Odin wanted to smile at the way Loki looked at his lady, though his adopted son's words quashed the impulse. Loki was right; the tribunal would look to put the blame for all of this on the boy's head. Certainly, Loki had made mistakes; but so had he. The way Loki spoke to this woman, this mortal, as they chatted casually while waiting for assistance to return Thor to the Valhöll, warmed his tired old heart. His son's tone showed not only that he was enamored with the girl, but that he held her in deepest respect. Heimdall had mistaken nothing. And the girl…she was stubborn, courageous, powerful, and perhaps just what one so wild and willful as Loki needed. "Is it wise to move him, my lady?" he asked as the healer's assistants approached with a sling to carry his older son.

She frowned. "Well, he doesn't have any broken bones, and the main internal damage is all but fully healed. If we patch up the abdominal area it should be fine." Odin hid another smile. Loki had taken the girl's free hand and was holding it between both of his.

"I'd prefer to examine him myself if you do not mind."

He rose to greet his Queen. "Frigga, my love. Thor is doing well thanks to Loki and his lady, Kara. But do reassure yourself so that you may cease fretting." She accepted his hand as she dipped gracefully to her knees next to Thor. "My dear, this is Kara Gunnarssen, known as Hellbringer, a doctor of the mind on Midgard. She is also an extraordinary energy healer and has now saved both our sons' lives. Lady Kara, this beauteous lady is Frigga, my wife and queen."

"It's very nice to meet you, your Majesty," the fire-haired mortal said. "Loki speaks very highly of you."

Oh, well played, Odin thought as Frigga's face lit up with joy. "Thank you, sweet girl. I'm afraid that I have had almost no time with him since his return. He did mention that he owed everything to you, but has not had the opportunity to say much else."

"I have been out in the field almost constantly, searching for the artifact that was brought here, apparently by the Svartálfar," Loki defended himself. The boy sighed. "I failed to find it or them in time, as you can see," he continued, sounding quite disgusted.

The mortal glared at him. "Stop that right now. No one else found them either." Odin bit the inside of his cheek in appreciation of her words. He was right; the girl was good for Loki.

"Hey, Lokes, old buddy. Look who I found," a brash voice interrupted. They all looked up to see the red and gold heavily armored mortal stroll up, accompanied by the blue-clad mortal, now on crutches, as well as Sif and the Warriors Three.

… …

"How's Thor doing?" Tony continued as several strong looking guys wearing what he'd been told were 'healers tunics' shooed everyone to their feet and away from the blonde, motionless form.

"A lot better than Loki was when we got him back from that…that thing," Kara said. "This time the bastard went directly for the meng mein, didn't bother with anything else."

"How did the enemy know to do this?" Sif asked in a suspicious tone. "Did you tell the enemy all of our secrets?" she directed to Loki.

"I told them nothing that was true," Loki snarled. "But believe what you want. You will anyway." He shook off Kara's hand and stalked after Frigga and the men who had lifted Thor and were carrying him to the Valhöll. "All-Father, I shall be watching over Thor with mother should you require my presence," he called over his shoulder.

"I don't know who the hell you think you are," Kara said to the Amazon-like warrior. "But you've managed to add yourself to the list of people here who have totally pissed me off."

"And that should frighten me, mortal?" Sif asked.

"Sif," Odin began in a hard tone.

"Um, yeah, it should," Tony interjected. "Do you maybe recall enemies turning into fireballs and then piles of ash between you and that freaky gate? That was her doing. No tech, no nothing…just her."

"Lady Kara is also the one we spoke of, Sif. The one who can make you feel anything she chooses," Fandral said.

"Guys, thank you, but I can chew her a new one without any help. Look, Sif? Is that your name? That demonic looking bastard knew where to hurt Thor because he tortured Loki for a week. Yeah, it took him a week to figure out how to hurt Loki in a way he couldn't heal. Loki didn't tell them anything; they discovered it by trial and error. He came to us with almost every bone in his body not just broken but shattered. He was bleeding out, internally and from open wounds. Most of his organs were barely functional and his lungs were so full of blood he was literally drowning in it."

Tony winced, glad that Loki's mom had gone with him and Thor. "I-I had no idea," Sif muttered.

"No, you didn't. But you had to go accuse Loki anyway, without getting the facts. That's not just stupid, it's criminally stupid, not to mention cruel." Tony bit his lip as Kara fisted her hands and then folded her arms across her chest in an effort to rein in her temper. "Another thing," his honorary sister said. "Never, ever piss off a redhead. I don't know what it's like in Asgard, but in my world redheads tend to have a hell of a temper. And this redhead, if she were so inclined, can make you regret it."

"Kara, you probably should calm down before you…ah shit," Tony said as he saw blood starting to drip from her left nostril. "How's your head feel?"

She started wobbling and took a step before she collapsed. Barton caught her before she hit the ground. "Damn it, Stark. It's never made her pass out before."

"What is wrong with her?" Odin asked.

"The containment device that we used to get Loki back here after the invasion on our world, it, well, it has side effects. Loki was able to heal the damage just fine, but Kara, not so much. It's destroying her nervous system. Usually there aren't any symptoms, but when she's restraining herself from using her pyrokinetic abilities on someone," he said, giving Sif a hard look, "that energy rebounds and gives her a killer pain in her head and a nosebleed that doesn't want to quit. This loss of consciousness, though, that's new, and it's not a good sign." Tony sighed. "I guess this is something your all-seeing guy missed."

"I missed nothing," a dark man with creepy gold eyes rumbled. "Loki wished Thor to speak to Odin about it; it was not my place to interfere."

"Oh, hey, Heimdall; thanks for passing on our messages." Tony grinned at the guy's stony look. "So, are you something like the anti-Claus? You always know who's naughty and nice, but you don't do anything either way?" Heimdall's frown grew deeper, if that was possible. "No? Okay." He looked back at Odin who was imperiously summoning a passing woman dressed in the healers' colors.

"Eir, this woman needs your attention. We owe her much, take good care of her," Odin ordered.

"I don't know if your people can do anything for her. Kara's a damn fine healer, but her techniques had absolutely no effect on this at all. Our conventional medical experts couldn't even figure out why it was happening, let alone how to stop it."

Eir smiled gently. "Our ways are not yours. We shall do what we can." More assistants with a stretcher hurried over to them. Tony wasn't sure when they'd been called, the way things went here, they could have been summoned mentally and it wouldn't surprise him. Eir turned to Hawkeye. "Let them take her to the healing chambers, good sir."

Hawk eased Kara down on the stretcher. "Sure, no problem."

Tony frowned at Odin as Kara was carried off. "So that's it, it's that easy, you'll help her?"

Odin's sole visible eyebrow rose. "Before this day even began, I owed her my son's life. Now I owe her the lives of both my sons, of course she will have whatever help we can give. How could you believe aught else?"

… …

Sif trudged back to the Valhöll. Odin was angry with her, the Warriors Three were shooting her disgusted looks, and Thor and Loki's mortal friends looked at her as though she had lain with a bilgesnipe. How was she to have known that Loki was not to blame? He had been the cause of every other unimaginably horrible thing that had happened in her life, except, perhaps, for their foolish trip to Jötunheim. That had been Thor's fault. She sighed. "I suppose I should not have accused him," she muttered.

Only Hogun turned to her. "Silence would have been preferred," was all he said.

"I was worried about Thor. That thing could have killed him," she sputtered.

"Loki saved his life," Volstagg said from behind them. "Even Mjölnir found him worthy."

"What?" They all said as they turned to look at Volstagg in shock.

Their big friend shrugged. "Loki was able to take up Mjölnir and used it to defeat the enemies that surrounded Thor. Then he used it to destroy the one who had wounded our friend so gravely."

"That-that's not possible," Sif found herself sputtering. "Mjölnir can only be wielded by one who is worthy…"

"Tis true. I was most surprised as well, but it was no trick, no illusion. I, myself had just fallen over Thor's hammer mere seconds before Loki took it up. It did not budge for me," Volstagg insisted.

"Then why did he not still have it? Why did he not show proof of his worthiness to the All-Father?" she asked.

They all stared at each other, no doubt wondering the same thing. "Purity of intent," Hogun finally offered.

"Yes," Fandral agreed, then elaborated on Hogun's succinct statement as he was wont to do. "Loki was perhaps so focused on saving Thor that in his intent he was worthy, yet once that goal had been attained, his normal mischievous nature cost him the weapon's favor."

"That," she said, "makes perfect sense."

… …

"Your lady is quite beauteous, my son," Frigga said as he caught up with her. "What are your intentions?"

Loki frowned, not knowing how to answer. While a casual lie would have sufficed for anyone else, he did try to avoid outright falsehoods with the woman who had raised him as her own and had always shown him equal favor with Thor. "I cannot truly have any intentions, mother," he finally responded. "Until I know how I will fare with the tribunal, it would be pointless."

She smiled gently. "Well then, if you had not that concern, what would you with this…Hellbringer? And what name is that for a woman with powers reminiscent of the demons of Muspelheim? Hel has no power over fire."

"Ah, well, most Midgardian religious beliefs describe their hell as being a place of fire where the souls of the damned will forever burn in great torment."

"Hmm, I see. How odd they are." She lifted a shoulder dismissively. "And will you not answer the other question?"

Damnation. Frigga never did distract easily. "She is mortal, mother. Even if she lives a full mortal life, she will be dust in less than a century, and ancient in half that. I…hesitate to torture myself by imagining I could be happy with this."

She stopped and put her hand on his chest when he would have continued on. "No more evasions, Loki. Be direct. Do you love this woman enough, that if there were no other considerations you would take her to wife?"

He looked down into eyes that showed both her love and concern for him. His own eyes drifted shut. "Yes."

… …

Frigga smiled as she directed the litter-bearers to take Thor directly to his chambers. Loki's lady had spoken true; all Thor needed was time to rest and heal fully. There were many other injured who needed direct attention and having her son recover in his rooms would make space for those in more dire straits. "How did she win your heart, my son?" she asked Loki, now that she was certain that he was serious about the mortal.

"If I knew that, it would not have happened," he claimed in a dry voice. "Think you that I wanted to torture myself this way?"

She laughed as his aggrieved expression. "Oh, Loki. No one ever goes looking for love. I certainly never expected nor sought to win your father's." He grimaced and opened his mouth to speak, but she would have none of that and cut him off. "Do not insult me by telling me that Odin is not your father, for that would mean that I am not your mother," she warned. His shocked look told her volumes. "Never considered that, did you, my sweet boy?"

"No," he said, sounding honestly abashed. "I suppose I did not." Loki shook his head, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips. "You are sounding much like Kara."

"Then she shows great sense." She watched as the litter-bearers moved Thor onto his bed and then dismissed them with a gesture and nod of thanks. Leaning over her still unconscious elder son, she checked under the bindings to see that his wound had not been disturbed. "I have noticed you now claim your brother," she said. "It pleases me greatly."

"He did not know of the lie Odin told, I could not continue to blame him." Loki snuck a look at her from under his lashes as his lips twitched again. "And yes, that was pointed out to me, quite adamantly, by Kara." The tiny smile faded. "Did you know?"

Frigga sighed. She knew this question would come one day. "Odin never told me that he was not your blood father. He let everyone assume that you were his by another woman, just like Thor. He did, however, tell me of your Jötunn blood; he could not avoid doing that as you changed back and forth a good bit as an infant." She shrugged. "I suspected that you were not his son by blood, but I was so pleased to have another baby to raise, I did not demand the truth."

"I was a pawn, mother. Nothing more. And now I have outlived my usefulness."

"Oh, Loki, my beautiful son. You were and are so much more than that, even to Odin, I swear."

… …

An unfamiliar Asgardian smiled as Kara blinked and groaned at the pain throbbing in her temples. "Ah, you are back with us, Lady Kara," she said. "Your head still pains you, I am certain. Let's sit you up so that you may drink this to give it ease."

"What is it?" she asked, still groggy. "And, I'm sorry, but who are you?"

"I am Eir, Asgard's first healer. This," she said, holding up a cup containing a murky liquid, "is an herbal remedy for your ailment."

Hmm, Asgard's version of Tylenol. Okay. "Right, fine…um, thank you," Kara muttered as the deceptively strong woman lifted her up to a sitting position and held the cup out. Taking it, she took a healthy swig and barely managed to swallow it. "Oh, that is nasty."

Eir had the nerve to giggle. "Yes, it is, I'm afraid. Please, drink it all down. I promise you will be troubled by this pain no more."

Sighing, Kara gave the stuff a dubious look but obediently gulped it all down. She shuddered at the foul taste and held out the cup for Eir to take away. As the woman set down the cup, Kara's vision began to fade in and out. "Um, am I supposed to be getting dizzy?" she mumbled.

"Yes, my lady, you are. Worry not, it…"

… …

"Worry not; it will pass after you sleep a bit." Eir frowned as she realized that the mortal had fainted before she had finished her reassurance. "Ah, well, child. By the time you wake up you will no longer need the explanation, hmm?" She laid the woman back down on the bed carefully and turned to the Æsir healer who would be watching over their charge. "Be careful with this one, Bothildr. The All-Father owes her a great debt."

"I will, my lady. Who shall I send to when she awakens?"

Eir considered the question. "Best call for me. I will check with Odin to see if he wishes else." Satisfied that the mortal was in good hands for the remainder of her healing, she moved on to those of the Æsir with critical injuries who required the personal attention of their goddess of Healing.

… …

Tony smirked as he watched Hawkeye prowl around the set of rooms they'd been shown to. "No place to build a nest?" he cracked.

"Whole place is a nest," Clint said as he stepped out onto the balcony. "We're higher off of the valley floor than the top of Avengers' Tower is off of the street."

"Seriously?" He strode out to the balcony and looked over. "Holy shit. This place is built on the edge of a goddamn cliff on this side." Staring out at the spectacular vista he added, "You couldn't touch a view like this in the U.S. for under twenty million…and that would be for less than an acre, undeveloped." Tony shrugged as the other two stared at him. "What? I've been looking for a private getaway."

Steve shook his head from the chaise where he'd settled down, his still immobilized leg stretched out before him. "You're unbelievable."

"Hey, my spending money helps the economy. If I just sat on it, that would be a problem, but no, I spend it, people work to earn it, they get the money to spend, and the world goes around." Clint huffed and rolled his eyes. "Aaaaand, I pay my employees premium wages and great benefits. Keeps them happy, makes them innovative and productive, which makes me more money to start the whole cycle all over again."

"I didn't say anything," Clint told him.

"Whatever. I wish they'd have let us go see how Kara is doing."

"Well, Odin did say he'd send word," Steve pointed out.

"Fine, when?"

"When what?" They all turned to the doorway where Loki stood frowning at them. "Where is Kara?" he asked.

"Uh, she had a headache so the healers took her off to give her something for it." Tony didn't elaborate. Odin had asked them not to mention their conversation about Kara's condition to Loki. He kind of liked the idea of keeping a secret from the god of Mischief and Lies, and the others hadn't argued.

"She overtaxed herself, no doubt," Loki murmured. "The evening meal is being served shortly, but tonight it is an informal affair. I've taken the liberty to have food sent here for all of you. If you'd prefer to not have my company…"

"No, no, that's fine," Tony told him hurriedly. "More the merrier." He bit back a grin as the tension left Loki's face. Yep, he'd thought he would be rejected. "Besides," he said with a wink to let the god know he was teasing, "we'll need you to tell us what we're eating and drinking. I kind of doubt they're going to explain anything to us."

"Hmm, true." Loki smirked back at him. "Of course, you'll have to trust me to tell you the truth."

Clint groaned. "You said that just to make us wonder, didn't you?"

"Very good, Barton." Loki shrugged. "I've got to have some fun around here."

"How's Thor doing?" Steve asked.

"He's awake and bathing. He'll be joining us shortly. Mother wanted to fuss over him a bit more, but he'd have none of it. I finally convinced her that she'll have the opportunity to do so after he's eaten." Loki wandered around the spacious room, his hands clasped behind his back. "I spoke to Odin about your armor's power levels, Tony. He has a safer proposition than having Thor strike you with lightning to recharge it. He'll have someone discuss that with you in the morning."

"Cool…uh, awesome," Tony corrected himself hurriedly, earning an amused smile.

"It's all right. You've explained the reference, I won't take offense." Loki gave him a sidelong glance. "And if you continue to be more sensitive with the, um, snark, I might be persuaded to tell you how to get around that programming loop."

"Gee, thanks so much," Tony groused.

… …

Frigga smiled as her younger son's beloved opened her eyes. "Feeling better, dear?" she asked.

The young woman frowned slightly and then smiled in return. "Yes, actually. I-I feel great. No more headache."

"Good. Walk with me and I'll take you to your companions." She waited patiently as the mortal got up off of the bed and then stretched. Her expression as she realized she was no longer wearing the scaled armor was priceless. "Something wrong?"

"Um, what happened to my armor?"

"I had the healers remove it and send it to be cleaned. It will be delivered to you in the morning. Are you hungry? You slept for several hours."

"Starving."

"Well, then let us go have a bite to eat." She motioned for the girl to follow and left the healers' domain. "Tell me, Kara," she asked after they'd gone a good distance from the avidly curious healers. "Do you love my son?"

"Loki, you mean?" The girl sighed at her nod. "Kind of foolish of me, but…yes, I do. Very much."

"Why do you say it's foolish, dear?"

She shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. He's a virtually immortal Norse god, and I'm a human mutant who's most definitely mortal. Not exactly…I don't know. It's heartache waiting to happen." She snorted indelicately. "That's already happened. When Thor came for him I seriously expected that I'd never see him again."

Frigga bit her bottom lip as she noticed the brightening of the girl's eyes. "And your eventual return to Midgard without him will break your heart yet again, hmm?"

"Yes."

"Despite all he's done to your world, you still love him?"

"I-I've got very strong opinions on what was behind all of it. You probably don't want to hear them since, well…"

"They're quite critical of the All-Father?" Frigga finished for her and then laughed as the girl blushed. "Oh, Kara, don't be concerned. I am not always happy with the decisions Odin has made, though I love him dearly."

Kara nodded. "Did…well, I'm sure he passed on the message, but did-will, oh, I don't know how to put this," she said, sounding frustrated.

"Which message, dear?"

"We have evidence that Loki wasn't really responsible for the attacks on our world, and that he tried to prevent it."

Frigga nodded. "Yes, we were told. Let's talk more about that over a meal for you before you join your friends."

… …

Thor stretched as he approached the guest chambers his friends had been assigned. His back still ached, and the new scars on his belly itched prodigiously, but otherwise he felt well. He frowned as his stomach growled and decided he'd feel a great deal better once he'd eaten. Pushing the door open, he heard Tony Stark arguing with Loki. It saddened him for a moment until he realized it was not truly an argument, but a good natured debate. That realization was confirmed when he heard Captain Rogers chuckle quietly at the byplay. "Good eve, my friends," he greeted them as he turned the corner into the sitting area that had been set with a table and chairs.

"Sleeping Beauty, about time you got your butt out of bed," Stark returned. "Come on over here and settle a bet."

"On what have you wagered and with whom, man of…" he hesitated as he recalled how that form of address made his friends react. "Ah, Tony."

'Tony' grinned. "Loki and I disagree on the likely outcome of a war between a non-tech but highly magical society such as Asgard and a non-magical but highly technical society such as Earth."

"Wagering against my brother is a foolish proposition. And the answer to this is simple, Midgard would lose."

Loki nodded agreement. "Tony disagrees, as does Ca…Steve. Barton is undecided."

"Well, cannot your magic disrupt technology on a mass level, brother?"

Tony stared at them. "Wait, it can? I didn't know that."

"Yes, it can. I could not use that during the attack here as the Chitauri use a combination of magic and technology. But against a purely technological-driven war effort such as Midgard's, yes, it would be quite effective."

The inventor's eyes narrowed. "Then you could have just shut us down in New York."

Loki shrugged. "It would have had a limited effect on the Chitauri as well."

"Limited, but could they have worked around it?" Tony asked.

Thor looked at Loki who was silently examining the food on his plate. "Brother? Do you not answer the question?"

Loki sighed. "I did not give them that opportunity," he muttered before taking a large bite of the roasted suckling pig.

"You mean they didn't discover you could do it, so you didn't have to give them that advantage," Barton said. "They couldn't read your mind the way you could read mine."

Thor watched his brother give the Hawkeye a sharp look. "I am a god," he hissed. "No one controls me." He stood and turned toward the door.

"Loki, stop. Tell me what they imply," Thor asked.

"Nothing, they are fools, brother," he insisted and strode out of the room.

Thor frowned and sat down at the table and began filling a plate. "What have you discovered?" he asked the others.

… …

Author's Notes: Sorry for the delay, folks. Long week of overtime made writing in the evenings impossible. I'm hard at work on Chapter 31, hopefully that will be up in a shorter period of time. Thanks so much for the lovely reviews and guesses on what might happen. I think most of you will be surprised, pleasantly!