Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Marvel Universe, The Amazing Stan Lee and Joss Whedon, or anyone else involved with the movies or comics. I am not making any profits from this writing, it is all for the purposes of fun and creative writing.

Author's note: Again, I am so sorry if anyone seems OOC, its just the way my mind was working as I wrote.

Chapter 6

The silence that had fallen over Tony Starks living room was suddenly shattered by a loud growl.

" Shit!" Fury swore as he and everyone else shot too their feet and backed away as Bruce finally lost whatever tenuous control he had left over his counterpart.

Thor stood his ground, his eyes still hard and determined as he and the others watched Banner's mild-mannered form suddenly expand and shift into the green rage monster also known as The Hulk.

" GRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAR!" Hulk screamed as he emerged, Banner's clothing ripping and falling from him in shreds like tissue paper, so that only the ripped and stretched slacks remained.

Hulk looked around the room, his deep-set green eyes darting about the room while his powerful muscles and sinews ripping. His breath came in deep, short bursts and he clenched and unclenched his massive green fists.

Then his eyes fell on Thor and stayed on the grieving norse god.

" Hulk, c'mon, just take it easy!" Steve said with his hands out in a placating gesture, which naturally went ignored. The other Avengers all watched with bated breath and raw nerves as Hulk and Thor seemed to enter into a stare off.

" Yeah Hulk, there's no reason to be pissed off at Thor right now." Clint added while Natasha nodded wordlessly in agreement in an effort to calm the rage monster. A few feet away from the two assassins, Fury had his hand in his pocket, ready to pull out his phone and call in the big guns should things escalate further, but he staved off and chose to watch what would happen/

" Please calm yourself friend Banner, I know what I showed you just now was truly shocking and horrifying, but you need to keep yourself from destroying the Man of Iron's living quarters." Thor said firmly, with Mjolnir at the ready.

Tony remained oddly quiet, probably still to stunned by everything to articulate even the barest comment. Then with a low rumble and gritted teeth, the Hulk took a step forward. It was not forgotten how destructive Hulk vs. Thor had been on the helicarrier not so long ago, and how the green behemoth was partial to socking Thor into the next building if it so pleased him. But there was something different in the way Hulk was now moving towards the norse god. He was walking, not barreling forward in blind rage. Sure, rage was written across every green tinged line of the Hulk's face, but there seemed to be something underlying the rage, something more quiet. The Hulk's foot falls were loud against the floor of Tony's penthouse, and everyone was grateful that Tony had installed heavy-load bearing floors during the renovation of the tower.

" Shall I utilized the Hulk neutralization system?" Came JARVIS' voice from above.

" No Jarvis, I don't think we'll need it, but stay alert." Steve answered when Tony remained silent.

With a low growl the Hulk can to stand before Thor, a Hulk arm's length separating them. The two continued to gaze at each other in a charged silence, and then it was the Hulk that spoke and broke the stalemate.

" Put down hammer." Hulk all but ordered, his gaze holding no room for argument.

" What, why?" Thor asked, completely taken aback much like everyone else.

" Put down, Hulk not gonna smash Thor." Hulk replied.

Thor blinked, but then decided to take a leap of faith. Not taking his eyes off of his giant green comrade in arms, Thor slowly bent his knees and leaned over, easing Mjolnir down onto the penthouse floor. There was a light reverberation through the whole room when Mjolnir made contact with the floor. When Thor straightened back up, he let out a startled gasp as he was promptly yanked forward. Thor let out a small grunt as he lightly impacted with a muscular chest that could very well have been made of steel, but as he felt two large green arms wrap firmly around him with surprisingly gentle strength, Thor fell silent in shock as he gawked up at Hulk's quiet and sad looking face that was mere inches from his own with wide blue eyes.

Around him the others were just as speechless as they beheld something they never in even their most wildest dreams thought they would ever see.

The Hulk wrapping Thor in a massive bear-hug, his huge form nearly swallowing up the norse god as he spoke.

" Hulk saw what happened, Hulk understand." Hulk began as he looked down at Thor's stunned countenance sadly, one of his giant hands actually stroking Thor's back over his black cape as he continued in his fractured speech.

" Hulk understand now, Puny God not really Thor's brother, Hulk smash alien into floor that day, not real brother. Real brother not bad guy, real brother good guy. Aliens bad, took brother away from Thor. Hulk know Thor loves brother a lot. Hulk wish he could bring brother back, make Thor happy again. Thor Hulk's friend. Friend sad, so Hulk sad too. Hulk sorry, Hulk very sorry."

The silence that followed these rumbled out words of condolence was so encompassing, one could probably hear a pin drop on one side of the room from the other. But then this silence was shattered by a pained noise that froze every other heart in the room. It didn't take much for the Avengers to realize that this broken sound came from Thor. They all watched on as Thor's whole form seemed to cave in on itself, from his face all the way to his knees. With tears gushing from his now tightly shut eyes, Thor blindly reached up and wrapped his arms tightly around the Hulk as he fully collapsed into the green giant's embrace with a gut-wrenching sob.

Thor wept without shame into the Hulk's shoulder, his whole body trembling as his grief poured out of him once more. Hulk just held Thor, the usually uncontrollable creature standing a calm and quiet pillar of sad strength for his shattered friend. Around the room, the rest of the Avengers and Nick Fury stood at a loss for words.

" Damn it." Tony whispered to himself as he felt his own brown eyes burn with the sting of salt. He looked from Thor and Hulk to the rest of the room and saw that no one was any better off than he was. Steve had tears silently running down his face, looking lost and devastated. Clint was trying desperately to keep his jaw from trembling, his arms folded tightly around himself while tears gathered in his eyes. Beside him, Natasha had one steadying hand on Clint's shoulder while she watched on, her eyes shining too brightly. And finally, standing a few feet away from Natasha, Tony looked just in time to see the Director of SHEILD wipe something from the corner of his one eye and then cross his arms over his chest, his jaw clenched and his expression held carefully neutral as he watched on.

No one knew for how many minutes, or maybe even how many hours they all just stood there and watched as a giant green rage monster comforted a totally shattered Norse god, but by the time anyone moved, the whole of the sunny skies over New York had suddenly become dull and gray with ominous clouds. The bright morning has shifted into a dreary day.

Some hours later...

" I thank you for your kindness friend Banner." Thor said quietly from where he sat on Tony's sofa once more. Beside him Bruce Banner, now calm and no longer the Hulk, gave Thor a sad and tired smile as he shook his head.

" Don't mention it, seeing everything just made the other guy really upset and he wanted to let you know that he understood too, not just us." Banner explained.

" What's gonna happen now?" Clint asked, his eyes a little puffy and red as he sat across from Thor.

To this Thor just gave a dejected shrug as he spoke.

" I do not rightly know. Mother has almost gone mad in her grief, she has not slept since the day of the revelation, nor taken much sustenance freely. Father and I have both had to coax her into eating the barest mouthful. Father is weary in his grief too, though he tries not to show it. He to be strong, but in the days since I have seen him go to Loki's room and simply stand there, staring at..." Thor trailed off as a pained look crossed his face before he took a deep breath and continued.

" Staring at the long dried stains that mar the floor. He stays there for hours in silence until either I or mother have to come in and pull him away. I am surprised that my father did not fall into the Odin-sleep immediately after we found out about what happened to Loki."

With a small sniff, Thor shook his head and rubbed at his irritated and tired eyes before he spoke further.

" All of Asgard grieves, they mourn my brother as their true prince, no doubt ashamed of themselves for ever thinking him capable of the crimes for which he stood accused, especially after having witnessed the brutal fashion in which he was robbed of his life. I share this shame, for I too believed that it was my brother who caused so much destruction and spilled so much innocent blood. I will bear this shame for the rest of my days."

Thor fell silent after that, getting lost in his own thoughts while his hand went to the pendant around his neck, his fingers reverently grazing over its contours. The motion did not go unnoticed by the others who sat in a semi-circle around the god. It was Steve who voiced what everyone was thinking.

" Thor, was that what was is that silver box Loki had?" He asked softly.

The question had Thor look down for a moment before he looked back up and meet the expectant gazes of his friends before he spoke.

" Aye, this is what was in the box. Loki crafted it with his own hands, he was going to present it to me after I was crowned king. I found it after I went to Loki's room and the glamor cloaking its true state was lifted. That room left in shambles, dried blood on its floor, and this pendant are all that remain of my brother." Thor said sadly.

Another long moment of silence passed before Tony finally spoke.

" So then he never caused your coronation to go haywire." He said knowingly.

" No, no I believe the three Jotuns who disrupted my coronation were let into my father's vault by Menkos through his gauntlet, he had already blinded the all-seeing Heimdall to his machinations, so there was really nothing stopping him from reigning down as much chaos as he pleased." Thor said, an edge of bitterness to his voice.

The others nodded their heads somberly, but looked up at the sound of approaching feet. Nick Fury came back into the room, tucking his phone into his jacket before he spoke.

" I have informed my superiors as to the situation, they are naturally skeptical but are willing to listen. If you can handle it, would you be willing to show the council what you showed us?" Fury asked in all seriousness.

" It matters not how many times I relive the nightmare through the stone, it plays out within my mind every second of every day. I will show your council, I will convince them and all of Midgard if I must show it to every person one by one to do it." Thor said, his eyes hard as steel and holding no room for doubt.

" Alright, I'll let the council know. Expect a call from me tomorrow." Fury said with a nod, and then turned to leave but stopped and turned back around.

" For what it's worth, I am sorry for your loss."

Thor met the Director's one-eyed gaze and found there to genuine remorse beneath the steely resolve. Swallowing lightly, Thor spoke.

" Thank you for your words Director, you were all just as badly deceived as I was." He said quietly.

With a final nod, Fury turned sharply on his heels and headed for the elevator, his long black trench-coat billowing out behind him before he disappeared behind the silver doors of the lift.

" Would you like anything to eat?" Steve asked quietly.

" No friend Steve, I find that my appetite has long since evaporated these last few days, but I thank you for your kindness." Thor said, sending a sad but grateful look Steve's way.

" Well, when it does come back just know there will be plenty of boxes of pop-tarts waiting for you." Tony said, for once not joking or sarcastic, sincere in his effort to cheer Thor up even for a moment by mentioning the gods favorite Midgardian treat.

Tony felt a small thrill of triumph when Thor's face turned up into a fleeting, pale shadow of his usual grin, but it was gone to soon for any of their liking.

" Is there anything else we can do?" Natasha asked, having regained her composure.

Thor was about to answer in the negative before he gave a deep sigh and nodded his head as he.

" Yes my lady, there is one thing."

Several hours later when it was mid-afternoon over the city, there was a a large white helicopter roaring loudly as it came in from the heavens and landed on the helicopter pad that stood at the very top of the Avenger's tower. Standing on the pad were all of the Avengers, Thor at their center with his mournful black cape billowing in the air the copter's propellors whirled about. As the engine of the aircraft died down and the propellers slowed almost to a stop, the side door slid open so that the passengers it held within could disembark.

Jane Foster all but shot out of the copter, Dr. Erik Selvig and Darcy Lewis following close behind. The moment the petite brunette caught sight of Thor her eyes widened and a smile began to form, until she saw his black garb and pale face.

" Thor." Jane whispered before she took off running, closing the distance between herself and the god.

The other Avengers were respectfully silent where they stood, watching on as Thor was all but tackled by the woman he cared so deeply for. The difference in stature between these two would have had comical had the circumstances not been so dark. Jane and Thor embraced each other for several long moments before they drew away and Jane spoke, gazing up at Thor with concern shining in her bright brown eyes.

" Thor what is it?" She asked. Behind her an equally confused Dr. Selvig and Darcy stared expectantly at Thor.

" Jane, Dr. Selvig, Lady Darcy, I asked that you be brought here for something most terrible has transpired. But my words would not be adequate explanation, so please let us go inside friend Stark's home." Thor said.

Darcy would have made a humorous quip, but one look at Thor had her staying silent as she and Erik followed after the big blond god and Jane. The other Avengers followed after the four of them, not at all looking forward to what was about to go down.

" I get the feeling I'll need to break out the extra strong stuff." Tony said ominously as they all made their way back to his penthouse living room.

A couple of hours later...

Tony winced as he watched Dr. Erik Selvig violently empty the contents of his stomach into a timely provided waste bin, courtesy of one Natasha Romanov no less. While Selvig threw up, Darcy was fast chugging down a full glass of Tony's best scotch from where she still sat on his sofa, having demanded it moments after the mist from the memory stone had faded, her hands trembling as they held the glass to her lips. Tony was naturally impressed, but wisely chose not to voice any of his thoughts. He always liked someone who could handle a stiff drink. As for Jane, she was clinging to Thor, all but dangling clear off the ground as she hugged him. She had the norse god in a vice-grip, tears of distress streaming down her crumpled face as she whispered "Sorry" over and over again to Thor. Thor to was crying once more, but he was not weeping with wild abandon as he had done earlier within the Hulk's embrace.

Some while later as the sun began to sink over the city of New York, and the dark clouds around the tower had dissipated somewhat, Selvig sat at Tony's dinner table nursing a scotch of his own, looking just about wrecked as he spoke.

" All this time it was a lie, I have been hating someone for all this time who never hurt me, or anyone else in this realm." He said softly.

" I understand how you're feeling Doc, believe me." Clint sighed as he scrubbed tiredly at his face from where they sat across from each other. These two men had more reason than the others to feel as they did, Menkos having violated both of their minds during the invasion. One would not have thought it possible, but all hatred for Loki was gone, wiped away by the images of his brutal murder and the despair that followed.

Movement in the corner of his eye had Clint turning in time to see Natasha gracefully sink into the empty chair next to his and reach for the open bottle of Tony's scotch and a glass. While Natasha poured herself a liberal amount, Steve and Tony materialized at the table as well. The super soldier forewent the alcohol, it would not have an effect on him anyway, while Tony naturally filled a glass for himself. As they all sat in silence, Dr. Bruce Banner, looking more worn than they had ever seen him pulled out a chair for Darcy who gave him a sad smile and sat down before he took the seat next to Tony. The seven individuals sat at the circular table, all of them feeling hollowed out by the tragic revelations of the day.

Their thoughts were turned to the god of Thunder, who had secluded himself to one of Tony's guest rooms with Jane. They would all of them remember to their very last days the misery of the Thunderer and the horror by which he lost someone so dear. They all felt disgusted with themselves for getting fooled, the fact that it had been an elaborate deception by the Chitauri was of little comfort. They had all collectively hated Loki, and now it had been revealed to them that he never deserved such hatred.

In addition to the disgust, there was lamentation for they would never get to know the real Loki, the brother that Thor loved so deeply. All they had was the lovingly crafted pendant Thor wore around his neck with pride despite his anguish, and the images of Loki fighting valiantly against Menkos and crying out for his brother with his final breath.

" He never once begged for his life, did you all see, even when that bastard was shredding his insides, Loki never begged for mercy." Steve said quietly, closing his eyes as his mind replayed the moment in question with vivid clarity.

" He never called me a mewling quim, I outsmarted Menkos, not Loki." Natasha said quietly.

" And I would like to add that he never tossed me out that window over there." Tony said with a small smirk as he pointed his thumb at said window over his shoulder.

" Menkos killed Coulson." Bruce said sadly with a sigh, to which other others all grew somber once more and gave their nods and noises of agreement.

They could have gone one all day about how many terrible things Loki had not done, but instead they all began to talk about what they would have liked to have known about the real Loki.

" I'd have loved to have picked his brain about magic." Bruce said with a smile of lament Tony's way.

" Yeah, from what I know from Thor, the guy was the best at it." Tony said.

" I'd have liked to see what his true fighting skills were like." Steve added.

Natasha didn't say anything, but in her own heart she would have liked to have seen if the real Loki was any bit as cunning with his words as the legends said he was. Menkos was one thing, but what would a verbal joust with the real Loki have been like?

" We'll never get to know the real Loki, those alien bastards robbed us of the chance." Selvig sighed.

" To bad, cause he was hot, in a sexy, gothy kinda way." Darcy added.

There was stunned silence over the whole table before there were quiet chuckles from everyone at Darcy's inappropriate comment, and a half a smile from Natasha. The chuckles quieted down quickly as sadness descended once more.

" We are all gonna have to be there for Thor, these next few days are not gonna be easy by a long shot." Steve said with quiet determination.

" I don't think he's gonna have much trouble convincing the council of the truth once he shows them what happened." Bruce said.

" Yeah, but what about the rest of the world. How easily are they gonna believe him?" Clint asked.

" Hey, you heard Thor, he was late in getting hear because he was convincing the frost-giants of what happened. If Thor can convince a bunch of giant talking snowmen and they judge Loki innocent, what's to stop us Earth-lings?" Tony said confidently.

" And beside, Thor's got me, I'll have all of New York seeing things my way with one press conference, I'm telling ya." He added with one of his signature Tony Stark smirks.

There were fleeting smiles all around at, but the somberness fast returned and Selvig spoke.

" My heart goes out to Thor. You all saw what that Chitauri bastard did to Loki, tossing him into that portal. You all heard him say the wolves of Nifelheim would feast. If that's the case, then Thor doesn't even get to have a physical body to perform last rites and honor through fire. He'll basically only be able to say goodbye to air. Loki is innocent, and he was a prince of Asgard regardless of the blood that flowed through his veins." The doctor said sadly, looking to each face in the room as he continued.

" Now I don't know much about the mechanics of the universe and how things get run, but I do know that in legend, Nifelheim is a place of ice and cold, a place where the dishonored dead go. It's the place I hope Menkos rots in when Thor's done with him. There was nothing dishonorable of Loki, you all saw how hard he fought for his life, and never once begged to be spared. You saw the reactions, Thor, Frigga, and Odin himself, they all loved him a lot. To know that he was butchered and then tossed to a place like Nifelheim, to be devoured by hungry beasts it's just... It's just not fair I tell you."

Selvig blinked his tired eyes rapidly against the onslaught of emotions his own words brought up inside him, taking a hefty sip of the scotch in his hand, the glass trembling lightly as he brought it to his lips. Around him the table had grown deathly silent, each person lost in their own dark thoughts about the fate of an innocent god so viciously torn from his life and loved ones. There really wasn't much left to say after that.

The seven people sitting around the dinning table settled in for what would surely be a sleepless night, their minds to occupied by bright green eyes, dark red blood, a sickly grinning Chitauri fiend, and an anguished older brother. They would keep Thor company as he sat quietly on the bed in Tony's guest room with Jane faithfully beside him. The pair sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts about the same horrible thing. As they sat together, Jane holding one of Thor's large hands tightly between her own in silent comfort, they both stared out the large almost floor to ceiling window and watched as rain started to pelt the glass, a sudden shower blanketing the city and causing her innumerable denizens to flee the downpour.

But while New York literally had Thor's despair raining down on it, elsewhere, through the nebulous branches of Yggdrasil in a realm of eternal ice and despair, a queen reclined leisurely on her throne of shining obsidian. A black cowl hid the top part of her head, atop which rested an ornate crown of black metal, intricately designed and reminiscent of the antlers of a great deer. They lent an all together menacing look to the goddess, garbed in flowing fabrics of dark greens and black.

Hela, supreme ruler of Nifelheim, goddess of Death.

An amused little smile spread across Hela's pale and bloodless lips as she stared out across all she could see of her frozen kingdom. While she had been sitting on her throne, watching over the many souls condemned to her unwavering watch, through the branches of the great tree she overheard a name being spoken with great lamentation by several mortals of Midgard.

" Loki." Hela said to herself, her silvery voice carrying the name across the endless fields of ice that was Nifelheim as she remembered some events that had happened within the icy plains of her kingdom. Her glowing white eyes turned there mirth-filled gaze to a large area of Nifelheim that stood charred to a crisp, the ice not able to swallow it back up. The area looked as if a bomb had been detonated across it that spanned mile after incinerated mile.

With a deep chuckle Hela lazily sprawled on her throne, patiently waiting to hear the voice of a certain one-eyed king when he would undoubtedly call for her to appear before the court of Asgard and demand the soul of his youngest. Her smiled widened into a full, bright, grin as she wondered what the look on Odin and everyone else's face would be like once she revealed that Loki's soul was not in her keeping, that in actuality it never was.

After all, it was the dead she had dominion over, and the last time she checked Loki Odinson did not fit that bill.

" All in due time." Hela said with another silvery chuckle.

Authors second note: For the sake of this story, Hela is not Loki's daughter, but simply a goddess who has come to respect him for reasons that will later be revealed as this story. Please do not be offended, it was not my intention, just the way the fic is playing out in my head.