Oops, I did it again! :) I posted as early as possible because I got so many great reviews! This fic makes me majorly happy and I have so much fun with it. I hope it doesn't seem rushed. I honestly spent a couple of hours writing out this next chapter. Maybe even three. I didn't keep track of the time spent, but it was late by the time I finished. I get so excited after I post that I have to move on to the next one. I wonder what the heck I'll be doing when this story ends. Probably plotting out a new one. ;) Who knows? Let's just be happy that this one is not over yet.
laureas: I do love Odin a lot, which is why I, unlike many Fanfiction writers out there, decided not to make him cruel and unusual. I'll see if I can find a way to set up a Fury and Mace moment. And yep, I've always seen Frigga as the loving mother type that would never give up on her son.
Pirate-Spy-Demigod-Wizard: No problemo—here it is! :)
Irish-Brigid: Very true. He'd be a great politician, though he probably wouldn't have the patience for politics. Considering that pranks are a part of who he is, I can't see him reining them in anytime soon.
Kore-Proserpina: Yay for Loki's redemption! I hope I captured Odin and Frigga's characters all right.
Pergjithshme: Hooray for fangirl moments!
NARUTO SON OF ARTEMIS: Yeah, I gotcha. Grievous won't become an Avenger or anything, but I can do your first request. Grievous becoming an Avenger would kind of screw with the storyline of the Clone Wars. While this is an Alternate Universe fic, I'm still trying to keep it as realistic as possible.
Tiger of the Storm: Sorry for updating so late. If I update too late at night, you certainly don't have to read it right away. ;) I wouldn't take offense if you waited to review the next day. I just wanted to get it up because I promised that a lot of reviews make me update faster, and I got A LOT of awesome reviews on the chapter before last.
Rachaell Dionzeros: Oh gosh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to mess up your name…I apologize. Here's a virtual cookie. :)
AaylaKit: Nice! Haha yes! That epic writer's win when the author nails the perfect quote. :D And you're right; it was Niflheim that you used. I can't think of any more either.
FutureOscarWinner94: I figured a lot of people would like Loki meeting the Council face-to-face.
The Tesseract transported Loki and Sif straight to the ship where the Avengers were being held. Sif had not been on Midgard since she and the Warriors Three had gone against Loki's orders to find Thor, so this was a bit of an awkward moment for her. Loki's heart was pounding a little faster than normal, considering the Other was probably somewhere on this ship.
The Avengers had a variety of reactions at Loki's presence. Natasha and Barton looked at him as if he was crazy. Get the Tesseract out of here, you idiot! their expressions seemed to say. Banner looked uncertain as he always did, and Steve's expression was unreadable. Tony was stunned. It was Thor that got Loki's attention, though. The god's expression was filled with…was that love?
"Brother," Thor whispered. He knew that Loki should not be there, but he could not keep the relief and joy from his features.
"Are you insane?" Natasha demanded, finally speaking. "The Other could be back any moment! He'll go straight for the Tesseract and the universe—Earth included—will be finished."
"And what is Earth without the Avengers to protect it?" Loki asked. He turned around to face Thor again. "Why do you greet me so warmly? I betrayed you."
"You did not betray us," Thor said.
"Dooku told us of your trick," Tony explained. "Nice one. I take my hat off to you."
Loki looked confused. "You're not wearing a—never mind. We've got to get you out of here. I have a plan that could save Midgard if not the entire universe. Sif and I—"
"—somehow managed to infiltrate my ship," Dooku said in a calm voice. "Welcome back, Loki. I would say that it is nice to see you, but I am not a blatant liar like you. I will say, however, that your presence is a surprise." He chuckled. "And you said we were the foolish ones."
The Other stepped in beside him. "I never expected the Tesseract to come to us," he admitted. "This is a move that not even I expected. Especially not from you."
"You'll find I'm full of surprises," Loki said, holding the Tesseract behind his back and placing it in Sif's hands. Sif made no facial indication of his action.
"Indeed," Dooku said. "Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Hand us the Tesseract, and your lives will be spared."
"It won't be that easy, and you know it. I didn't come this far to simply hand you what you want." Loki's gaze was fixed unflinchingly on his enemy's.
"Brave words from a fool's mouth." Dooku extended a hand and clenched it into a fist. Loki felt his throat close up, as if an invisible hand had seized his neck. His eyes widened and his hands slipped involuntarily to his throat, though there was nothing there. Dooku continued to choke the life out of him and he wondered vaguely if this was the end.
"Remember our agreement," the Other hissed. "I will deal with Loki myself."
Oh. So this wasn't the end.
"Of course," Dooku said mildly. "Right now, I believe you have a power source to obtain."
The Other turned on Sif, who fell into a battle stance. Loki turned panicked eyes on her. "Do not try to fight him!" he choked out. It was time for his plan to be set into motion. "You must take the Tesseract away…transport…back…!"
Understanding dawned on Sif. "You were planning this all along, weren't you? You intended to accompany me so that I could be the means of taking the Tesseract to safety."
"Only…if we were attacked…" Loki gasped. "I hoped you would take it away if the worst happened…"
Sif looked hurt. "Midgard needs me to fight in this battle," she said, backing away from the Other, who was advancing on her.
"You are a great warrior, Sif," Thor said, coming to Loki's aid, "but right now, you need to go. Wait with Heimdall so that he can keep you updated. If you must, use the Tesseract to transport back here, but bring a guard with you so that he can take it back to Asgard."
Sif nodded unhappily and faced Loki. "But…what will happen to you?"
Loki gritted his teeth as dark spots started to appear in his vision. "It's all…part of the…plan…"
She glared defiantly at the Other and disappeared seconds before he lunged at her. He found himself on the ground, snarling in anger. "It got away again!" He whirled around to face Loki. "You will pay for this! I will make your death the longest, slowest, and most painful in existence! You will feel the wrath of the Chitauri and it will break you to a shadow of your former self." He turned his glare on Dooku. "Let go of him. You're killing him. He must live."
As Dooku lowered his arm, Loki felt the invisible hand let go. He fell onto his hands and knees, feeling air rush back into his lungs. It felt good, yet it hurt at the same time. He was stronger than mortals, who would probably die from being held that long. He lifted his bowed head and stared angrily up at his two enemies. "What are you going to do?" he growled, his voice shaky from the choking ordeal.
"You will come with us." Dooku grabbed Loki by the shoulder and yanked him up.
"Loki, no!" Thor shouted. He wanted to throw himself against the ray shield, but he knew that his death would not help his brother. "Why did you come back?" he whispered. "Why did you walk into your own death?"
Loki half-smiled sadly. "I have a plan," he said. "Just let it play out. Trust me."
As Loki was pulled away, Tony commented, "It's kind of hard to trust the god of lies and mischief."
"Loki is unpredictable," Banner agreed. He knew unpredictability when he saw it, especially considering that he was the perfect example of it.
"He may be," Thor said, "but he has proven his loyalty to us. His plan, whatever it may be, will work."
"We don't even know what it is," Steve said. He was always a man with a plan, and not knowing what the agenda was certainly bugged him.
"Knowing Loki, we'll find out soon enough," Thor said confidently. "You must have faith that he knows what he is doing."
Barton looked doubtful. "I still don't trust him."
"Neither do I, but what choice do we have?" Natasha sighed, defeated. "We're in no state to make plans of our own, so we've got to cross our fingers that Loki's plan will work."
Thor smiled at her, grateful for her support. "Just wait and see. He will not fail us."
Loki was dragged to another room and thrown inside. He knew not what was going to be done to him, but he hoped that the Jedi would arrive in time. The Other loomed over him menacingly and sneered, "You will not need your magic." He grabbed Loki's wrists and cuffed them. The cuffs burned into his skin and he let out a small gasp of pain as he felt his magic being drained out of him. The Other placed two fingers under Loki's chin and pushed it up so that the god of mischief was looking straight up at him. "I have been looking forward to this moment," he whispered. "Your death will go down in history, Laufeyson."
"Odinson," Loki managed to say. "I am the son of Odin." It was the first time he had felt this way in a long time, and the words felt strange on his tongue, yet right at the same time.
"You wish you were, Asgardian," the Other snickered. "Now, what to do with you? Perhaps the best form of torture is mental rather than physical. Beginning with the mind—tearing you apart from the inside out and making you go insane—would be a thrilling prologue to the unbearable ride that you are about to embark on."
"Get on with it, then," Loki spat venomously.
"Gladly." He placed a hand on Loki's head. Loki steeled himself for the worst, but the pain did not come. When he opened his eyes, he felt the Other remove his hand. "What is it, Dooku?" he hissed. "I am in the middle of something."
"You'll have to torture Loki later," Dooku said, an edge of fear in his voice. "Our ship—it is under attack!"
Loki bowed his head so that they would not see his expression. A slight smile played at his lips. The Other turned on him angrily. "What did you do?" he shouted.
Loki looked up, his grin widening. "You didn't think I was reckless enough to come alone?" The Other grabbed him by the neck and threw him against the wall. Though it hurt, Loki's satisfaction at the timely arrival of the Jedi was enough to make him ignore the pain. "You'd best be going. You have a battle to fight."
The Other whirled around and whooshed out of the room, followed by Dooku. The door was shut, leaving Loki alone in a dark, empty room. He sat still for several moments, checking to make sure that he had not broken anything. The smile did not melt away. It would take more than a connection with the wall to injure him. Letting out a sigh, he sat still, listening and waiting. It would only be a matter of minutes before someone would open the door. He wasn't sure if it would be a hostile coming to take him away or a friend coming to bring him into the battle where he belonged. Either way, he was ready. If only his hands were free. His magic would be helpful right about now, and the cuffs around his wrists still burned. Was there some kind of poison in them? He wasn't sure, but it was not a pleasant feeling to say the least.
As he had expected, the door opened several minutes later. He did not expect to see Anakin and certainly not Thor there, but there they stood. Thor rushed into the room and pulled Loki into an embrace. Loki could not return it, considering his hands were restrained, but he did not pull away. He just let his arms hang in front of him and kept his expression neutral. "Are you all right?" Thor asked, pulling away so that he could survey Loki's body.
"I'm fine," Loki assured him. "I'd like these to be removed, though," he added, a twinge of desperation in his voice.
"I can take care of that," Anakin said, taking out his lightsaber. "Don't freak out, okay? I'm a professional and this will not hurt a bit."
Loki doubted it would work. The things were probably protected by magic. He closed his eyes and waited for the weapon to bounce off of the restraints. He was surprised to feel the pain disappear instantly as they fell to the ground. When he opened his eyes, he saw that his wrists had bright red cuts where the cuffs had been.
Thor's searching gaze did not miss this. "Loki—"
"They're not deep," Loki reassured him. "Let's get out of here."
Thor helped Loki to his feet and led him out of the dark room. They ran across the halls of the ship and found their way to the other Avengers. Steve was barking orders.
"Okay, team. We need to get back to Stark Tower where we can get patched up. I'm sure the clones can hold their own without us while we suit up, right? Right. Natasha, you're gravely injured, so you need to go straight for the medical room, where Banner will take care of you. Tony, get your suit fixed. How long will that take?"
"About fifteen minutes," Tony answered.
"Good. Thor, I'm sure you're ready to fight already, so take your hammer and do some damage. Loki, are you fit to fight?" Loki nodded. "Excellent. Agent Barton, get your bow and load up on arrows. I'm sure you left your stock in your room. Everyone except Thor and Loki need to get to Stark Tower as quickly as possible." He faced the brothers. "We'll be there to help you soon."
"We'll be sure to save some soldiers for you, Captain," Loki chuckled.
"Much appreciated. Let's move out!" Everyone made for the nearest exit. The ship had landed by now, so it was easy to get out.
"I can fly Agent Romanoff to Stark Tower with Mjolnir," Thor suggested.
"That would be a wise idea," Barton said. He faced his partner. "I'll be there soon."
She smiled. "Don't take too long."
Thor lifted her up gently and used his hammer to fly to Stark Tower. Banner rushed toward that general direction, knowing that he was needed in order to get Natasha properly healed. Though it was tempting—well, not really—to turn into the Hulk and smash some warriors, he had to get there as himself.
Loki realized that he had to fight this part of the battle on his own. At least he had six Jedi and an army behind him this time. "Hey there, Loki," Kit greeted, jumping from a building and landing neatly beside the Asgardian. "Did we get here fast enough?"
Loki nodded. He decided not to tell the Jedi that they had saved him from the beginning of the worst experience of his existence. "Let's just say that your arrival was…convenient and well-timed."
Kit took out his lightsaber and started slashing droids and Chitauri soldiers that came their way. "I sense that our timing prevented a major disaster. Am I right?"
"You do not know the half of it," Loki murmured, using his magic to steer a tank off course.
"Where's the rest of your buddies?" the Nautolan inquired.
"They'll be along soon enough."
"Good. I'd hate for them to miss all the fun." Kit sprang into the air and slammed his lightsaber into the tank that Loki had disrupted.
As Kit left, Loki realized that he was not dressed for a fight. He was wearing the same thing he had worn when he was captured by S.H.I.E.L.D way back when. Summoning his magic, he focused on morphing the outfit into his Asgardian battle armor. His helmet appeared on his head and gold armor and a green cape covered his body. He was ready for anything now.
For the next hour, Loki fought his hardest against the armies. He watched clones strategize and follow through. Every move was well thought out and he admired their courage and intelligence. Loki turned and waved his hand, creating a duplicate of himself. He hid behind a building and watched as a group of Chitauri warriors surrounded him. The illusion put its hands in the air, looking afraid, while the real Loki leapt behind each soldier in turn, using daggers to kill them quickly.
The clones were clearly doing well, but Loki had a feeling that the battle would not be won without the Avengers. He scanned the sky, hoping to see Thor or Iron Man there. None of them showed up. Not even Thor. He must have been held up.
"I figured I would find you here," a familiar voice growled.
Loki whirled around, suddenly face-to-face with Grievous. He grinned. "I figured I'd find you hiding away somewhere."
"You are foolish to mock me!" He whipped out a lightsaber and swung at Loki. It was a well-timed shot, but he was surprised to see that his blade had swiped the air.
"Miss me?" Loki asked from behind.
Grievous whirled around angrily and stabbed the lightsaber right through the Asgardian's chest. The droid leader's eyes gleamed in triumph, but it did not last long. Loki still stood there, completely unscathed, and yawned. "What is this?" Grievous demanded.
Loki appeared behind the duplicate and waved his hand to make it disappear. "I'm right here," he said, provoking the monster with a bored expression. Grievous sprang at him, but again, Loki disappeared and reappeared a few feet away. "It frustrates you to come so close," he taunted. He then waved a hand, making dozens of illusions appear around the general, all laughing.
Grievous leapt at one, then another, going right through each one. "Who are you?" he growled.
"I am Loki, son of Odin and prince of Asgard. I am your worst nightmare." He threw a dagger at Grievous, who had had enough. Loki watched, satisfied, as the general fled. Once the monster was gone, he had a chance to think about what he had just said. It had sounded bold at the time, but he had to face the fact that he was no longer a prince of Asgard. In fact, he was not even considered an Asgardian. He had lost his rights. Technically, he was nobody. But if he had answered Grievous's question honestly, he would have sounded weak. He did not like sounding weak.
Sighing, he launched back into the battle. In a matter of minutes, he found himself chasing a particularly feisty Chitauri warrior into a vacant building. The warrior smiled evilly and pointed behind the Asgardian, where the Other stood. Loki turned to face his enemy. "I've seen an awful lot of you lately," he said.
"You'll be seeing much more," the Other growled menacingly. He approached and grabbed Loki by the shoulders. "Listen here—"
A cough interrupted him. Loki's eyes widened at the sight of the Avengers assembled just inside the building. It was exactly as it had been the day he was defeated. Iron Man was on the far left, his helmet off so that his face was visible. Captain America was beside him, shield at his side. The Hulk was directly behind Captain America and Iron Man, growling threateningly. Thor and the Black Widow were on the far right, the former gripping Mjolnir and the latter holding a gun in her right hand. Hawkeye was in the middle, closest to the Other, with his bow extended and loaded with an arrow.
The Other laughed. "Surely you are not here to defend this criminal?"
"That criminal is one of us," Hawkeye said, his voice holding a warning note. "I suggest you step away from him."
The Other took a cautious step away from Loki and very slowly raised his hands.
"That's much better," the Black Widow said. "I think it's time for you to call off the attack."
Iron Man raised an arm and extended it toward the Other. Weapons of various types appeared as they had in Germany, when he had threatened Loki into surrendering. "If you want option two, which concerns your body parts splattered all over the wall, so be it. The choice is up to you."
The Other glared angrily at Loki. "You did this!"
"I helped," Loki admitted. "I am proud to be an ally of the Avengers."
"You are not an ally of the Avengers," Iron Man said seriously.
"You are an Avenger," Captain America finished.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything within this story or any outside information mentioned in the story.
AN: So, I wasn't planning to end it there. It just kind of happened. When I wrote that last line, I knew that it was the perfect way to end the chapter. Don't worry! It's not the end of the fic. There is more to come. What do you think?