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

AN: So this turned out to be one monster of a chapter. Again, I could have split it in two, but I felt it worked better like this. Prepare yourself for an action-chapter and please, please let me know what you thought of it. I have never been good at writing big action-scenes…

Thank you so much for all your reviews! They are what inspire me always. Maralexa wondered if Heimdall wouldn't have seen Loki escape last chapter, but I just assume that he was too busy talking with Thor and sending him back to earth. Is that asatisfyinganswer?

And if you want to find out what Loki decided to do, then read on and find out :)

~ Shadows and Regrets ~

Chapter 12

~ o ~

Present time

~ o ~

BAM!

The sound of the Chitauri-weapon against the Captain's shield was deafening. Thor swirled around to see if his friend was still standing, but Steve was holding fine on his own. For now at least, Thor thought. He had to admit that Loki was right. The Chitauri were more fierce this time around. They cared little for their surroundings and Thor dreaded to see the humans of this planet getting hurt.

Buildings were being torn down and people – men, women and children - were running and shouting through the streets. It was chaos. Thor couldn't help thinking that Loki would marvel at the sight. His brother had always felt better when the situation was uncontrolled. But Thor also firmly believed that Loki would never intentionally start such a mess.

"Watch out!" It was no doubt meant as a shout, but Steve's voice barely came above all the noise.

Thor knew what his friend was referring to. Three more enemies tried to approach them from behind, but Thor quickly faced them and sent Mjolnir their way. The hammer knocked them aside, killing them instantly. The problem wasn't really fighting them, it was that more kept coming at them. Whenever you killed three, six more seemed to replace them. Such was the case now.

The Chitauri attacked him all at once and Thor felt a fist – hard as a rock – hit him in the face. A thousand stars momentarily danced before his eyes, but he knew he had no time to shake them away. He managed to hit one Chitauri-soldiers in the chest while the others were still all over him. The weight was slowly pushing him to the ground.

"Captain!" Thor shouted. His voice did manage to come above the noise. Steve was at his side in an instant, knocking away Chitauri-soldiers with his fists and shield. Thor threw the rest off of his back. He killed them with his hammer.

His gaze was drawn to the sky then where Iron Man flew by. Energy shot from his iron hands, blasting the Chitauri away. Thor wished he could say it made a difference, but more and more simply flooded the street. Thor dreaded to think how other parts of the city were currently looking. Entire blocks were probable destroyed by now.

"Where is Black Widow?" Steve asked.

Thor moved his gaze away from Iron Man. The Hulk was currently smashing Chitauri-soldiers together at the other end of the street. His roars were what caused the most noise. Thor let his gaze slide further away. Natasha and Fury were shooting at every enemy that moved, but the Chitauri were starting to close in on them as well. Somewhere on top of a building – Thor couldn't see exactly where – stood Hawkeye who was taking down soldiers from his nest. All around Natasha and Fury lay dead Chitauri with arrows sticking out of their bodies.

"We're losing," Steve breathed, picking up his shield as he'd used it to knock out a Chitauri-soldier.

Thor nodded, swallowing heavily. His grip on Mjolnir tightened. "But I am not giving up," he said persistently, "we managed to defeat them before. We can do it again."

"Yeah, only-" came Tony's voice from above them, "there was a wormhole then. I managed to close that and in a lucky twist of fate, the Chitauri died. This time, they're coming from those spaceships." As if to add power to his message, Tony shot a frustrated beam of energy into the sky. It hit one of the ships, but seemed to bounce right off.

There was not a chance that they would manage to destroy all of the spaceships. For one, Thor had no idea how many there were. He counted the visible ones; five ships were currently flying in the sky. He was certain there were more floating around just above the planet's atmosphere. Two: the exterior of those spaceships was almost indestructible. The mortals were already attacking it with their best weapons, but it was pointless so far.

"There must be something we can do," Steve said almost hopelessly. He had to turn around to fight two Chitauri-soldiers. One of them hit him in the stomach and Steve groaned painfully.

Thor wanted to run to his aid, but he witnessed seven soldiers coming his way and he had to prepare for battle himself. Two of those seven deflected to his left and began attacking the Captain as well. Thor focused on the five remaining and knocked them away with his hammer. Once he had dealt with them, more came at him.

"This is not good," Steve shouted, using his shield to push away the Chitauri-soldiers, "we're getting overrun here!"

"Stark?" Thor looked at the sky, but the Iron Man had gone to aid Black Widow and Fury. He and Steve were on their own again. Then one of the ships landed and a few moments later, hundreds more Chitauri-soldiers streamed out like ants. Thor turned around to face Steve, his eyes betraying his desperation. "We're in trouble."

~ o ~

The place Loki had teleported to was dark and musty. His eyes needed a moment to adjust, but Loki quickly realized where he was. He'd been here before, months ago. The spaceships of the Chitauri were not known for their hygiene. Carefully, he walked across the narrow pathway where he had appeared.

Teleportation was not simple. It required focus and incredible amounts of magic. For a moment, Loki feared he had used all of his power again, but he was relieved to find that he still had juice in his tank. He had focused on The Other and if he'd teleported to this place, then that meant The Other was around somewhere.

When he walked across a corridor – cautious for any Chitauri-warrior – he began to hear loud noises. It took him a moment to understand what those noises meant. They came from outside the ship. People were fighting outside and Loki realized that the Chitauri were currently attacking earth. That meant Thor was out there somewhere, trying to protect this planet.

Loki turned his attention away from Thor and the fight. He was here for one reason; finding The Other and killing him. It wouldn't be an easy task, but Loki was certain he could succeed. Footsteps approached him and he quickly darted aside, hiding in a dark corner of the ship. Four heavily armed Chitauri-warriors marched by him. Loki knew they were about to join the fight.

As soon as the footsteps had faded, he continued his search for The Other. All the time, he kept wishing he still had his scepter. He didn't know where the weapon was currently. Perhaps it was on Midgard, examined by the scientist within the Avengers. Perhaps it was already on Asgard, safely locked away in the weapon's vault. Loki made a mental note to himself to search and reclaim his weapon.

More footsteps approached, softer this time. He heard perhaps two pair of feet stamping on the metal-like floor. Two Chitauri-warriors would be easily subdued and Loki knew he had no other choice but to attack them. Magic was a great weapon, but actually having a sword or something along those lines might be useful. He hid himself again, but when the two Chitauri walked by, Loki reappeared behind them. The two warriors barely registered his presence before Loki used a simply spell to knock them unconscious.

The weapon used by the Chitauri were long, thin energy rifles. Bayonets were attached to the end which could be used to defend yourself against physically close enemies. It was an easily used weapon - even the humans managed to! - and Loki picked one up which the left warrior had been carrying.

Having armed himself, Loki continued with his search for The Other. He managed to evade twelve more Chitauri-warriors while skulking around the ship before he sensed The Other's near presence. He was close now and Loki prepared himself for a fight.

~ o ~

The Avengers had gathered in the middle of the street. They stood back to back, fighting off the Chitauri to the best of their abilities. At least, most of them stood back to back. Thor didn't know where the Hulk was, but he knew the beast was smashing Chitauri-soldiers together somewhere. At times, he could even hear him roar. Iron Man was shooting pure, raw energy at the Chitauri, blasting them apart. Captain America was knocking them down with his bare hands, using his shield to protect himself as well as to hit enemies in the face. Black Widow and Fury were shooting anything that moved, each time hitting the enemy straight in the head. Hawkeye had come down from his roof as well and kept the Chitauri at a distance using his arrows and a scarily good aim.

And Thor used his hammer to knock anything away that even tried to approach them. The tactic worked for a while and the Chitauri were dying quickly, but that didn't solve the other problem. The spaceships made sure that there was a constant flow of new Chitauri-soldiers. No matter how many Thor killed, more still came at him.

The battle was going on for hours now and the Avengers grew tired. Apart from Thor and the Hulk, they were all human and they were all reaching their breaking point.

"How is SHIELD doing on destroying those ships?" Iron Man asked Fury who was in constant contact with headquarters. Coulson was currently organizing every attack made on the spaceships.

"They're not getting the results they were hoping for," Fury shouted so that his voice would come above all the noise. "More missiles are coming."

"That's not gonna help," Hawkeye said, using an arrow to actually stab an enemy in the throat. He then proceeded to place that arrow in his bow and fired it to kill another enemy. His movements were swift, yet he was beginning to slow down due to fatigue.

"Do you have a better idea?" Iron Man asked. It was one of those rare times where Tony was being dead serious. There lay not a hint of amusement in his voice.

There came no response. More Chitauri closed in on them and the Avengers had no time to discuss battle plans. They were too busy trying to survive. Thor raised his hammer and summoned lightening from the sky. That managed to knock out a dozen Chitauri-soldiers, but again, more just took their places.

"Watch out!" Steve suddenly yelled.

Thor spun around just in time to see Black Widow taking an awful blow to her chest. She flew back, hitting the pavement a few yards away. Her head smacked against the asphalt. She didn't move.

"No!" Hawkeye cried and he rushed to her side. As soon as he tried to cradle her head in his lap, he found his hands red with her blood. "Oh God," he breathed, "Tasha?"

Thor – as well as everyone else – wished he could go to her and help, but that was impossible. They needed to keep the Chitauri at bay or they would be overrun in a matter of seconds.

"Stark," Fury barked, anger in his voice since he nearly lost one of his best agents, "can you fly her to safety?"

"Yeah, no problem!" Iron Man rushed to Black Widow's side and picked her up. With Hawkeye's help, he managed to lay her over his shoulder. Not five seconds later they had disappeared from view. Thor could see that Hawkeye had found new energy after this. Anger fueled him and arrows shot from his bow at a new quickened pace.

"If those ships aren't destroyed any time soon," Steve said, gasping for air as he fought three Chitauri-soldiers, "we're lost."

No one replied. They all knew Steve was right.

~ o ~

Loki should have known that this is where he would find The Other. The main control room of the ship was grand with machines and control panels everywhere. There were no windows, but artificial light was coming from somewhere. Loki didn't bother to see where it was coming from exactly. He only had eye for his enemy number one.

Besides The Other, there were at least two dozen Chitauri-soldiers present. Loki knew he stood a chance fighting them, but he'd rather not. He could get injured – in the worst case scenario, he could die – and that would hinder him in his battle with The Other. A plan started to form in his mind and Loki knew he only had one chance at this.

Inhaling deeply, he steadied himself. He would need swiftness, velocity and, most of all, focus. Loki tightened his grip on the rifle and calmed himself. His heart was beating at a regular pace and his breathing was controlled and even. Now was the time.

Now or never.

Loki ran forward, surprising the Chitauri. He paid them no attention. As soon as he got to The Other, he grabbed him and teleported them away from the control room. Loki had spent a few days on Midgard when he'd tried to subjugate the planet, but there was one place he was more familiar with than he liked to admit.

He teleported them to the platform on top of Stark Tower, making sure that they landed on the actual platform. It would be a shame if he miscalculated and they ended up in the sky. It would be brilliant if The Other met his death on the pavement below them, but Loki rather liked living and he wasn't planning on falling to his death just yet.

As soon as their feet touched the ground beneath them, The Other pulled himself free from Loki's grasp. Loki made sure that he never took his eye away from him while the rifle still lay firmly in his hand. He was ready for this fight.

"Well," The Other said, carefully weighing down each word, "I thought I had to conquer Asgard to get to you, but it seems you just made the mistake of falling right in my lap."

"Not a mistake," Loki replied, making sure he was ready for any attack. The battle below them was fierce. Loki simply knew that many casualties were bound to fall. This time, however, he could not be blamed. "You have no one here to defend you."

The Other smiled. "Loki, you know I don't need anyone to defend me."

Loki realized that The Other was currently without weapon. If any time was the time to strike, it was now. However, Loki was not an idiot and he knew The Other didn't really need a weapon to fight. A shiver ran down his spine at the thought of the painful touch The Other had once given him.

There was a moment of dead silence and then The Other surged forward. Loki blocked the attack with his rifle and in return hit The Other in the face. He managed to cut The Other, a the gash now starting underneath his black eye and ending just above his thin lips. The Other was furious, but showed no signs of pain. Instead, he shot a bolt of energy towards Loki which hit him in the shoulders.

Loki stumbled back, but managed to stay standing. He aimed his rifle at The Other and fired. The energy coming from the weapon was surprisingly powerful and when it hit The Other in his abdomen, a soft groan escaped The Other's lips. Loki tried to hit him again, but this time The Other managed to dart aside. More energy bolts came Loki's way and it was difficult to avoid them all.

He decided to use his oldest and most beloved trick.

A dozen replicas appeared out of thin air and Loki quickly took a position between them. The Other roared with annoyance. The replicas were perfect and there was no way to tell which one was the real Loki. The Other fired more bolts of energy, each of them phasing through the replicas. In the meantime, real Loki tried to get as close as he could to the The Other. When he found himself close enough, he jumped forward and planted the bayonet of the rifle deep inside The Other's shoulder.

The Other cried out and knocked Loki away from him. Loki fell back and lost his balance. The Other was much stronger than an ordinary Chitauri-warrior and Loki found himself without breath. He gasped and coughed, trying to roll away from his enemy. However, The Other managed to hit him in the back with another energy bolt.

This is not good, Loki thought, not good at all!

The Other stepped forward, his left arm hanging awkwardly besides his body due to the stab wound to his shoulder. Loki tried to push himself up, but he found The Other's foot on his chest, pushing him back down. "You made a mistake, Loki, you should never have come to me."

Loki wished he still had the rifle in his hand, but at least The Other could never take his magic away. He thought of a quick spell and sent fire towards The Other's face. The foot quickly disappeared from his chest and Loki quickly scrambled away. He tried to reach for the rifle which lay a few feet away from him, but then The Other used the one power Loki dreaded most.

The Other placed a hand over his left ear and sent surges of excruciating pain throughout his body. Loki screamed. His entire body tensed. He waited for the pain to end, but that did not happen. Seconds turned into minutes. Those minutes felt like hours.

When The Other finally withdrew his hand, it left Loki gasping for air, his knees pulled up to his chest. He was faintly aware of how ridiculously weak he appeared, but Loki could not move. The pain was still reverberating through his body and mind. His eyes seemed unable to focus on anything, but he could hear The Other's voice clearly.

"I told your father," The Other said slowly and virulently, "that we, the Chitauri, do not torture our prisoners, except if they have information we need. I told Odin you had none. I lied." The Other came a little closer to Loki's face. "Your head is filled with little secrets. You will make our attack on Asgard ever so easy. You will tell us everything about your home world; its defenses, its weaknesses. Everything."

More pain then invaded Loki's body.

He screamed.