group, but even that was enough to set Hel's mouth into a deep frown.

Natla noticed her mistress' disposition. "Do not worry, my queen. What is a group of mortals compared to the most powerful gods in existence? The gods to begin Ragnarok."

Hel nodded and slammed the end of her staff against the ground, the mirror's image shattering and then repiecing itself together to show nothing but a reflection. "You're right. We have no reason to fear them. Especially with Thanos sending reinforcements."

Jormungandr's eyebrows raised in question. "Reinforcements? You've said nothing about this before."

"The mortals' group grows in numbers and strength. I will have there be no mistakes. If we are overprepared, good."

"Who are... who are these reinforcements?"

Hel clicked her nails against the armrest of her throne. "He did not mention them by name, only that they are the best soldiers he could send. Very powerful. Why, dear sister?"

Jormungandr hated it when they used terms of endearment between each other. "No reason." She mumbled quickly and gazed back outside.

The throne room was silent until Hel spoke. "Natla, Fenrir, I need to speak to Jormungandr alone for a moment."

Natla bowed and left without another word as Fenrir creeped out of his dark corner, part wolf and part human. He followed after the winged goddess, but gave Jory a swift glimpse before shutting the door.

Hel rose from her seat, her ebony staff clicking against the floor as she paced. "I sense questions and distrust in your mind, Jormungandr. A worrisome combination. Tell me what distresses you so."

"Can we trust Thanos?" Jormungandr pushed herself off the window seat. "What does he even want?"

"The Infinity stones." Hel responded.

"Well, obviously. But why? Maybe we shouldn't even help him."

"Do not concern yourself with Thanos. We have similar goals in mind and I have spoken with him about it thoroughly." Hel advised now standing still.

Jormungandr slipped the envelope into a pocket inside her coat. "And what, pray tell, is your goal? You know, I've always assumed it was to dethrone Odin and overtake Asgard, but perhaps you have an even more sinister idea in mind."

"What makes you think that?" Hel asked innocently, but Jory noticed she didn't deny it. She narrowed her eyes at the serpetine goddess. "What did our 'father' say to you? Please tell me you are not taking his words to heart. He is the god of lies. He would say anything to persuade you, you know this."

Jory paused. "He is... differ-..."

"Is he?" Hel hissed.

"He seemed different." Jory corrected herself. "And I may have no reason to trust him but... I saw no deceit in his eyes. Remember, Hel, I can recognize lies almost as easily as my father can. Now tell me, do you truly plan to release Midgard to my command once you've finished with it?"

"I promised you this, Sister. I have no need of Midgard anyway. What did Loki claim?"

Jory paused as Hel moved closer. "He said you planned to suck Midgard dry of life and add to your own army."

The goddess of death circled Loki's daughter. "Perhaps the reason you sensed no lie was because it is what he believes to be true. It does not mean he is right." Jory perceived a threat among Hel's words, but she held her ground.

"No offense, but I would not put this accusation beyond your abilities. Do not threaten me again, or you will lose an ally."

Hel halted behind her and Jory tensed. She duck as Hel's staff swung over her head. The Midgard Serpent rolled forward to put distance between her and the half-dead goddess. Jory unsheathed two vicious daggers and spun to face her attacker.

The daggers were made of an ancient metal with Norse runes engraved on each side of the blades. The hilts' were wrapped with green leather and a serpent's head rested on the end of the pommel. The ebony blades were wavy and unnaturally sharp, possessing the ability to cut through almost anything.

Jory positioned her body so that her left side faced Hel. Her daggers guarded her chest and abdomen and her petite feet were apart. Green venom dripped from the blades; Jormungandr's poison was deadly and like acid on certain surfaces.

Hel apparated closer and Jory leaned forward, stabbing her right dagger at Hel's midsection and slashing her left dagger at her opponent's face. Hel easily defended against the first attack and barely caught the second knife with the tip of her staff. Jory grunted as the staff's end jammed into her stomach. She sliced at Hel's fingers gripping the staff and backflipped away.

Hel raised her hand to determine the damage and then shot a bolt of fire with the staff at Jory. Jormungandr swiftly dodged the magic, twisting and ducking gracefully as each bolt flowed past her. She lunged at Hel and swiped a dagger across the Queen of Helheim's face. Hel shrieked and crouched, covering her marred cheek. Jory tried to quickly stab her in the back, but Hel shoved her away with magic. When she raised her head, the left side of her face was no longer young or smooth. Her true appearance was revealed from an illusion by Jory's sharp dagger.

Jory had forgotten how repulsive Hel's true image truly was and couldn't help a look of disgust cross her face. Hel smirked and stood. "Problem, dear?" She asked as she used magic to repair her illusion.

"I'd forgotten how ugly you are is all." Jory sneered.

Hel glared. "Well, it worked as a pretty good distraction."

Confused, Jormungandr raised a thin black eyebrow. Her eyes widened as she turned around to face the real Hel just as the fiery red-head inserted a pitch black dagger into Jory's abdomen. She groaned and Hel removed the knife. Holding her injury, Jory collapsed.

Hel held up her dagger, which pulsed with a glowing orange light. "I have my own 'poison', as well. Perhaps not similar to yours, but still deadly results. Once the venom kills you, your soul will be trapped in Helheim. And you will become my slave until the end days of Ragnarok."

Jory gasped in pain and replied through gritted teeth, "Never."

"A little too late for that, dear." Hel chuckled darkly. She cried out as Jormungandr stabbed her thigh.

"My daggers may not be as fatal as yours. But they still hurt like Helheim." With the last of her remaining strength, Jory teleported away.

Fenrir and Natla entered, the wolf god slamming open the large door. He noticed the spotches of blood the tiled floor. "What happened here? Where is Jormungandr?"

Hel wrenched out the blade from her thigh with a moan of anguish. She took a few breaths and responded, "That is unimportant. She is no longer necessary. Now, we must prepare for two new guests."

xOxOx

Thor, Loki, and Lara exited her manor when the Avengers returned from Asgard. Lara could tell by their expressions that things had not gone as they had all hoped. Though she did notice a new face and it broke into a grin when it locked eyes with Loki.

"Loki!" The slender woman squealed and jumped into Loki's arms.

He instinctively caught her, surprised. Loki observed Lara's raised eyebrow and he suddenly dropped the pointed-ear woman. He gently pushed her away and smiled. "It's good to see you too, Ariynn. What are you doing here?"

"I decided to come help." Ariynn beamed. "The Asgardians are fools for not taking this threat more seriously."

"I think that's the only way Odin can handle things." Loki muttered. "Are you the only ally to join?"

Ariynn nodded. "I'm afraid so. But things may change. Now, who is this woman?" She grinned sweetly at Lara.

Lara was unsure how to feel towards her. She had never quite met a woman like her. A war was on the horizon and yet she seemed friendly, calm, and extremely nice.

"Ariynn, this is Lara, my-..." Loki froze when he realized what he said. "My partner. I mean- my, uh, work partner."

Lara kept herself from laughing. "Smooth." She whispered to Loki. "It's nice to meet you."

"And Lara, this is Ariynn, a long-time friend. She is a Light Elf from Alfheim."

"Oh, are we still friends? I couldn't tell from how long it's been since you've spoken to me." Ariynn joked, but smiled brightly up at him. "It is a pleasure to meet you as well." She reached forward and shook Lara's hand, though again it was the wrong one. Lara hid her chuckle.

"So you two were very close once?" Lara asked curiously after the awkward hand-shake.

"A couple of hundred years ago." Ariynn replied absent mindedly as she gazed at Lara's manor. "Is this your home? I'd love a tour." She hooked her arm with Lara's and dragged her towards the fancy building.

Loki watched after them, the ends of his lips twitching up, as Tony slipped quietly beside him. "You totally used to pork with her, didn't you?"

The Jotunn stared at him strangely. "'Pork'? Is that not some type of meat?"

"Oh, right. Remind me to get you an Urban Dictionary at some point." Tony remarked. "Anyway, what I meant was: You two used to 'lay' together, right?"

Loki started and his eyes widened. "No! Of course not... Well..."

"Ha. Knew it. It was completely obvious anyway."

"How in Helheim was it-..."

"Oh, please! She was giving you those big ol', dreamy doe eyes. She totally was, and is, interesed in you."

The god scoffed. "You are partially correct, but I can promise you she holds no continue fancy for me. That ended a long time ago... Besides, she is already wed."

"Ooooh, so that's what happened."

"What do you mean?" Loki questioned.

Tony crossed his arms. "Well, let me guess. You two were... star-crossed lovers!" He spoke dramatically. "You two were passionately in love until she was signed off into an unwanted, arranged marriage."

Loki glared at the comedic mortal. "Do I look like someone whose been 'passionately in love' before?"

"...Alright, you have a point there. But I'm generally correct, aren't I?" Tony smirked.

"Yes. There was an arranged marriage." Loki grudgingly agreed. "And we saw very little of each other after that."

"Were you two in love?"

"As if I'd reveal that to you."

"Hey!" Tony interrupted. "We're friends now. Friends tell other friends about their feelings."

Loki gave him a doubtful look. "If I would not speak of this to Thor back when we were brothers, why would I tell a simple friend about it?"

Tony shrugged. "There's definitely some things you don't talk about with family. Like chicks you lay with."

Fury approached before Loki could respond. "Report."

Loki rubbed the back of his neck. "Would you like the good or the bad news first?"

"There is good news?" Fury asked without any emotion.

"I suppose you could call it that. One of Lara's old... 'friends' agreed to join. Though I have the feeling she's just about as honorable and trustworthy as I am." Loki joked.

"She? You didn't tell me we had a new chick! Where is she?"

"Uh, inside."

Tony jogged to join up with the other Avengers who were entering Lara's home. Fury shook his head, but did not comment. "Bad news?"

"My two children, Fenrir and Jormungandr, have joined with Hel." Loki began walking beside Fury.

"Does that mean Earth's screwed?"

"Possibly. But you humans seem to do well at being the underdog. You managed to come out on top against me."

"That may be, but we have never faced anything quite like this. Pretty much the worse group of gods one could possibly think of. Do you have a battle plan?"

Loki thought for a moment, knowing Fury would not agree with his assessment. "Thor must not be part of it is all I know."

Fury stopped in his tracks. "What?" The tone in his voice demanded an explanation.

"Ragnarok is begun by Jormungandr and Thor killing each other. This is already a battle of the gods, let's do our best to keep it from being the last. I assent it's a dangerous and idiotic move, but it may be the only thing that saves the entire universe."

Sighing deeply, Fury rubbed his jaw. "And how are you going to convince Thor to follow this?"

"Threaten his beloved Jane, perhaps? If he truly wishes to help, then he needs to remain as far away from the fight as possible. I will speak to him about it." Loki strode silently and then chuckled to himself.

"What's so funny?"

"Only a couple months ago we were sworn enemies, and here I am reporting to you. Not exactly where I pictured myself."

xOxOx

"Wow, never thought I'd get to meet Mr. Stark."

"Please, call me To-... Actually, Mr. Stark has a nice ring to it when it's coming from your lips." Tony winked at the platinum blonde.

"Whatever you say, Mr. Stark." Amanda smirked.

Loki stood next to Lara as she watched Amanda disgustedly. Though truthfully it was none of her business, so she turned to Loki. "Ariynn is very friendly."

The pale god smiled. "Yes, she is."

"...especially to you." Lara added quietly.

He avoided eye contact with her. "Well, she is married..."

Lara chuckled. "Loki, relax. I'm not... scolding you or anything... Just curious."

"That's what all women say before they attack you in a jealousy rage." Loki jested. "Not like you have any reason to be jealous though." His green eyes glanced down at her lucious curves.

"I'm up here, darling."

Loki shifted as she waited patiently for him to reveal more of his past. He let out a sigh. "There's not much to tell really. We were friends as teenagers, both impressive users of magic. Then we realized perhaps we liked each other more than just friends... But she was already promised to another and so our affections were irrelevant. We lost contact with each other when she returned to Alfheim to her fiancé."

"Did she love you?" Lara leaned against him.

"She never said so." Loki observed Ariynn as she flitted from one ancient aritfact to another, studying each intensely. "She's always found Midgard interesting..."

"Did you love her?"

"I didn't say so either. I suppose we were doomed from the start, hmm?"

Lara gave up, perceiving that he would continue to avoid the question. They stood there in silence, her wondering about Ariynn and him keenly watching Amanda. Natasha approached them, breaking their reveries.

"Loki," The red-head began, astonishing Loki. "Could I speak to you? ...Privately?"

"What is the conversation in regard to?" He raised an eyebrow questioningly.

Natasha's gaze moved from Loki and fell on Clint. She turned back to the god and whispered, "I want to know if you can fix him."

" 'Fix him' ?" Loki smirked. "He looks fully functional to me."

The Black Widow glared. "You did something to him and he's no longer the same man he was. I-..."

"I did something to him? I had little control over my own thoughts as he was conformed to follow my every command by the Tesseract. The Tesseract is the Mind Gem. It is used to manipulate others and they have no way to fight against it." Loki hissed. He relaxed after a moment. "There is nothing to be 'fixed', Natasha. Thanos was able to twist my feelings and thoughts, but not those of Clint's. This is his own problem."

"But he said he felt like his rage was caused by the Tesseract."

"Did you not notice the energy surrounding my scepter? It has the ability to create anger where there is none. The scepter was designed from the Tesseract. That is the most likely cause for Barton's predicament. Other than his guilt."

Natasha crossed her arms. "Guilt?"

"I suppose he hasn't told you everything about his time with me..."

"What did you do to him?" Romanoff growled.

"He was forced to perform a few duties that he did not find agreeable." Loki replied quietly before he was smacked hard across the face.

The Black Widow huffed. "I can't believe I was considering thinking of you as a friend."

Loki rubbed his now blushing cheek. "I've lost count of how many times I've been slapped in my life."

"You kind of deserved it." Loki's brow furrowed at Lara. She shrugged. "Natasha told me what you called her when she was interrogating you. You have a dirty mouth."

Before Loki could respond, a knock reverberated through the entrance door. Everyone froze, all questioning who it could be in their minds. Lara checked the security cameras in the tech room and they revealed there was a lone woman standing in front of the door. Lara grabbed a pistol as she moved to open the door.

The wooden door swung open; a swaying Jory stood upon the doorstep. She held her black wool coat tightly around her slender form. Her skin seemed paler than usual and her venom green eyes had trouble focusing. "Father?"

"Jory?" Loki asked, stunned and worried. "What are you doing here?"

She parted each flap of her coat to expose the blood staining her white dress. Loki lunged forward with his arms apart as Jormungandr toppled to the floor, her legs giving way. She groaned in pain and he desperately tried to apply pressure to her wound. "Jory, darling, what happened?" Loki couldn't cover the urgency in his voice.

"Hel... She lied." Jormungandr said with effort. "You were right."

Loki cursed under his breath as he checked her wound. It looked terrible, Lara thought while crouching next to him and flinched when her eyes focused on the injury. "If she's a god, why isn't it healing?"

"It was made by Hel's blade. There's no telling what concotion she coated the blade with. Lara, she needs help." His eyes pleaded to her.

Lara glimpsed up at Fury to see his reaction. Barton stepped forward. "How do we know this isn't a trick? Hel could be using this as a distraction or maybe to get someone behind enemy lines. We can't let her stay here."

"This is no illusion! And would Hel stab her best chance at winning this war?" Loki persuaded, trying to hide his true emotions away.

"You could be lying-..." Barton went on before being interupted by the tomb raider.

"Enough!" Lara stood and gazed at all the Avengers as if daring them to argue with her. "My home, my rules. Loki, take her to your room. I'll get a first-aid kit."

"Are you crazy?" Fury demanded, not afraid of Ms. Croft.

"If we help her and she lives, we've just gained our best chance at winning this war. And if you have a problem with it, you and your men are welcomed to leave." Not backing down, Lara glared directly into Fury's eye. She shoved past him to locate medical supplies and Ariynn followed Loki up the staircase.

xOxOx

"We fought after I realized the truth. And, well, you see how that turned out." Jory gestured to her now bandaged wound.

They had managed to slow the bleeding, but the poison still coursed through her veins. Loki performed a few spells, hoping to determine what the poison was and how to cure it, but all proved futile. Ariynn went to Lara's library to search through her mass of books to see if any of them mentioned a special toxin created by the undead goddess.

"Did she mention what the infection would cause?" Loki perched in a chair next to the bed Jory lay in.

"Once I'm dead, my soul will be trapped in Niflheim and I will be enslaved to Hel until the end days of Ragnarok. Pretty cheerful, isn't she?"

"We'll find away to heal this. I swear it." Loki gripped her delicate hand in his own. "Any ideas, Lara?"

Lara leaned against the bedpost, scrutinizing every option she could think of. "When I was bandaging the wound, I noticed... well, it seemed as if the injury was... decaying."

Loki's expression was one of horror. " 'Decaying' ?"

"Yes, and quickly. Chunks... were already falling off." A vision of Lara's mother in Helheim came to mind and Lara shuddered unconciously.

"Oh, that's... wonderful." Jory grunted as a wave of pain passed through her. "How long do I have?"

"I'm no doctor. I wouldn't be the best per-..."

"How much time do you surmise I have left?"

Lara bit her lip and crossed her arms. "Perhaps till morning."

Loki stood and grabbed Lara's shoulders urgently. "There must be something. Surely there is fabled item that could heal this?"

She pulled away from Loki. "Of course there is. There are thousands, but it's not like I can research and locate it all in one night! I'm sorry, Loki, but there is no Midgardian way we can save her. She is going to require magic."

"Father, it's alright. I'll be alright." Jory comforted.

Recognizing the lie, Loki smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to react that way."

"Bring your commander in here. I have some things I should impart to you before... I get worse." Jory requested, attempting to sit up.

Loki gently pulled her up and repositioned her pillows. Lara left for Fury and brought back the one-eyed man and Tony.

"First, how do I know this information is viable?" Fury stood at the end of the bed.

"I suppose you'll just have to determine that for yourself." Jory quipped with a small smile. "Now, are you going to listen?"

Fury didn't appreciate being spoken to like that, but remained silent and gave a firm nod.

"Hel is adding to her numbers. Thanos is sending reinforcements. She did not mention who or what they are, but they are two of his bests. And I would inform you of her location, but she has most likely moved by now."

"She gave no names or descriptions to Thanos' warriors?" Loki asked, a hint of uneasiness to his voice.

"No, I'm afraid not." Jory replied apologetically.

"You have any ideas?" Fury faced Loki.

"Yes... but I will speak more of it later. Did she mention when she planned to stage her attack?" Loki continued.

Jormungandr shook her head. "She may be waiting until Thanos' lackeys get here. But I know it will be somewhere overpopulated. Like before."

"Do you know how Hel plans to bring her army of dead here?" Lara piped up, an idea blooming in her mind.

"No, but I assume she will use a portal. Like the network travel system you ran into in Helheim. Those portals can also teleport to other realms if you use them correctly."

"But which one? The one in Bolivia is destroyed, as well as the one in Nepal and the Arctic Sea. Are there others?"

Jory thought for a moment. "She didn't give the exact location, but I remember her commenting on it being 'close to home'. That's all I'm afraid." She groaned and held her bandaged wound.

Loki laid a hand on her shoulder. "She needs rest, please."

Lara gently removed the bandages to check the festering wound as Fury left the bedroom. She hissed at the sight of the bloody gap. It was much worse and the skin around it was completely blackened. She replaced the old with new strips of gauze. Lara caught Loki's eyes and saw nothing but utter hopelessness in them. She squeezed his hand. "I'm going to go check on Ariynn. Perhaps she's found something." She placed a kiss on Loki's cheek and exited the room.

Tony sat down on the other side of the bed. "So are your sibilings as hot as you are? And where did you get your looks 'cause surely it's not your father."

The Midgard Serpent laughed softly while Loki rolled his eyes. "My sister is half-dead. How attractive do you think she is? Loki is technically my only parent, unless you think I got my good looks from a snake."

Iron Man smirked. "I like her."

Loki scoffed. "You enjoy anything that has breasts. Now stop flirting with my daughter."

"Oh, you are one of those over-protective dads who threaten any dudes that check out their daug-..." Loki faked a jerk as if he intended to tackle Tony. Tony immediately hopped up. "I guess I'll be going now, nice to meet you." He shouted quickly as he raced out through the door.

Jory chuckled again. "You didn't have to scare him off, Father. I liked him."

"That's exactly why I had to scare him away." Loki smirked. He lounged in the chair again after a moments silence.

"I certainly didn't imagine our next reunion going like this." Jory commented, trying to hide her pain. "I suppose I should've listened to you."

Loki laughed sadly, hiding tears. "You had no reason to obey me. Not after all I've done."

She grabbed his hand. "I read the letter. It took me a long time to do it. I didn't want to, out of bitterness. But I'm glad I did. And I want you to know before I... I want you to know I forgive you."

Loki let out a shaky breath and used his other hand to wipe the wetness off his cheek. "How? How can you?"

"You're the only person I have left, Papa." Jory smiled at him with shining eyes. "I can tell... By the look in your eyes that you'd do anything to go back and change the choice you made."

"A day has never gone by when I don't regret my decision. Everything fell apart for me after that. I lost you and I found out about my true parentage, and mistake after another mistake." Loki paused. "Perhaps I will join you in Helheim soon and I will get a second chance."

"I hope you don't. You care for the demigod, yes?"

The god of mischief pondered for a moment. "Yes, I do. I believe I could be happy with her."

"Then I think you should try." Jory gasped in anguish and coughed violently into her hand. Blood mixed with pitch black liquid as thick as tar coated her hand.

Loki's eyes widened. "No, no, darling. Just hold on."

"Papa, promise me something, please." Her bright greens eyes went in and out of focus.

"Anything, darling." Loki choked on the last word and he leaned towards her.

"I know you aren't best buddies with the realm of Midgard or anything... But once I'm gone, it will no longer have a protector."

"Thor intends to guard it, my love. He has grown fond of it as you have." Loki smoothed back Jory's ebony hair.

"How can Thor watch it when he protects all of the nine realms? Just whenever he's busy, make sure the Midgardians don't kill each other?" Jory asked weakly.

"I w-will do my best. Though I warn you: I'm no hero."

"You are a better man than you think you are." She gently touched her father's face with her fingertips. "I forgot to bring it to you, but I read that last book like a thousand times."

"At the time I gave it to you, that book was my favorite. I've forgotten a lot of it now." Loki reminisced wistfully.

"It's in my underwater home. You should reread it after... well, after everything's over." Jory paused, breathing heavily. "Did you mean it? What you said about the throne? Only wanting it so you could bring us home."

Loki avoided her eyes when he replied. "At first. At first that was the only reason. But envy and jealousy took deep roots inside of me... I do love you and I will do whatever it takes to save Midgard from Hel and Thanos."

"And I love you. I just wish we could have had more time together."

Jory took a shuddering breath, and knowing her time was close, she uttered one last request. "Hold me." Loki quickly complied, no longer bothering with the tears dripping from his eyes.

xOxOx

Lara had searched painstakingly along with Ariynn, but their efforts proved worthless. Anything that may have helped, Lara doubted its existence and plus she'd have no way to obtain it in time. Hel's magic was ruthless and powerful, Ariynn commented that she did not think even Odin himself could cure Jormungandr. They had agreed together that there was nothing left to do and fretted over how to speak to Loki of this. They decided Lara should be the one to break the news and now she walked down the hallway towards Loki's room.

Before she reached the door, Loki exited. He looked numb and voided of emotion. They both stood there, watching each other without saying anything. Lara asked the question she already knew the answer to with her eyes.

Loki nodded slowly. "She is gone."

As he dropped to his knees, Lara crouched and held his shaking form tightly. She muttered sincere apologies and gently combed his hair with her fingers. They remained in that position together for several minutes, Lara murmuring quietly and Loki weeping against her shoulder. He finally broke away from her and leaned his back against the wall. Lara joined him. Knowing how much in pain he was, Lara waited for him to speak.

"Promise me, Lara," Loki began, swallowing hard. "If we have the chance, you will allow me to execute revenge on Hel."

Lara stared at him hesitantly. "Loki, you know I cannot-..."

"Please, Lara." Loki stopped her and gazed into her eyes. "You would request the same if you were in my position."

"And someone would deny me the same as I am doing to you. I cannot promise it. The entire battle should not hinge on your hunger for revenge. Hel will be punished, perhaps not by your hand, but she will be dealt with. I am sorry, Loki, but I will not allow you to risk your life just for her."

"What left do I have to live for?" Loki spat, his grief causing him to forget his promises to Jormungandr.

"I know Jory would want you to continue." Lara whispered. "And I'm here."

The Jotun sighed. "You are correct. I'm sorry, I'm just..."

"You have no reason to apologize, Loki." Lara assured him. They reclined that way for a moment before she continued. "But I do have a plan. If Jormungandr's information was correct, then we may be able to stop Hel's army of dead before they even come to Midgard. Are you still with us?"

"I promised Jory that I would not allow Hel and Thanos to capture Midgard." He made a sad smile. "I've broken every promise I swore to her. I can't fail her again. I cannot fail her one last time. I will still fight. What do you have in mind?"

xOxOx

"Go ahead, Lara. Tell us your thoughts."

The Avengers gathered in the tech room, some choosing to sit while others stood. Fury gestured for Lara to begin and she stood ahead of them. She prepared a wide screen with a remote to display a few pictures.

"First of all, we need to figure out which portal Hel plans to use and locate it. These portals are found all over the word and among different cultures." Lara pressed a button and the stone dais she found in Bolivia appeared. "This one is located in Tiwanaku, Bolivia." She flipped to the next picture. "This one in Nepal. And this one under the Arctic Sea. I'm sure there are many more, but I have not come upon them yet. They are a network travel system in a way. The one in Nepal would teleport someone to the one in the Arctic Sea and vice versa. And according to... Jormungandr, certain ones can transport you to other realms."

"Why can't we use one of the portals you've already discovered?" Natasha asked, confused.

"They have been destroyed. If you don't use them when activated, they self-destruct. You can still teleport to them, but not from them. They would be of no use to Hel. Unless the one under the Arctic Sea still works." Lara looked to D.G.

D.G. crossed her arms. "Last time I checked, the entire place was covered in Eitr. So, unless you'd like to go swimming..."

"Eitr?" Thor seemed suprised and slightly anxious.

"Uh, yeah, what is that?" Tony raised an eyebrow, not bothering trying to and repeat the strange word.

"To the Norse, the Eitr is a liquid from which all life began, the first life was conceived from it. But it's supposed to be very poisonous and Jormungandr could produce it as venom. The times I ran into it, it seemed to bring long dead Vikings back to life as thralls. All in all, do not swim in it."

"Crap. I bet you look good in a bikini." Tony added.

"Enough, Stark." Fury snapped. "So what do we do?"

"The only hint Jormungandr was able to give me about the portal's location was: 'it's close to home'. Hel was the one who said it." Lara answered.

"Oh, good. I'm glad it's not vague. Usually it is, but not this time. We'll find that in a jiffy." Tony rolled his eyes.

"You wanna quit it and start acting serious?" Steve demanded.

"Not really. I mean, serious is so boring. It looks good on some people, like Director Pirate or you. But as I said before, not really my style." The two men were close enough now that their noses were only centimeters apart.

"Enough!" Lara screamed. The lights flickered around them and lightning zapped from her gauntlets. "We do not have time for this! Now straighten up or I'll cast you into a vat of Eitr myself."

They immediately backed away from each other and relaxed. Lara let out a breath. "Thank you. Loki, you said you had an idea about the two soldiers Thanos is sending?"

"By now, I'm sure you all now what really happened between Thanos and me. He tortured me and I was forced to oblige to his commands. With the Mind Gem, the Tesseract, he gain control of me and sicced me to Midgard. I am not the only one he has done that to and I'm sure I am not the last." Having difficulty revealing his personal past, Loki paused. "He referred to us as his... 'children', and we in turn called him 'Father'. He had several assassins at the time, but I only spoke with two. Gamora and Nebula. Both had undergone similar treatment as I had and both finished with the same results. We were his 'perfect' little assassins, doing his bidding with no questions asked. I believe he intends to send them."

Everyone remained silent for a moment, disgusted by Thanos and unused to Loki revealing so much. Thor had despair in his blue eyes for his younger brother. Steve finally asked, "Are they beatable?"

"They are not gods, but more powerful than humans. Gamora is his best assassin and his favorite 'daughter'. I've seen her in battle before and I felt bad for her opponents. I've never witnessed anyone with skill better than hers. Thanos enhanced her cybernetically; she has heightened agility, faster healing, and inhuman strength. Nebula is not much different. Thanos has altered her as well; she is part mechanics and human. She is difficult to kill because of this as most of her organs and bones have been replaced with machinery." Loki thought for a moment. "Lara, do you have a technical machine that allows you to see anything that comes from space?"

"No, but there are machines with that capability. Why?"

Loki turned to Fury. "What about S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"We are connected to NASA, but we don't own satellites ourselves."

Tony pushed by Lara and sat at one of the computer screens, sticking a flash drive into the desktop. "Hey, JARVIS, could you do me a favor?"

"Why ask when you already know the answer, sir?"

"Excuse me for being polite. I need you to hack into some satellites for us..." Tony glanced at Fury to gauge his reaction.

Fury groaned. "Just don't start any wars."

"Don't worry, sir. I will be most discreet." JARVIS promised.

"Can you give us an idea of what to look out for, Loki?"

"Anything large enough that can carry two people. For discretion, they will most likely crash land in a small ship that will be designed only to take them to their destination. Alert me immediately if you notice anything." Loki requested.

Clint crossed his arms. "Now what do we do?"

"We wait." Lara responded, staring at the pictures of the ancient portals.

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