Chapter 6

Loki knew they were in trouble. It was why he had told a guard to inform Odin of Thor's plan as they left. The cold and desolate wastes of Jötunheimr were no different that they were the last time he had gone there, though it was still a place that he despised.

They had trekked through the frozen wastelands towards the palace ruins, where they knew the king, Laufey, resided and Thor proceeded to question him about how they got into Asgard.

"The house of Odin is full of traitors." Laufey narrowed his eyes at Thor and Loki, while the warriors Three and Sif exchanged puzzled and disturbed looks amongst themselves. Loki inwardly growled at the Jötunns words, thanking Thor that he wasn't clever enough to pick up on it, keeping his glare trained strongly on the creature before them.

"Do not dishonour my father's name with your lies." Thor barked, his grip on Mjölnir tightening.

"We don't want any trouble." Loki held his hands up in a defensive manner. "We merely come seeking answers."

"Is that why you've come here?" Laufey drawled out slowly then shook his head. "Your father is a murderer and a thief. He stole what was ours, and left our world in ruins. We have the right to reclaim the Casket."

"Not when you'd use it to make war against other Realms." Thor spat back.

Laufey chuckled, it was cold and mocking. "But it would not just be me. You long for battle. You crave it. I see you for what you are, Thor Odinson. Nothing but a boy, trying to prove himself a man."

"Well this boy has grown tired of your mockery." Thor said, taking a step towards Laufey. A few other Jötunns stepped in front of Thor, blocking his clear path to where Laufey sat. Loki moved next to his brother leaned up to his ear, his eyesight never once leaving Laufey's.

"Thor, stop and think. Look around you. We are outnumbered." He said, his gaze shifting to the hidden Jötunns that seemed to now be surrounding them.

Thor shifted on the spot, knocking Loki with his shoulder as his eyesight never left Laufey's. He then murmured back, "Know your place, brother..."

Ouch. Those words and gesture hurt Loki, who looked at him in shock momentarily before setting his expression to stone and stepping back slightly.

"You should listen to his counsel." Laufey pointed out. "You know not what your actions would unleash..." He stepped out of the shadows and looked down at them all. "But I do."

He glanced sadly away from them, seemingly sighing dejectedly before looking back at them. "Go now, while I still allow it."

Thor stood still, his glare still strong while he showed no signs of moving, until Loki spoke up.

"We will accept your most gracious offer." He pulled at Thor's arm. "Come on brother."

Thor gave him a peeved look, and then gave Laufey a final glare before turning to leave.

"Run back home little princess." They heard Laufey taunt. Thor smirked and picked up Mjölnir as Loki swore, then threw it at the nearest Frost Giant.

"Next?" Thor asked cockily, still grinning as the other four Asgardians prepared for the battle.

Laufey smirked. "You have come a long way to die Odinson." A long shard of ice extended from his arm and Laufey threw it straight at Thor's head. Mjolnir smashed it to pieces and a splinter sliced a charging Frost Giant in the throat. Dark blood spilt and he fell dead on the floor.

"At least make it a challenge for me." He exclaimed, swinging Mjölnir around again to block an incoming attack.

Meanwhile, the Warriors Three and Sif brandished their weapons and fought back the oncoming group of Jötunns. Loki too, until he heard a mighty bellow and saw a Jötunn run straight for him. He glanced back to see he was on a cliff edge, high above a dark ravine, then pretended to show fear as the creature approached. Just as it attempted to tackle him into the ravine, 'Loki' disappeared, the real one hiding behind a rock and smirking as he watched the dull creature plummet down into the never ending darkness. He stepped out from behind the rock and re-engaged in the fight.

Loki vaguely heard Volstagg yell, "don't let them touch you!" before a Jötunn managed to grab hold of his forearm. Loki's eyes widened in fear as he expected the harsh sting of severe frostbite but frowned as it never came; instead, looking in shock as his arm began to turn blue. The Jötunn holding it looked up and they shared a momentarily confused look, before Loki used that momentary distraction to his advantage and stabbed a knife into the creature's jugular.

He let it fall to the ice with a thud, and then watched with wide eyes and a horrified expression as the blue skin faded back into ivory. He looked up and took a moment to calm himself, then became focused on the fight as he had to ward of an offensive attack, bottling the feelings of fear and confusion to deal with later when their lives weren't in danger.

The Warriors three and Sif knew they couldn't hold up against them for long, but it was only when Fandral was stabbed in the shoulder with a shard of ice and cried out loudly in pain, that they took action against it. Loki threw a dagger at the one who had impaled him while Volstagg and Hogan worked to pull him off the shard.

"Thor! We must go!" Loki cried out to his brother as he and Sif fell back to Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg's side whilst still blocking attacks.

"Then go!" Thor shouted, having thrown Mjolnir off somewhere but still managing without his hammer, to fight his Jötunn foes mercilessly. Loki saw the look on his brother's face and gulped; bloodlust and the savage thrill of the heat of battle.

"There are too many of them!" Sif cried out.

"I can stop them!" Thor called out. The others hesitated, wondering what Thor was planning as more Jötunns broke through the ice the surrounded them. They all looked up suddenly as they heard a loud crack, and saw to their horror that an ice beast that was previously frozen still now started to break through its icy trap.

"Thor!" Sif tried again, but Thor just ignored them, continuing to fight the Jötunns surrounding him.

"Run!" Volstagg bellowed as the group narrowly missed a trail of ice shards that ran towards them along the icy ground. Reluctantly, they turned and fled back toward the Bifröst landing point as even more Giants broke up through the ice and gave chase.

Thor tried to stand his ground and fight them all just to prove that he could, but unfortunately there was just too many of them for him to handle. The Frost Giants swarmed him, coming from all sides now. He looked around at them momentarily then threw his arm up to summon his weapon back, holding his palm open and beckoning. A Jötunn whirled around as he heard something whooshing up behind him. As he twisted around, he was immediately hit square in the face by Mjölnir, which then rebounded hard off his icy blue and rigged skin then flew straight into Thor's outstretched hand. As soon as they made contact, Thor raised the hammer up high, and then brought it down on the ground with a mighty force. Lightning crashed down from the sky, the hammer channelling its blast as it fired the electricity out at the Jötunns around him. They were blasted back in a massive shockwave, all falling away from him, then dropping dead to the ground.

The force of the blast also cracked the ice below him, the shockwave continuing to spread outwards. It moved out toward where his comrades were running, breaking up the ground beneath them, exposing the black void of the ravines and caverns below.

"What's Thor doing?" Volstagg asked, staggering to regain his balance on the ice as he jumped to avoid a piece that fell down bellow.

"Likely going killed us all!" Loki hissed, narrowly missing a newly created hole himself, but managing to hold his balance better than the voluptuous warrior.

They turned to see Jötunns still racing towards them, but also to their horror, they saw the great ice beast had completely broken free from its confines (also due to the lightening shock), jumping to land on the icy surface with a ground shattering roar before it's blood red eyes locked onto them and it gave chase. They all stated to run again, quickly sprinting across the ice and snow towards the Bifröst site.

As they neared it Fandral, who had been draped over Volstagg's shoulder, saw that as they ran, the Jötunns opened their mouths wide and breathed out an ice cold fog. The swirling mists quickly engulfed them all, obscuring their visions and making them unable to see where they were going or where their enemies were so they all came to a dead halt. After standing still a moment to catch their breaths, Hogun took a step back, halting his movements as the ice cracked beneath him. They didn't dare move for fear of falling through a thin part or off the edge and into the seemingly bottomless pits.

Once the nearest Jötunns to him had been taken care of, Thor turned to see that by summoning the lightning blast, he'd put his friends in even greater danger than they were in before. He glared at the Jötunns that we're starting to run for him then swung Mjolnir around quickly. He used the momentum of his swing to slash at a few Jötunns that dared to attack him while he prepared to take off, and then thrust the hammer into the air, causing himself to be lifted up and carry him across the frozen wastelands towards his comrades. He managed to angle his landing just right so that he tore through the ice beats throat, cutting it dead in its tracks as it had reared up to attack them while they were blind. He then landed beside them within the shroud of mists and squinted to try and locate their current enemies positions.

"Loki, we have to see. Can you clear this?" Thor asked, the six of them forming a circle back to back with their weapons raised. Loki nodded, though no one could see him, and then raised his arms to concentrate. After a few seconds, the mists dissipated, but as they did, they all sighed dejectedly or groaned in annoyance as they saw before them, the faces of the Frost Giants. And not just the few that we're chasing them, there are now hundreds of them- far too many for even Asgard's best fighters and its two princes to be able to handle alone and while one was wounded.

"Actually, could you bring the mists back, please?" Volstagg inquired to try and add a little humour into this now seemingly hopeless situation. By now, even Thor realised that he and his friends were as good as dead, and he regretted his actions a little. The Giants moved in for the kill, but paused when they hear a loud gushing roar. A hole in the dark and cloudy sky opened up, giving clear passage for the Bifröst's rainbow rays to blast down right next to them.

When the light died down, they all saw Odin astride his eight legged horse, who just so happened to be Loki's son Sleipnir. He had been taken from Loki after his birth to be trained up then used as Odin's personal steed. Odin never trusted Loki's children, knowing what they would do during the time of Ragnarök, so had them all taken from him; keeping Sleipnir the eight legged horse in his service, Fenrir the wolf bound in unbreakable chains, Jörmungandr the Midgard serpent exiled to swim in its oceans for eternity and Hel the mistress of death banished to Niflheimr. Loki always resented him for taking his beloved children away, and hated to see his son bound up in riding gear and forced to bear the weight of Odin of his back.

Sleipnir rose up onto his hind quarters and neighed loudly to announce their arrival. As he came back to all eights, he glanced over at his father (well, technically mother as he was the only child of Loki's that he had physically given birth to) and sent him an overjoyed look, seemingly not quite realising the dangerous situation they were in enough to be scared. Loki smiled back and nodded to him before turning his attention back to the scene playing out before him.

Odin was clad in his battle armour, Gungnir in his hand which, with the addition of Sleipnir in his battle equipment too, created an imposing sight. His eyesight met the gaze of Laufey, both glaring at each other and creating an unsettling tension that passed over everyone present. Aesir and Jötunn alike looked on uneasily, unsure about what was to happen.

Laufey drew himself up into his full height, attempting to look fierce and mighty. He knew that without the Casket, he could never be as strong as Odin while he held Gungnir and looked prepared to face him. Although, he took note that as powerful as the Allfather still was, the years has taken their toll, and he was not the foe he once was. The two rulers faced each other, engaging in conversation.

"Laufey. End this." Odin glared down at him with his good eye, then giving him a look of apathy.

"Your boy sought this out." Laufey spat, his eyesight drifting to Thor momentarily who bared his teeth and growled back at him.

"You're right. These are the actions of a boy. Treat them as such. You and I can stop this before there's further bloodshed." Odin stated. Unseen by Odin and the others, Laufey started to form a blade of ice at the end of his arm, hidden behind his back.

"We are beyond diplomacy now Allfather. He'll get what he came for- war and death." Laufey grinned with bloodlust, to which Odin simply nodded at. He smiled grimly, but determined.

"So be it." Odin said quickly.

Without warning, as soon as he is finished speaking, Laufey ran forwards with his ice blade pointed at Odin, but Odin was quicker. The Allfather banged his spear to the ground, causing Laufey and the nearest Jötunns go falling backwards in a wave, the ice cracking further beneath their feet, and the other Frost Giants turn tail and run.

Before anything else could happen, Odin raised his spear, the hole in the sky opening once more and the Bifröst energy blasted forth from it. The rainbow light enveloped the Asgardians, pulling them from the ground and up through the hole, back to the realm of Asgard. The vortex closed behind them before the Jötunns had a chance to follow then as soon as it closed, all fell silent. Laufey stared up after them contemptuously, then snarled and swiftly turned to walk back to the frozen palace ruins.

-Page Break-

"Why did you bring us back?"

Odin turned to him angrily "Do you realize what you've done? What you've started?"

"I was protecting my home!" Thor snapped back. Sif and the warriors three left, not wanting to intrude on this family affair, and Heimdall merely turned away, not wanting to leave his post but still giving them this moment alone. Loki stood poised at the entrance.

"You cannot even protect your friends! How can you hope to protect a kingdom?"

"There won't be a kingdom to protect if we are afraid to act! The Jötunns must learn to fear me! Just as they once feared you."

'Ugh, he's such a child. Did he know what he sounds like?' Loki thought to himself, but said nothing to stop their arguing.

"That's pride and vanity that talks! Not leadership! Have you forgotten everything I've taught you? What of a warrior's patience, cunning?" Odin narrowed his eye in disbelief.

"While you wait and be patient, the Nine Realms laugh at us! The old ways are done. You'd stand giving speeches while Asgard falls!" Thor retaliated.

"You're a vain, greedy, cruel boy!" Odin snapped. Despite the situation, watching the two of them fight like this was a little amusing to Loki, though his face remained stoic as he watched them still in silence.

"And you are an old man and a fool!"

The whole world seemed to stop at Thor's words. Although some words rang true, Loki couldn't believe that they were fighting like this. Odin fell quiet momentarily, but when he spoke again, there was something terrifying to them both beneath the calmness of his words.

"A fool, yes. I was a fool to think you were ready." He said as Loki then took a step towards Odin.

"Father, I-"

"Hrgnnnn!" Odin cut him off, pointing to silence him, which caused the breath to hitch in Loki's throat as he withdrew himself, eyes widening in shock and he raised his eyebrows at Odin.

"You have disobeyed the express command of your King." Odin continued, turning back to Thor and holding a glare, ignoring Loki. "Through your arrogance and stupidity, you have opened these peaceful Realms and innocent lives to the horrors of war.

Odin walked up to the Observatory's control panel and thing Gungnir into it. The turret began turning and the Bifrost energy started to build up, along with Odin's rage. After a moment, the portal behind Thor whirred to life, causing both Loki and Thor to look at it in confusion. As Thor turned back, Odin was upon him.

"You are unworthy of this Realm..." He tipped an armoured disc from Thor's chest. "...unworthy of your title..." He ripped another from his shoulders. "...unworthy of the loved ones you've betrayed. I hereby take from you your powers." Odin reached out his hand, sending Mjolnir flying from Thor's grasp into Odin's waiting hand. "In the name of my father..." Odin hailed lightning that tore away the right side of Thor's armour.

"And of his father before..." Another strike tore away the remainder of the armour from Thor's body. "I cast you out."Thor's body flew backwards into the portal, seemingly in slow motion as he fell through and disappeared. Judging by the angle of the portals aim, and the All-Fathers words, Loki guessed that Thor had been sent to Midgard. He looked shocked at Odin, eyes wide and mouth ajar before he left and walked quickly back to the palace.

Loki went straight to where he knew Sif and the warriors three would be after Fandral had seen the healers. Sure enough, there he was stretched out on the sofa, milking his injury. "Where's Thor?" When they asked, Loki realised he must have been standing there some minutes without saying anything

"Thor has been banished to Midgard."

-Page Break-

"Um... A little privacy wouldn't go amiss. There isn't like a screen or anything is there?"

"No, Mr. Stark." The nurse was around forty, fat, and refused to smile.

"Come on. Please?"

With a heavy sigh, the woman turned with her back to Tony so that he could piss in a pot that looked way too small to him. What if he missed? What if he had too much piss to fill the pot and it overflowed? What if he sneezed? The thought that it would probably be this nurse that would have to clear it up helped immensely.

Once he had done it, managing to do so without too much failure, he re-did his trousers and handed the pot to the nurse, who dropped the pot into a bag with Tony's name and number. "We'll call you with the results, Mr. Stark."

"Any chance you could make it sooner rather than later?" He asked, slipping a $50 bill out of his pocket and not so-discreetly passing it to the nurse with wide eyes. He didn't hear her reply because he walked off quickly to find Pepper waiting for him. "Can we go now?" He asked, stifling a yawn.

"I'll get a call about the blood test in an hour, and we might need to come back in. So instead of going all the way home, I though you could treat me to lunch and tell me all about Germany." She linked arms with him and led him out of the clinic.

"Pep, why don't nurses wear short skirts or low necklines anymore?" He whined, having frowned at a young and busty nurse with a revolting uniform.

Pepper rolled her eyes. "Because otherwise they'd have perverts like you ogling them all day."

Tony pulled a face. "I'm not a pervert, but fair point... Wouldn't mind seeing a bit of leg though." Pepper hit him in the arm. "Hey, I can't help it. She took my blood. I'm lightheaded." She gave him a look. "No it's true. And my arm" he lifted his arm and dropped it again. "Empty. No blood." He moved his arm in front of Pepper's face. "Feel how empty it is."

"No. Tony, stop being such a child."

"Aww... Pep." He took her arm again. "Fine where are we going?"

"There's a nice little French place half a block from here."

"Boo. Cheeseburger."

~Two hours later~

"Huh, would you look at that. I'm clean." Tony said, raising both eyebrows at a piece of paper with his test results. "Told ya."

"But... Then why did... Have you spoken to SHIELD about this?"

"Why would I? So they can take him in and question/probe him? I don't think so. Think of all the sex I'll be missing out on." He winked cheekily.

"Tony, this is serious. If he is from another planet, which I'm having a hard time believing right now, then he is a different species to you. Think of all the... diseases."

"You make him sound like some kind of rabid animal."

"Well that's the picture I'm getting here. He's not even human."

"Well... He looks pretty much the same as a normal human... Apart from those eyes... And his di-"

"Tony." Pepper interrupted him, folding her arms and giving him a look which made him smirk then shake his head.

"Okay, you want me to get tested for AIDS? Clap? Some kind of fancy alien-god-disease?" He said in an exasperated tone.

"You really aren't weirded out but this, are you? I mean, what if his species come to earth, impregnate women and then have their hybrid children taking over the world? What if you're pregnant Tony? I'm freaking out here."

"Pep, guys don't get pregnant." He said calmly. "And I don't feel as if anything's wrong here, and he doesn't seem like the kind of guy to take over."

"If he has magic, maybe you can get pregnant. What if he's possessing you, what if you're him. Oh my god. Magic Tony." Pepper sat down and Tony handed her a glass of water.

"He's not mind controlling me. I feel fine. I'm 100% me. And on the off chance I am somehow... Pregnant" he shivered. "Then there's no way I'm keeping it. So what if he has magic? I have my genius, and my suits. And I'll refuse sex with him again until he answers your doubts next time I see him." He sat down next to her and placed his arm around her shoulders comfortingly.

"Next time?" She sighed. "I thought things were weird when you and Obie were fighting in metal suits in the sky. My life would be so much simpler if I never accepted a job at Stark Industries."

"Aw, but Pep, if you didn't, I would probably be dead or something right now." He leant his head on her shoulder. "Plus, I'm a joy to work for. Everyone loves me. Even the legendary Norse God of Mischief does."

"He told you that?"

"Told me what?"

"That he loves you. Tony, if this guy's who he says he is, he's probably more than a couple thousand years old, an he's called the god of mischief and chaos and lies for a very good reason. He's not a nice guy Tony."

"He didn't say it, I just meant that he must like me because he came back for seconds." He smirked then shrugged. "Look, I know he can be a little... Rough at times but he isn't doing anything that'll endanger the world so until then I don't see the problem."

"What do you mean rough at times?" She sighed "ugh Tony, this is not some Godly fetish thing is it?"

"One god does not mean I have a fetish. And he may or may not have... Uh... It's nothing. Point is, he's not doing anything that would cause SHEILD to try and intervene so it's okay, right?"

She sighed one last time. "Just as long as you do let this get out of hand." She stood up and walked to the elevator. "Now if that's all Mr Stark?"

"That will be all Miss Potts." Then the metal doors shut and she disappeared.

Tony sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Okay, so he had seen this guy twice already, been forced into being the bottom (which he didn't mind as much as he thought he would which was surprising) and there was like a 1% chance he was pregnant. 'Ha, yeah right. That's impossible... Although I should probably get Jarvis to do some scans to check me over, and for anything else too.' He thought then stood up and jogged downstairs to lock himself away in his lab.

AN: There is another reason as to why Odin has Sleipnir but I felt as if it wouldn't work with this story, given that Loki (despite already being about 1048 years old) is quite young for an Asgardian (being equivalent to a teenager in human years) and I didn't want to go into long unnecessary dialogue. It also didn't seem like it fit for this story, so yeah. Didn't include it.

Also disclaimer: Though we usually take it in turns to write for different characters or sections, NinjacookieXD did the whole of the scene from Loki saying "we must go!" To them all returning to Asgard using elements from the film, his own limited Norse mythology knowledge and a script which was found online- which must either be the first script before the edits were made, a deleted scene which was changed to what we now see in the movie, or something completely random that also happened to be on the IMSDB . Com website. So there are some bits that aren't in the film. They work well though, right?

Geez, this is long. Sorry about that!

Last thing: I just realised I hadn't put characters for this :/ whoops. Well, that's fixed. Hope you all enjoyed this :)