A/N: So I've realized that my writing style is a little dull. I've attributed that to three reasons:

1. Being a master's student in information analysis means that all my writing is analytical and boring. 2.I've been reading way too much Hemingway lately (Any Hemingway fans out there? I love him…). Or, 3. I really am just that rusty.

Anyway, I've worked really hard on this chapter, so I hope it is more entertaining than the first two. On to the story!

From The Ashes

By Anna Morgan

Chapter 3 The Battle at Asgard

Natasha was running down the long, white hallway, flames and thick, black smoke closing in around her. A fire alarm was screaming and flashing a barely-visible white light somewhere above her head. She couldn't see where she was going. She stopped when she smacked into the wall at the end of the corridor and dropped to the ground. There was a door barely visible to her right. Quickly, she sprang up and pushed the door open to reveal a set of stairs.

She covered her nose and mouth with her hand as she descended the smoke-filled stairwell to the first level of the hospital. Even there she could hear the howling and anguished screams of the trapped patients in the floors around her. There were bodies sprawled across the steps, some with burns covering their face and hands and covered in charred clothing, some who appeared to have suffered smoke inhalation and just collapsed.

Finally, she reached the lobby. She was panting by now, and coughing. A thick layer of sweat covered her head and face. Through the smoke she could see the exit right in front of her. She ran toward it. When she was no more than a few yards from the door, she tripped and flew face first onto the floor. Looking behind to see what she had fallen over, she saw a young boy, no older than seven or eight, crouched on his hands and knees, wailing. He looked up at her, tears flowing from his eyes, mixing in with the blood and charred skin that covered his entire body. He barely looked human.

She stared at him for a few seconds. Then she reached for her gun, pointed the barrel between the boy's eyes, and squeezed the trigger.

With that, Natasha launched up from her bed and fell right over the side of the mattress onto the floor, still covered with her sweat-soaked blanket. She was breathing hard as she looked around her bedroom. She wasn't at the hospital; she was still in her apartment. The darkness around her told her it was probably the middle of the night.

She sighed and ran her hands through her hair. It was just a dream. Her heart was racing almost painfully. After a few minutes she rose to her feet and walked into the bathroom. She flipped on the lights and turned the cold water tap on. Cupping her hands beneath the stream of water, she splashed her face a few times before turning the water off again and looking up to stare at her own reflection.

Natasha had had that dream before. It was one of many that contained incidents from her past that refused to be forgotten, incidents that she had been involved in before she worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. Over the years, the nightmares had subsided somewhat, but once in a while one of her atrocities would creep into her mind and cause her to have a nightmare.

Thinking back on her and Clint's last mission, she had no doubt where the dream had come from. They had barely escaped the abandoned Hydra base before it had exploded behind them. As hard as she had tried not to think about it, the explosion reminded her of the hospital fire. And now she had just had a nightmare about it. She shook her head and exited the bathroom to her bedroom again.

Deciding that sleep probably wouldn't come to her, she grabbed her gym bag to head to the training room at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. It became a ritual to her to work out after she had such dreams. It calmed her down by giving her something to release her pain without hurting anyone or herself. In the bag she stuffed her cell phone, her workout clothes, her S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform, shoes, and other necessities before grabbing her keys and quickly leaving the dark apartment, and her nightmare, behind her.

….

Loki smiled maliciously as he felt the chains melt away. He was free! He called for his magic and delighted when it responded immediately, flooding through him and he embraced it as an old friend. Satisfied with himself, he disappeared and reappeared onto the cliff.

When he opened his eyes he was still kneeling has he had been in the cave. Beside him Amora stood, her long blonde hair blowing in the breeze. Loki stood slowly to give his legs a chance to get used to standing again; they felt a little bit wobbly and his knees ached. He took a few steps to get his muscles used to movement again.

He was glad to be rid of that place. But at what cost? he thought. I have to sneak into the weapons vault. That will not be so simple. What have I gotten myself into? He tried to hush those thoughts as he reminded himself that this was all to have his revenge against Thor. But the thoughts lingered in his mind.

"Our bargain?" said the Enchantress, snapping him back to reality. He turned to face her.

"Yes," he replied slowly. "What is it that you seek?"

"An object called the Infinity Gauntlet. I trust you have seen it?" she asked.

"Of course I have," he snapped. "I am not blind to the objects in the vault."

Amora chose to ignore his tone and continued "Retrieve the Gauntlet and meet me at the centre fountain. Before the day is out you will see the mighty Thor fall from grace," she said.

"How, may I ask, do you plan for that to happen?" Loki asked.

"You will find out soon enough," she said sweetly. "You will know when it does."

Loki's tone was dark when he answered her. "As comforting as your words are, they are but words to me," he scowled. "How do you expect me to stroll up to the fountain with a powerful magical weapon from the All-Father's vault without drawing attention to myself? Hmm?"

She frowned slightly as if she didn't want to give away too much of her plan. "I'll secure a diversion for you. Besides, I believe you are capable of casting an invisibility spell, are you not? You will be well hidden."

It was then that it struck Loki: she is hiding something. I can feel it. Rather than ask outright, he hid his inner turmoil and simply nodded toward her. "Well, let's not waste any more time then, shall we?"

And with that, Loki disappeared.

….

When he reappeared he was standing in the garden behind the palace among the tall hedges lining the perimeter. With ease he cast an invisibility spell over himself and patiently waited, forming his plan. It will be simple, really: use one of the backdoor passages into the palace, take out the guards stationed outside the vault, grab the gauntlet and disappear. An invisibility spell used too much energy when used for a long period of time, so he could not risk using it for too long, lest he need to escape.

But the sense of doubt and suspicion he felt from Amora's last comment filled him once again. She had something to hide from him, he knew it. She was not telling him something, something important. He had seen it in her face just a moment before. He could recognize a lie and a cover-up when he saw one. He was the God of Mischief and Lies after all.

Do I really want to do this? That witch is lying to me. Something is wrong about this.

She has freed you! You have an accord. Do you not wish to see the man responsible for your misery fall?

Loki frowned. His mind and his conscience battled once again. This time, he did not hush his conscience.

Thor is not responsible for any of this. I brought this on myself. And now I will make it worse. Is this really what I want? To be used as a means to an end once again?

No.

He had made up his mind. With a fresh wave of determination to strode stealthily along the edge of the garden toward the palace. He had a plan. He just hoped it would be enough.

Quickly and quietly as he could, he snuck up the white marble steps into the palace, hiding behind tall bushes to keep out of sight of the guards. He didn't bother climbing the steps but grabbed onto the wall of the tallest step and hoisted himself up. Being tall and lanky had its advantages. Once up, he hid behind the nearest pillar and then dashed inside the open walkway leading to the first floor. He breathed a sigh of relief. That was easy enough. Only two more floors to go.

He cast an invisibility spell to avoid being seen in the walkway as he sprinted toward a doorway at the end that he knew contained a set of winding stairs. When he took the first step he let the invisibility spell disappear and he was reminded of the night Thor had brought him back from Midgard. Thankful that he did not have the chains this time, he sprang up the stairs, carefully muffling the sound of his boots on stone.

After only a few steps there was a deafening explosion and the ground shook violently. He stopped and looked up. What in the name of Valhalla…?

Loki forgot all stealth as he raced the rest of the way up the stairs. Smaller explosions followed the first one as he reached his destination. Outside the stairwell there was another open walkway lined with tall pillars that reached the ceiling and looked out into the city. He cast another invisibility spell and ran out into the walkway to look out into the city.

The explosion had come from a nearby tower. Only a few feet from its foundation were left standing as people scattered away from the smoldering remains. He looked up at the red and orange sky to see a great ship firing beams of energy at anything and everything in its path. He knew that ship.

It was the Chitauri. Loki gasped and stared out in horror at the destruction before him. A dozen leviathans glided across the sky, toppling into buildings and sending debris flying in all directions onto people running away desperately to avoid being hit. Several more buildings were on fire from the beams fired from the mother ship.

So this was the diversion Amora spoke of? he thought in awe. Whatever he had expected it had not been this. And suddenly the words of The Other formed in his mind:

If you fail, if the Tesseract is kept from us, there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevasse where I can't find you. You think you know pain? He will make you long for that so sweet as pain.

His horror turned to panic as he realized the true danger he was in now. He had to get out of Asgard. No. I have to get the Gauntlet out of their reach. He turned toward the door of the weapons vault and was met by a spear colliding painfully with the side of his face and he was knocked off balance. He had forgotten to maintain his invisibility spell and it had melted away to reveal him.

The spear belonged to one of the guards outside the vault. Loki regained himself and conjured two green balls of energy to hurl at the guard who hit him. The guard crumpled to the ground as another approached Loki from the side. Without hesitation Loki turned and grabbed his spear to use as leverage to flip him on his back. For the first time since he used the trick on Heimdall Loki blew on the two guards to encase them in ice where they lay. It is for your own good.

Making a mental note to free them once he had the gauntlet, Loki again headed toward the vault. He threw open the doors and flew down the steps to the long vault and looked around frantically. Where is it? He looked in each of the gaps along the wall until he came to one that held a golden glove.

He quickly snatched the gauntlet in his hand and admired it for a second. All this for a damned glove? With one hand enclosed on the gauntlet he waved his other hand and another gauntlet, precisely identical to the one he held, appeared in a flash of golden light.

Loki brought the two gauntlets up to his face to examine them, looking for any imperfection that would reveal his deception. Once he was satisfied he waved his hand and the real gauntlet vanished from sight. He could conjure it again later once he was safely away from the danger.

Suddenly something very heavy hit Loki in the ribs and he was sent flying to the end of the hall, stopping only once he crashed into the far end wall. He crumpled in a heap of pain on the ground clutching his side with his free hand. The impact had knocked the wind out of him. He attempted to sit up, gasping for air. Before he could rise he was knocked down once again, this time onto his back. He felt a pressure on his chest as Mjolnir was placed on top of him. He could barely breathe. He looked up to see Thor standing over him, glaring at him in anger.

"How have you escaped?" Thor growled.

"Thor, listen to me, there's no time to explain-"Loki gasped.

"How have you escaped?"

"They seek the Infinity Gauntlet!" Loki managed to choke out. "I must get it out of Asgard!"

"And into the hands of the Chitauri?" Thor asked accusatively, his volume rising.

"Damn it, I am trying to help! Get this thing off me and let me explain!" Loki said as quickly and loudly as he could manage.

Thor summoned Mjolnir and grabbed Loki by the collar, holding him close to his face. Loki coughed and sputtered for a few seconds before speaking again.

"Amora freed me from the cave in exchange for the Gauntlet," he explained quickly. "I did not know that the Chitauri would be involved. This Gauntlet," he lifted the decoy Gautlet to show Thor, "is a fake. I will give this one to Amora and take the real Gaunlet somewhere safe!"

"How am I to believe you?" Thor growled. "How am I to know this is not merely one of your tricks, and that you have brought this upon Asgard?"

Loki looked at Thor like he was stupid "The Chitauri seek to torture and kill me for my failures to them, why would I aid them in an attack against my home?" He waited for a second. "Thor, I beg of you, for once in your life you must trust me." Loki added in desperation. He was breathing quickly now.

Thor looked at him for a few seconds and his face softened. He let go of Loki roughly as he staggered back a couple of steps. Loki looked at his brother, waiting for him to speak.

"Where do you intend to take it?" Thor asked.

Loki shook his head. "Anywhere. Vanaheim? Or perhaps Alfheim."

"Take it to Midgard," Thor ordered him. "Take it to the Avengers. They can protect it until the danger passes."

"Are you mad?" Loki practically yelled. "They will kill me on sight!"

"I will not have it going anywhere else! Take it there, or back to the cave you will go!" Thor threatened.

Loki growled at him. Bastard… "Fine. But you will come to collect me when I have been imprisoned by them again!"

Thor placed his hand on Loki's shoulder and looked at him in the eye. His gaze was intense and somber. "I swear to you, brother, they will not harm you. I will make sure of that."

Another explosion snapped their attention back to the situation at hand. Thor, his hand still on his brother's arm, took off running, half dragging Loki beside him. Together, they flew swiftly out of the hall and back into the walkway. At the top of the stairs, the two guards still lay frozen where Loki left them. Loki skid to a halt and turned back toward the doors. He made a pulling motion with his arm and the doors slammed shut. With another wave of his hand the ice dissolved off of the guards and they lay conscious but limp on the ground. His deed done, he chased after Thor across the walkway.

No sooner had they passed the midway point of the walkway it was blown apart from a beam of light shot down from the mother ship. Debris sprayed them as they dived in unison to the ground. Loki looked up to see the laser of the Chitauri mother ship aimed directly at them in the distance. As another beam of light formed to strike them down, Loki, acting on instinct, leaped across Thor's back and grabbed his arm. Conjuring as much of his magic as he could he teleported them in a flash of green light.

They landed with an "Oomph!" on the cobblestone street, Loki still covering his brother protectively. He rolled off Thor onto his hands and knees, his vision blurred and his head swimming. His arms shook as he pushed off the ground, the decoy Gauntlet still in hand. The magic required to transport two gods drained him of energy. Thor grabbed him from his shoulders and helped him up the rest of the way.

"Thank you," Thor said.

"Don't mention it," breathed Loki.

Loki took a second to regain his composure before they took off once again. Looking around at the overwhelming destruction that surrounded him, he could only think of getting the decoy Gauntlet to the fountain.

"Heimdall!" Thor shouted. "Get the people to the bifrost! Get them out of Asgard!"

He didn't have to wait for an answer. Almost as soon as he spoke Loki heard the whirl of the bifrost coming back to life. The bifrost must have been completed in my absence. How long was I imprisoned in that cave?

The reptilian-like Chitauri foot soldiers were now fighting hand to hand with the people of Asgard, who had finally begun to fight back. The men who were left behind bore spears and hatchets as they swung at the Chitauri. Even some children were picking up debris and throwing them at the Chitauri as their mothers dragged them toward the bifrost. Loki wondered at what Thanos could possibly have been thinking when he attacked Asgard. He should have known that the Asgardians would fight back. Fool! All of them are warriors! What was he thinking?

He was only a couple hundred yards away from the circle that held the tall golden fountain now. His eyes darted at Thor and then back to the fountain to relay what he was thinking. Thor seemed to understand. He turned to usher some more people toward the bifrost as Loki took off behind him toward the fountain. He weaved, dodged, and jumped between Chitauri soldiers, occasionally throwing a ball of golden and green energy at them. By now, he felt weak and out of breath. He had still not recovered from apparating himself and Thor, and his energy reserves were running low.

Finally, he reached the circle, practically gasping for air, clutching the Gauntlet as close to his body as he could. He looked around frantically for Amora. Damned woman, where is she? If it the situation had not been so grave he would have found the fact that she was fashionably late for their date amusing.

"Loki! Do you have it?" came Amora's voice from behind him. About time.

He turned around to face her. "Take it! And leave Asgard, witch!" He thrust the decoy Gauntlet into her outstretched hands. "Now go!"

He held his breath while putting on the best poker face he could. Take the bait…please take it…!

She seemed to have bought it. But instead of just taking the Gauntlet and leaving, she held onto it with one hand and conjured a bright red ball of energy with the other. She thrust it straight into Loki's chest and he collapsed before he had a chance to react. He was paralyzed; he couldn't move at all. He lay there on his back, his hands clutching the place where the spell had struck him, stars swimming in his vision.

Four Chitauri soldiers roughly hauled him to a kneeling position before slapping chains interconnected onto his wrists, ankles, and neck. Another muzzle was conjured and wrapped around his mouth

Inside his head he was screaming, panicking. No…No…No…No…! He tried to force his muscles to struggle, but the spell still gripped him mercilessly. There was nothing he could do.

"Take him to the ship. Let Lord Thanos know we have the Gauntlet," Amora told the Chitauri.

They dragged Loki off the ground and threw him onto one of the four speeders waiting nearby. They mounted the speeders and took off toward the mother ship, Loki frantically searching the ground. When the bifrost came into view, Loki could see Thor herding the last few Asgardians into the great golden sphere. This is the last time I will see my brother, he realized.

Loki could see the soldiers retreating back, some onto leviathans while others leaped onto speeders like his own. In his mind he dreaded what he knew in his gut was coming. He will make you long for that so sweet as pain. Those words were the last thing he would remember as the speeder entered the dark hanger of the looming Chitauri ship.

….

A/N: Finally an action chapter! Sorry for the long wait, I promise in the future it won't be as long.

Next chapter we will earn some of our M rating too. Stay tuned!

As always, I love to get feedback so please review. Remember: constructive criticism = ; flames =