Loki leant casually against the frame of the doorway of the room where Alexis toiled over her research. She'd been doing this part – researching the old myths and legends of the Norse – completely alone. Loki watched her carefully as she froze suddenly and turned, seemingly having sensed his presence. She looked back at him as calmly as he gazed at her.
"Can I help you?" she asked politely as she looked him up and down, removing her glasses.
"Actually," Loki smiled. "I was here to ask you if you required assistance in this research you are conducting concerning the legends of my people."
"Um…" Alexis regarded him carefully. He seemed serious…but she wasn't sure.
"I mean what I say." Loki moved away from the door, over to a stack of books a little nearer to Alexis. "I wish to aid in this study. Perhaps with another set of eyes, the answer you seek will become clear."
Alexis looked off to one side for a moment before returning her gaze to Loki. "Okay…yeah, sure. I'd love some help."
"Excellent!" Loki clapped his hands together. "Where shall I begin?"
Alexis smirked, placing her glasses on the book she'd been going over. She walked over to Loki and, taking a fistful of his sleeve in her hand, pulled him towards a series of desks a little ways away from the one she'd been at and made him sit.
Still smirking wickedly, she placed a thick volume in front of him and opened it to a section she'd marked. "You can start with this one." She said, moving to stand behind him. She placed her hands on his shoulders and leant forward to continue softly in his ear, "And then you can help me go through that other stack, over there."
Loki looked over to a large pile of books. Maybe this wasn't the best way to win her favour. Then it hit him. The mischievous smirk. The close contact. She was getting back at him. He sighed, reluctantly turning his attention to the book before him when he heard her quiet laugh.
Still leaning on his shoulders, she whispered cheekily in his ear. "Still want to help?"
Loki swallowed. 'You wicked little thing.' He thought and smirked to himself. "Yes. I have every intention of helping in this research…and you should be going back to your books as well."
"Oh, I am." Alexis replied, going back to her desk and donning her glasses, and turned back to her own research. 'Let's see how long this lasts.'
"Her father did what to her?!" Thor yelled, watching what little colour was in his brothers face fade completely.
"You heard me." Stark replied and crossed his arms across his chest.
"How does she find the will to go on?" Thor asked. "How does she find that courage?"
"Because she must." Stark's usually bright eyes were void of life, as they always were when he thought much on the subject.
"Good Gods in Valhalla! What kind of man would do such a thing to a child?" Thor's face contorted with grief.
"No…not a man." Loki looked up at Stark.
Stark nodded. "No. Not a man…"
Again, Loki and Stark shared a glance, speaking together. "…a monster…"
Loki watched her work. Books were lying open everywhere, there were notes scribbled down on scraps of paper and placed in other books to mark important passages of text, and there were pages of notes and diagrams and charts of astrophysical alignments hung up all over the place that she would stare at for extended periods of time and mumble to herself before finally closing her eyes and sighing in frustration.
Alexis threw several pages of notes away from her and groaned in pained frustration. "It doesn't make any sense!" she moaned, her head in her hands. "None of it. And there's nothing in all of history to coincide with Mimir's prophecy. No texts making reference to it… nothing!"
"Tell me what the oracle head said again." Loki looked over at her, wanting to help.
Alexis sighed, but began to recite the oracle again. "To avert Ragnarok's coming, you must find the bravest but weakest of your party and sacrifice their most dearly held. But if you stop the giving of blood, two champions must the weakest choose to fight, but the weakest's own champion must be from the heart -"
"Can we summarise, please?" Loki sighed, irritated. "You know I do not care for oracle verse."
"Fine." Alexis rethought how to word what she was trying to say. "To avert Ragnarok, the one who is weakest but bravest must sacrifice the one they hold most dear to the frost giants and the unworthy dead…if this is attempted to be halted, a champion must be chosen to fight the leader of the frost giants. However, the champion must be the champion of that weakest's heart, for none other will suffice." Alexis paused.
"Makes sense…I think…" Loki looked up at her from the book he was pouring over. "What else was there?"
Alexis continued. "Mimir prophesised that there would be an attempt to avert the Ragnarok by a mortal, weak in nature, from 'immortal descent'. The one nearest to her heart would be her mother, who would be offered in sacrifice but would have her only child stand against those who required her blood, therefore requiring a champion to be chosen. The champion the mortal chooses would then have to fight 'those he was descended from' in order to save the one he loved – and her mother – from the sacrificial table they would face should he lose." Alexis stopped, frowning slightly. "However, the prophecy fails to tell of the outcome of the champion's battle, leaving the supposed saviour without knowledge of the fate of the loved one he fought for."
"A mortal of immortal descent, who is an only child, and whose mother will be the sacrifice." Loki pondered out loud.
"With the chosen champion fighting 'those he was descended from'…" Alexis murmured to herself, then her eyes widened with shock. "Ooh! It was right there all along!" she darted to the door. "Tony! Tony! We have to go see mother! She knows! Good golly, she knows!"
"Knows what?" Loki asked, his expression confused as he regarded Alexis carefully.
"The story!" Alexis babbled as she paced back and forth franticly. "She knew that story by heart! She told it to me nearly every night! I need to know that last paragraph!"
"What story?" Loki placed his hands on her shoulders and held her still. "Alexis, what story?"
"The story of Ragnarok, the final battle of the Gods…how it could not be stopped because of their love of fighting…but there was one paragraph, right at the end of the story, that made reference to how it could be stopped if only the Gods wouldn't fight…" Alexis muttered, mostly to herself, but Loki heard all the same. "I must go and see my mother!"
"Your mother is in a mental care facility." Tony's voice came from the doorway. "I need not remind you why."
"But she knows!" Alexis cried. "Tony, she knows!"
"No. She knew, once upon a time." Tony's voice was gentle, but pained. "She doesn't remember anything anymore. She just sits there all day staring blankly at the opposite wall unless you play that one damned song over and over again." Tony's voice grew steadily louder and angrier. "And I won't let you put yourself through the pain of regaining your mother for the one hour you're allowed to visit her, only to lose her again. It hurts you more each time you do it, and I won't let you do that to yourself anymore!"
Alexis' face went blank as she withdrew into herself, mentally shutting down as Tony yelled at her. She needed the end of that story. She was sure it was the key to oracle's riddle. But Tony was right. It did hurt to lose her mother time, and time again. It was why she'd stopped going to see her. But she had to now…she had to know!
Alexis brought herself out of her stupor. "Tony!" she said firmly. "We need to see her. That's my final word on it. You hear me?! We're going, whether you come and support your little sister or not is entirely your affair."
"Fine." Tony replied callously, stomping out of the room.
"Fine!" she called after him, determined to have the last word.
It was only then that she really thought about what she was suggesting and Tony was arguing; as she moved away from Loki to glare out the window in frustration at the world of Asgard below them. Still, through everything else, the only thought that went through her mind...was, 'Mother…'
"I'm sorry, miss, but we can only allow family to see patients of this facility." The admin nurse behind the front desk said, barely looking up.
"Look…" Alexis glanced at the name badge the stony girl wore. "Nancy. I am family. I'm her daughter."
The nurse smirked and rolled her eyes. "Right."
"Just look it up." Alexis half snarled.
"Is everything alright here?" a familiar voice asked from behind her.
Alexis turned and sighed in relief. "Hey, Dave. Would you tell princess over here that I'm family."
"I know you are, you can go through." Dave paused. "But you're gonna have to tell me who these guys are."
"Sure." Alexis turned and gestured to each person in turn. "Tony, my adoptive brother. My…fiancé…L…" she thought for a moment, "Luke." She looked at Loki and shrugged. "And my soon to be father-in-law."
"Very well." Dave cast a dubious glance over all of them. "In you go."
"Thanks," Alexis' smile was strained. "Same room?"
"Same room."
"Okay… this way guys." Alexis turned and pulled Loki along with her.
Loki looked sideways and smirked at Alexis. "Luke?" Alexis merely shrugged, so he continued, "Your 'fiancé'?"
"Well…I wasn't lying… technically…" Loki's smirk grew wider at the implication in her voice.
Alexis pulled them along swiftly down several corridors and paused when she came to the right door. "Right," she muttered, her hand shaking as she reached for the door handle. Alexis took a deep breath and opened the door. A woman sat, staring blankly at the opposite wall from the centre of the room. Alexis' eyes grew sad and were reflected in her aggrieved sigh. "Hello, mummy…"
Alexis knelt in front of her mothers' catatonic form; eyes brimmed with tears that threatened to overflow at any moment.
"Lexie…" Tony's indignant gaze found hers.
"Just play the song, Tony." Alexis' voice sounded dead as she turned back towards her mother. "Let's get this done. I have no more wish to be in pain than you do… I am no masochist."
Tony merely nodded and moved to the CD player situated in the corner of the room. He looked back at Alexis one last time then hit play, then repeat. He moved to stand behind Loki. "Watch and listen closely… she'll never let you see this side of her again."
The song played, 'Zuhm-ma zhum-ma-zhum-ma Zuhm-ma zhum-ma-zhum-ma…' and her mother's eyes focussed.
"Hey mummy." Alexis' voice shook slightly as she looked up at her mother from her crouched position on the floor by the chair.
"Hello dearie." Her mother smiled, seemingly normal, then frowned. "What are you doing here? You're meant to be in school…why are you crying?"
"It's Saturday, mum…and, it's because I'm happy to see you." Alexis forced smile turned genuine in that one moment.
"Happy to see me… you see me every day sweetie. You tell your mum what's wrong." Her mothers' kindly voice seemed, to Loki, to soothe Alexis.
"Nothing's wrong, mum. We just came to see you, that's all." Alexis explained. "Me and Tony came to see you."
"Little Tony Stark! Oh bless his soul. He and his dad are always so good to us." Her mother sighed. "But, you do look upset dearie… I'll go make us a cup of tea and-"
"I'll get it!" Tony declared, and left the room.
"How nice. Now," her mothers' gaze focussed on Loki for a moment and then on Alexis once more. "You tell me what's wrong."
"Nothing's wrong, mum…" Alexis paused and listened to where the song was up to. 'Ohh, Lana, don't make me blue, Ohh, Lana, don't you know, Don't you know, I love you', before continuing, "but I do have something to ask you…" Alexis looked to Odin for a moment.
"Of course, sweetheart, anything at all." Her mother touched a hand briefly to Alexis' cheek. "Ask away!"
"You remember the old storybook that…that dad gave us…" Alexis paused and her mother nodded. "There was one story that you always told me from that book… the one about the coming of Ragnarok?"
"Ah, yes," her mother gave a small smile and nodded. "One of your favourites."
"I need you to tell me the last part of the story…the very last part, mum." Alexis continued. "Please?"
"You're a little old for bedtime stories now, Alexis…" her mother replied, reserved.
"It's important, mum." She pleaded.
Her mother looked at her curiously for a moment. "Alright sweetheart."
"Your tea, ladies." Tony announced as he re-entered the room and handed them each teacups.
"Thank you, dear." Alexis' mother smiled up at Tony, with no idea who he was. "Now…the story…"
"Thanks…" Alexis mumbled, her sad eyes met Tony's for a brief moment as her mother began to recite the story's end.
"…And thunder clapped and lightening rained. The giant wolf swallowed the moon and the sun, and the earth – once frozen from three years of winter – was engulfed by flames, and all beings perished, including the Gods. All because of a love of war and carnage and chaos, with only two mortals surviving the terror of Ragnarok. However, had the Gods not fought, there had been a way to stop all the destruction from occurring. If they listened to the oracle and followed the clues, they could have lived…but they would still have ignored one thing, one piece of the puzzle. The only clue they would not listen to was that it would be a girl of immortal descent that would be the aid in their time of need. Their only other clue was that the girl would not be only of immortal descent… she would be half of Asgard and half of Midgard…" her mother concluded.
"Thanks mum." Alexis smiled as she stood and backed away from her, tears forming in her eyes once again.
"What's all this about?" her mother asked warily.
Alexis listened as the song wound to a close, 'Oh, La-La-Lana, La-La-Lana, Hey, hey, Lana, He-he-hey.', and her pained gaze fell on her mother, a single tear trickled down her cheek.
"Goodbye, mother." Alexis watched her mother turn catatonic once more as the final bar of the song played. Her tears flowed freely now, no longer having to hide her pain from her mother. She turned and began to run from the room as she gasped, "I have to get out of here!"
Loki stopped her briefly, "Just play the song over again… then you'll never lose her-"
"Doing that turns her from catatonic into a lethal monster…" she paused and shrugged out of his grip. "I'll always lose her."
And with that, she ran…
Loki watched her pour over her notes again and again in quick succession, finding hints in regards to Ragnarok and the mysterious hybrid girl that they now sought. She had declined his help for the moment as she scurried back and forth between books and various notes that seemed to drip from the walls of the room. So, for now, he interested himself with the various myths that surrounded himself, several making him laugh out loud. Until he found a particularly strange one.
"Since when did I have children?" he asked himself out loud. "And since when was one a horse?!" Loki's eyes widened slightly. "An eight-legged horse?!"
For the first time in hours, Alexis looked up from her work and smirked. "Since myths are myths. Not all are meant to be taken seriously, but each gives a lesson…that one teaches about trickery and deceit."
Loki looked up, having not expected her reply. "Ah…I see." He quickly amended, "Not that I haven't had countless liaisons over the centuries with women." He emphasised. "But never had any of those ever resulted in children."
"Chill out," Alexis turned back to her work, holding two pages up to the light. "Another myth says that Thor slept with a woman who turned out to be a goat who'd been given the appearance of a lovely woman by Baldur in revenge for something."
"Actually…" Loki smirked, the implication in his voice clear.
Alexis looked at him, her jaw agape. "No!" Loki nodded. "That really happened?! Oh my Odin, you're not kidding!"
"I do not kid, Alexis." Loki's smirk turned into a grin. "That actually happened."
"Pun intended?" Alexis grinned gleefully back at Loki.
His grin became even wider as he replied. "No… a mere happy accident."
Alexis chuckled and shook her head as she turned back to the pages in her hands, holding them up to the light once more. Loki noticed a lock of hair fall out of place and hang in front of her right eye; in a way that he would have found highly irritating, but that she seemed to not notice.
Having chosen a path of action, Loki stood and walked confidently to Alexis' side, standing very close to her as she continued to observe the pages in her hands. Carefully, Loki placed his hands on her shoulders, gently turning her towards him and tucked the stray lock of hair behind her ear. He continued the action, brushing his thumb softly down her cheek and then across her bottom lip.
Alexis gasped at his touch, but didn't move as he looked into her eyes, seemingly trying to gauge her reaction. She trembled slightly as his hand cupped her cheek, his gaze never leaving hers. It was the first time she'd let anyone, other than Tony or her mother, touch her in five years. She blinked up at Loki as he leant forward slightly and brushed his lips against her forehead. Alexis felt her contented sigh right down to her toes as her eyes closed, and a soft smile graced her features as Loki pulled her into his arms, embracing her firmly.
Alexis felt a small tug on her heart as Loki held her close. It was the kind of feeling she had for Tony…but different…stronger…almost as if…
'Almost as if I was in love with him…' she thought, then corrected herself, suddenly terrified. 'No, not almost…I am in love with him…'
Unknown to the embracing couple, another set of eyes looked on, astounded. Tony leant against the doorway to the room observing the two have an intimate, 'thought to be private' moment. Not knowing what to think, he quietly pushes himself away from the doorframe and makes his way silently down the corridors in search of Thor…but whether he knew any more than Tony did… 'It is impossible to know.'
R&R people!
love you all!