Square One

Loki reached for her again and she wasn't quick enough to flinch away, even as she felt arms hauling her up. His fingers only grazed her skin, coolness bursting over the bruises he'd caused. Something crunched behind her, then she was out in the corridor, Thor slamming the door shut. Just before it closed she caught sight of Loki's nose gushing blood. So that'd been the crunching.

"Lady Alex," Thor said, frenzied, "I am sorry—I didn't know—never thought—let me see to your wounds—"

He tipped her face up but any pain or soreness had vanished. "It's okay. He healed me," she mumbled, though it didn't ease his frown.

"I'd have never permitted you to enter that room if I'd had an inkling he would assault you."

"For what it's worth, he didn't hurt me for hurting's sake." She shot a nervous glance at the door. The room seemed silent but this close, she had the unnerving feeling he could still hear and see everything she was doing. "Can we..?" She nodded at the elevator, and Thor followed her inside.

"The apple's destroyed," he said.

"Yeah." It was barely more than a gasp. She didn't have the energy for more. All she was truly capable of was controlling the trembling of her body enough that she could keep moving. "I was an idiot to take it in there with me."

"Even in this state, my brother possesses eldritch intelligence. You couldn't have known he would divine what you intended."

"And now I'm back to square one."

Despite the healing magic Loki followed the assault with, she could still feel an echo of his touch on her skin, pins and needles spreading throughout her. How could he do what he'd just done? Destroying the apple was a given, if he had the chance, but the way he'd gone about it... Even after everything she'd witnessed him do, she'd truly never expected to feel pain at his hands.

He'd crossed a line, broken an unspoken covenant between them. This was worse than if she'd found him with another woman. Not only could she not trust him, but now she feared him, where she never had before. It was a shattering feeling, and it was only going to get worse when her subconscious revisited the incident in her dreams.

They reached the room she now considered hers, which was depressing considering how bland and empty it was. Her bags had been brought up and the smurf was nestled against the pillow, but even that didn't make it feel more homely. She couldn't face endless months as a glorified prisoner here, no matter how generous Pepper was or how sumptuous the surroundings were. All the Louboutins in the world couldn't gild this cage enough. "Could you ask Idun to come back?"

Thor sank onto the stool he'd once used while he guarded her door. "It is unlikely. While technically Lady Idun is free to travel as she pleases—as we all are—in truth, she was permitted to journey last time only because my father didn't know she intended to do it. Now, he would likely thwart any attempt of hers to leave Asgard. She has duties, including tending the orchards where she grows the apples we rely on, and her visiting a realm that could be hostile would put us all at risk."

"Then take me with you to Asgard."

The words were out of her mouth before she'd really thought them through, but she didn't regret them. It would solve two problems—she could ask Idun for another spell, hopefully outside of Loki's destructive reach this time, and she'd be beyond even SHIELD's reach.

"My lady, I would ask that you don't acquiesce to my brother's will so easily—"

"Not forever. I just want to see Idun. Then when I'm mortal again, you can send me home."

Thor gave an unwary shake of his head. "If you travel with us, Loki will assume you intend to marry him."

"Let him. Idun went ahead so they could prepare for your arrival, which I assume means Loki will be in lock down before he knows what's happening. You don't even have to help me when I'm there—I'll get myself to Idun, and I'll find you when I'm ready to go home. She already kind of offered me an invitation."

"She did. And I wouldn't abandon you to travel alone—you would be treated as a guest of the royal court."

"And you can get me home, right?" she pushed on.

"Not by my own powers, but I'm sure it can be done." Sure wasn't a definite yes, but it was as close as she was going to get. "Although the agents will be unwilling to let you travel with us."

"I've got a plan for that."

Thor stared at her so hard she thought he was trying some kind of Jedi mind trick, before he finally gave a nod of assent. "Very well. I'm sure my brother will be far more cooperative when I tell him you are coming with us. We leave in only a few hours, and if you intend to fool the agents, you will be able to take very little with you."

Alex glanced at the bag beside the bed. "Whatever I need, I can wear."

The sun was a streak of mandarin on the skyline when they converged on the platform. Alex waited beside Pepper, glad that the slight chill gave her an excuse to wear her jacket. She'd been able to conceal more things that way, in the inside pockets.

"Oh, you're trembling," Pepper said, her hand covering Alex's. "I can't imagine how you feel. I don't have much reason to like Loki, but it can't be easy knowing this is the last time you'll see him." Alex gave a short nod, glad that was how her nervousness was being interpreted. So long as she didn't throw up on Fury's shoes again, she was golden. Romanoff stood on the opposite side of the platform, her arms folded, and her gaze did not leave Alex.

Out in the dusk, Tony Stark soared in his metal contraption, ready to contain Loki if he tried to invoke any more mischief. Coulson stood beside Alex, not a twitch betraying an emotion. "You don't have to be here, you know," he said. "It might be safer if you aren't."

"He won't go without me," she said. "You know that. We have to convince him that I'm going with them."

"You sure you can fool him?" Pepper asked.

"It's what he wants to hear, so he'll believe it."

Coulson gave her a level stare. "Are you sure you don't want to go with him?"

She met the stare. "I have no intention of spending the rest of my life on Asgard." The best lies weren't lies at all. It was how Thor had convinced Loki that she was going with them: told him what he needed to know and no more.

The small crowd heard the gods before they saw them. Coulson hoisted his weapon to waist level, its barrel pointed at the door they would emerge through. The weapon looked suspiciously like a rocket launcher. The other agents had their own weapons, of varying sizes, including tasers that she was pretty sure gave a heftier punch than the ones you'd find elsewhere. If this went wrong, she hoped she wasn't in the way, because no one was prepared to let Loki escape. She was immortal (for now), but only if she stayed clear of firepower intended to level gods.

Thor exited the doorway, hauling Loki in one hand and Mjolnir in the other. Loki's gaze swept the platform and when it found her locked on, blue fire that she could feel even when she looked away. Even behind the muzzle she could see his triumph. Thor dragged him to the cleared centre of the platform, and two agents stepped forward with a suitcase, kneeling to click it open. The sound of cocking guns and loading tasers echoed around the space, but Loki only responded with an unconcerned shrug.

The Tesseract was lifted out of the case, its eerie brilliance now encased in an intricate handheld device, with two handles. Thor took the end proffered to him and gestured Alex forward.

She wanted to turn and hug Coulson. If, when, she returned to Earth, she'd probably be hunted by SHIELD and seeing him would be an undesirable circumstance. He'd done so much for her, but she couldn't betray to him that this was likely goodbye. The same was said for Pepper, who'd been kind on the few occasions they'd met—even Romanoff was someone she'd maybe consider a friend, if circumstances were different. But they weren't, and she couldn't tip any of them off, especially not the already suspicious Romanoff.

So without a backwards glance at the people who'd done so much to keep her safe, she stepped up to Thor, taking his hand.

It was like a punch to the gut. The Tesseract had been waiting for her to return, and even though she didn't have direct contact with it, even through the transportation device and Thor's entire body, it was there, like tentacles trying to worm inside her. She leaned against Thor to steady herself, taking a deep breath before the journey to come. Loki grasped the other handle, and Thor straightened. Alex slipped an arm around his waist, as firm a grip as she could manage, while he twisted the handle. Across the platform Romanoff was in motion, somersaulting over to pull her away, but it was too late. In a blur of cyan light, they were gone from the Earth.

A/N: And welcome to the final story arc of Not Forgotten, wherein we find our heroine on Asgard. When I started writing this story, I never saw that coming! I do, finally, have a solid conclusion planned for the story (there was always an ending in mind but it was pretty vague). Not that we'll be getting there any time soon ;).

Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas. If you'll excuse me I've got some more scheming to do.

You know the score...you review, you get a teaser :).