Shadows and Regrets Chapter 3, a thor fanfic

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Marvel-characters!

AN: Thank you so much for all the reviews! It's amazing to read your thoughts and ideas. I don't consider this story to be AU, though. (SPOILER if you haven't seen the movie!) 'The Avengers' happened, only Coulson didn't die. I love the guys too much to not include him. Where the Avengers and Loki stand at this point will become clear in this chapter. Enjoy!

~ Shadows and Regrets ~

Chapter 3

Thor couldn't believe what he was hearing. He refused to believe it. His eyes were entirely focused on Fury and the last minute had become a staring contest. Thor wouldn't be the one to break away first.

"I am sorry, Thor," Fury said as calmly as he could, "but Loki is an enemy of this world. Only months ago, he destroy most of New York. I must arrest him and keep him under constant surveillance."

"My brother came to me for help," Thor protested, his voice much too loud for Fury's liking, "and I will not have SHIELD lock him away in a dungeon." When Thor had set out to find the one responsible for the entire situation, he hadn't expected Fury waiting for him. The director had insisted on speaking with him, but Thor had never thought that this would be the subject of their conversation.

Tony awkwardly cleared his throat. Thor had forgotten that the Man of Iron was present as well, but he wanted him to stay silent right now. Tony had no business in this conversation and Thor knew that whatever Tony had to say would never be in Loki's favor. None of the Avengers liked his brother.

"With all due respect, Fury," Tony said, leaning back in his chair, "but Loki is in no condition to stay in a cell. Right now, he needs constant medical attention. I know the medical bay doesn't offer the best chances of security, but Loki isn't going anywhere. Besides, he doesn't have any magic."

Thor was pleasantly surprised to hear Tony say those words. It seemed he had a heart after all.

"Says Loki," Fury said bitterly, "but we all know he is the God of Lies. He might just be scheming something grand here."

"No," Thor shook his head, "I know my brother. He has been genuinely hurt and he is genuinely scared. He isn't scheming anything. Loki came here for protection and I shall give it to him and I am willing to go far to get him that protection."

"He came here for protection?" Fury echoed, spitting the words out. "Loki shouldn't be coming here in the first place! When we allowed him to leave earth after his failed attack, we expected him to be punished for his madness. Your brother should be in Asgardian prison."

Fury had a point. Thor swallowed heavily and thought about that. When he had left Loki on Asgard, he had been certain that his brother would be in good hands. Yes, Loki had been punished and Odin had imprisoned him, but had that not been just? How had Loki escaped from Asgard only to end up beaten half to death in Thor's bedroom?

"I believe-" Tony said, sensing the difficult situation could only escalate from this point on, "that Loki has been running from something. I believe he tried his best to fight, but he lost. In the end, he could only turn to Thor for help, but something went wrong."

Fury turned his eye to Tony. "Are you saying that whatever was after Loki erased your memories from the last twenty four hours?"

Tony shrugged. "Maybe."

"It would have been helpful if Loki could have told us, but he remembers nothing as well." Thor who had been pacing the room up to this point, now came to a halt and leaned onto the edge of a chair. He allowed his gaze to shift between Tony and Fury. His short conversation with Loki lay fresh in his mind and he still could not let go of one particular thought: 'Loki is hiding something'. Thor would never tell Fury this.

"Can't you contact that fella from Asgard?" Tony asked, raising one eyebrow. "You know, the one who sees all or whatever you said he could do."

"Heimdall?" Thor straightened his back and crossed his arms over his chest. "He has never been able to track my brother. At a young age, Loki managed to shield himself from Heimdall's all-seeing gaze. It is tricky and powerful magic. Even now with Loki temporarily without magic, Heimdall will still not be able to see him."

"So we are still nowhere," Tony sighed.

"Let me tell you this, friends," Thor said with a sudden sharpness to his voice. He felt he had to be very clear about this point. "I will not allow anyone to take Loki and I will not helplessly stand by and watch you lock him away."

~ o ~

Odin stood on the balcony of his chamber. It was a warm day, with no clouds in the sky. The King of Asgard could only stare into the distance. He wished he could turn back the clock. A few years ago, a lovely day such as this would have meant a nice time with the family. Thor would probably go hunting; Frigga would go for a walk and Loki - Odin sighed heavily when thinking of his youngest son.

It had all changed.

Odin tried to pinpoint the exact time it had all changed, but he could only conclude that so many things had happened over the past few years that it was difficult to pinpoint the exact time.

The door to his chamber opened and Odin knew who had entered. The footsteps of his wife echoed through the room and came towards him. Odin turned around and looked at Frigga. She looked lovely as usual, but her eyes betrayed how sad she felt. Lately, Frigga had never been really happy. Odin could not blame her.

"I know why you are here," Odin said. There lay no accusation in his voice. In fact, there lay very little emotion in his voice. Lately, Odin simply had trouble staying attached to it all. So much was happening and he was losing control of it all. He was supposed to be King of Asgard, Leader of the Nine Realms, but when it came to his family, he was the most powerless man in the universe.

The sadness in Frigga's eyes turned to anger. "This is outrageous," she spat. It was such uncharacteristic behavior for her. "Why are they here?"

"You know why they are here," Odin replied calmly, "your question is why do I allow them to be here."

Frigga said nothing. Her face grew pale and her hands had become two fists.

"I cannot send them away, Frigga," Odin explained. He truly wished he could do so – it would certainly make matters much easier – but in the end it would start a war. Odin had seen enough war for his very long lifetime and he was prepared to do much to keep peace in the realms. "They have come to me with a proposal and I am considering it."

"No." Frigga shook head and stepped forward until she stood almost directly before her husband. "No. Please tell me you are not actually considering it!" She sounded more horrified and shocked than angry.

"They have rightful claims and-"

Frigga's hand hit his cheek. It made a filthy sound. Odin's head had snapped aside and he slowly raised his gaze to meet the eyes of his wife. He was not angry with her; he did not even blame her.

"And he is your son." With those words, she spun around on her heels and stalked from the room. She clearly did not regret hitting her King, but it had shaken her. Odin could see that her hands were trembling and that her eyes had been flooded with tears.

He is my son, Odin thought, but what does that mean exactly? How far can I go for him? How much can I risk for him?

… Even after everything that had happened recently.

Odin sighed.

~ o ~

Fury opened his mouth to reply when a high-pitched alarm went off. For a split second, the three men looked at each other, but neither of them hesitated any longer. They all ran from the room to find whatever caused the alarm to go off. Thor didn't know what the others were thinking, but he could only think of Loki and his safety.

As they raced across a hallway, they encountered Maria Hill. She had been running to the control room just like they had been.

"What is going on?" Fury demanded to know.

Maria came to a halt and turned to address her superior. "We picked up a rapidly approaching spaceship, sir. It appears to be heavily armed so we don't think it's friendly."

"I swear to God," Fury muttered under his breath, "if this is Loki's doing…"

"No, I don't believe it," Thor said stubbornly. Tony and Fury ran after Maria to the grand control room of these headquarters, but Thor did not follow them. Instead, he spun around and headed the opposite direction which would lead him to the medical wing of the building.

Everyone was on high alert and no one paid the running God of Thunder any attention. Thor made it to Loki's room after a few quick turns and twists and he didn't hesitate to enter his brother's hospital room. For some reason, he had expected Loki to be sleeping, but what he found shocked and angered him at the same time.

Loki had managed to drag himself from his bed, only his legs must have given out because he lay on the ground with his hands reaching for support.

"What are you doing?" Thor demanded.

Loki was clearly in agony, but he continued to hoist himself up. "I wasn't going to sit around while someone attacked this base."

Thor rushed to his brother's side and helped him sit up on the floor. When Loki tried to stand, Thor made sure that his brother had no room to maneuver. He was exhausting himself while he should be resting.

"You're in no condition to be running around now."

"Tell me what's going on!" This time, Loki's voice was much stronger.

"A spaceship is approaching and it appears to be hostile." Thor didn't want to think what would happen if someone attacked them. Humans were good warriors and they had proven themselves during the battle against Loki and his army a few months ago, but they were nowhere near ready for another attack. "It is heavily armed," Thor continued, "and we are not ready to fight again."

Loki's face paled and Thor somehow knew it wasn't because he was putting such stress on his body.

"What is it?" Thor asked. "What do you know?"

"The spaceship," Loki panted as he had trouble breathing now. He had several bruises on his chest and besides three bruised ribs, he also had a broken one. If he continued to stress his body like this, he could pass out again. "I know who is coming."

"What? How?"

"I know who is coming, Thor," Loki repeated, "the Chitauri are coming."

Not a sound managed to come from Thor's mouth. The Chitauri were powerful and they might not be the brightest aliens, but they could fight a decent battle. It had been them who had wrecked New York after all. What Thor didn't understand, however, was why they were back and why Loki knew this.

"Why are they coming?" Thor asked, having found his voice again. "How do you know it's them?"

"Because…" Loki hesitated and looked directly into his brother's eyes, "they are here for me."

AN: Thoughts?