From the appetizer of sweetbreads which were neither sweet nor bread, to the veal, which was apparently meat from an unborn calf, the meal had mystified Nyvorlas. Not that anything had tasted ill, on the contrary, most all of it was delectable. It was all simply odd. It reminded him of a time when dueling chefs had served two of the greater houses of Ljósálfar and invitations to meals meant taking your taste buds in your hands and hoping for the best. "I don't suppose the next course will be any more recognizable." he said quietly to Sif who sat on his right thanks to manipulation by Tony Stark.

"Likely not," she agreed, and looked to her right at Haakun. "Was the cuisine so…so, interesting when you last visited Midgard?" she asked the councilor.

"It was not." He leaned towards them. "I'm not so certain it is an improvement."

Darcy Lewis snorted from Nyvorlas' left. "This is the extreme of fanciness," she told them. "Most of our cuisine isn't nearly so out there. Pepper just wanted us to have a meal out where everyone could see all of you in a casual public setting where they wouldn't have any excuse to bother you. In a restaurant like this, you do not approach a celebrity, it just isn't done and breaking that unwritten rule could get you blacklisted from all of the places people go to see and be seen in the city."

Stark nodded, his mouth still full of what Nyvorlas had been told was a 'Duo of Rabbit', basically two different parts of a hare, each cooked with different herbs and spices. He waited patiently for the man to swallow, figuring he owed him patience for the seating arrangements. "I promise you'll love the dessert," the Man of Iron finally said. "Soufflés are awesome. They're kind of a light whipped and baked egg pudding. Well, not really, but sort of. Trust me, they're great."

"You're pushing the limits of our trust, Stark," he muttered. They waited patiently, sipping the sparkling wine and surreptitiously eyeing all of the other patrons who tried so diligently not to stare. He, Haakun and Sif were all dressed in formal court clothing (sans armor), which apparently was of a style not seen here for hundreds of years save in their 'films' and other entertainments. Though he supposed his fine-boned features and pointed ears would have garnered much attention even had he been dressed in modern suits like the mortal men.

Finally the promised Soufflés were delivered. Each was a puffy dish that did smell faintly of eggs, though more like a sweet pastry. Small pitchers of sauces meant to be ladled over the confections accompanied them. There were three varieties with three different sauces and they all had a bit of each…except Pepper. His favorite was the Grand Marnier with Vanilla Sauce while Sif preferred the Strawberry that Lady Pepper had, for some reason, disdained. "God, this is so good," Darcy moaned as she enjoyed a bite of the Chocolate Soufflé. Beth and Pepper both mumbled agreement around mouthfuls of the treat. It must be a mortal female thing, he decided. "Seriously, it's almost orgasmic," the girl continued. Her eyes narrowed as she watched Sif take another serving of the Strawberry. "Wait, why aren't you going for the Chocolate?"

Sif frowned. "Too sweet for me. This one is more to my taste."

"More for me," Darcy smirked, earning herself aggrieved looks from the other two mortal women. Nyvorlas shook his head slightly at the byplay, trying not to show his amusement. It would only encourage them. The only female he wished to encourage in this group was the incomparable Lady Sif.

… …

The doors flew open and Gymir strode in followed by Helblindi. "What were you thinking?" the crown prince seethed. "You renounce the throne in a conciliatory manner one moment and then do something that guaranteed that half my people want to hand it to you the next!" He was rightfully furious, Loki decided.

"It was not intentional. I-I have a temper and Býleistr got the better of it," he said as soothingly as he could manage. A thought occurred. "Half? Do I want to know what the other half wants?"

"Your head on a spear," Gymir informed him.

Loki eyed the two giants speculatively. "You weren't impressed…either of you."

"Helblindi was stunned," Kara disagreed. "But this was the second time Gymir has seen it, so he was able to hide his reaction."

"Which was?"

"Primal fear."

He looked at his half-brother's guard and shield-brother. "Why?" Loki asked him.

Gymir narrowed his eyes but did not respond. "He's heard what we thought were fables about the Casket," Helblindi answered instead. "Gymir's great grandfather knew one of those who wielded it prior to our grandfather Thrym stealing it from him. Bölþorn was legendary, all knelt to him until he took an Æsir woman to wife. When he was young he was our greatest warrior and sorcerer, then he fell in love with that frail female and left Jötunheim for warmer lands. Decades later, in an attempt to gain more followers here, Thrym raided Bölþorn's home and took the woman hostage, demanding the Casket as ransom. Bölþorn traded the Casket for his wife's return. Our grandfather returned her, no longer of sound mind or body, but found he could not use the Casket in the same manner as Bölþorn."

"Thus began the wars between Asgard and Jötunheim," Loki mused. Who was this woman to have been the source of such enmity between two races? Not the cause, Thrym was the cause. But an Æsir woman loved by a powerful Jötunn was its source. He smiled. Kara would be worth such, though no Jötnar could have stolen her away. "Then Bor and later Odin fought Thrym and Laufey to regain it. interesting, is it not, that it is now in the hands of Laufey's son, yet it serves him as it may have this Bölþorn?" Helblindi stared at him, not understanding the significance.

"Is the power hereditary?" Kara asked in her Midgardian tongue. His lady's mind was quick enough to grasp it.

"I know not," he told her, using the same language. "I shall have to ask when we return home." He purposely avoided using names that might translate. "Regardless," he continued in the common tongue used throughout the other eight realms. "You have nothing to fear from me, Helblindi, nor do your people unless they betray our agreement. I will not use this power to take the throne. Even was I so inclined, Asgard would prevent it, rest assured."

"It is dangerous," Gymir hissed. "The legends say that Bölþorn was a different man when he used it."

"We're under orders to stop my husband should he abuse it," Kara interrupted. "We can do it, between Dr. Banner and myself we can and will take him down before we allow him to do anything stu…foolish."

Loki glared down at her, arms folded across his chest. "I am neither foolish nor stupid."

She rolled her eyes. "Duh. I said 'do anything foolish', not that you were foolish, and I didn't say stupid at all. Well, not really."

"Hmm." He turned back to his half-brother. "When were you planning to be crowned?"

Helblindi's eyebrows rose. "What concern of yours is that?"

Sighing he refrained from voicing his opinion as to just who was foolish or stupid. "If you have no reason to delay the event, perhaps I should be involved in the coronation. I'm not familiar with your ceremony for it, but I imagine we can fit my formally either handing over the crown or otherwise giving formal approval into it."

"We have no set ceremony. He who would be king simply takes the crown from the throne and places it upon his head. Whether the people accept the action or attack him is what makes his claim legitimate. I anticipate a riot if you were to touch the thing."

"Not if we do it quickly. If we both walk up to the throne, me to the side, not near it, then you wait by the throne, I lift the crown, you sit, and I place it on your head we might be able to accomplish our objective without protests from either faction. I will be shown to support your rule and renounce my claim on the thing all with one action."

"While you hold the Casket," Helblindi said firmly.

That was not a good idea. He had no idea if the sentience of the Casket would allow him to crown another. "I don't think…"

"Yes," Kara interrupted. "Don't worry, Loki, I've got this."

He frowned at her confidence then allowed the frown to fade as he felt the strength of an empathic projection being pushed at him. "Ah, so you do."

… …

"What saw you?" the All-Father asked.

Heimdall took his attention away from infinity to address his king and old friend. "The younger prince made groundless accusations against Loki again, this time before much of their populace as Loki attempted to abdicate his claim. The Casket responded and Loki cowed the boy with its power. He harmed none, though many of the Jötnar were awed or frightened."

Odin sighed. "I fear for him. Bölþorn nearly went mad from it. He would have had us let Thrym keep it were it not for the harm done to my grandmother and the attacks on Midgard."

"Bölþorn was not supported by an empath. The princess has already found a way to buffer its influence; you need not worry overmuch about this."

"What is it you do not say?"

"I see shadows of those who seem to be not Jötnar, Æsir or Human on Jötunheim; their identity is blocked by dark magic. Býleistr has out-realm allies and I like it not."

"There are few it could be."

"This is true, my king. But you have provided all you can for your children's protection. Trust in them to use that protection wisely and prevail." Heimdall turned his attention back to the many realms. "The news from Midgard is better," he continued. "Haakun has succeeded in his first tasks. Loki may return there without threat of arrest."

"Thank Yggdrasill for that much. His mother will be quite relieved."

Heimdall smiled. "And his father will find no need to express his displeasure with their governments."

Odin chuckled ruefully. "You know me too well, old friend. Our sentence is punishment enough considering the circumstances behind his misdeeds. Yet I fear there will be a greater price he must pay."

"His destiny is a powerful one. That always entails a steep price." He turned his all-seeing eyes back to the sorrowing father who could not make his son's path easier. "Loki is stronger than even the Norns foresaw and has greater depths of character and compassion, though he rarely chooses to show it. I do not fear him or for him."

"That comforts me, Heimdall. Thank you."

… …

"He did it," Nick Fury told Dr. Nassar as he strode into the office. "Haakun got their agreement - with a little help from Stark Industries in the person of Miss Potts."

"What did they demand in return for dropping the charges?" Nassar asked.

"They demanded the world. What they'll get is an ARC reactor system to power downtown Berlin and the right to crow that they're the first government in the world to be using clean energy in all of their central government buildings. It will be right up there with their pride over the amount of solar energy they produce; more than any other country in the world, regardless of relative size. Quite the feather in their cap."

"Nothing more?" Nassar sounded surprised.

"They will have the second highest call on the Avengers and Asgard for support if an Avengers-level incident occurs. Haakun told them that since the U.S. sustained the greatest casualties and damage, they deserved first call."

"That's actually reasonable. Good. One more worry off of our plate. Now our only concern is public reaction once Loki's return and his identity as the figurehead at the front of the invasion is revealed."

Nick chuckled. "I don't think that's going to be a problem thanks to an unusual approach by one of our more unconventional resources."

The doctor's dark eyes widened. "Well?"

"Do you use social media, Raj?" Fury smirked at his nod. "Go on FacePage and search for 'Prince Loki of Asgard'." He waited as Raj pulled a tablet from his messenger bag, booted it up and accessed the page. A moment later a stunned look crept across his face.

"Good lord. Fifty-thousand likes on the page and it's only been up for…fifteen hours? The You-TV link has had twenty-thousand thumbs up…and the comments. These people want to throw themselves at his feet. Who did this? They made him into a cult superstar!"

"Darcy Lewis. She took the recent photos and video in New Mexico. The rest she had Jarvis pull from our archives. It was pure luck we had the footage of him saving the team when that derelict tank blew up."

"The picture of him on his knees beside Kara was sheer genius. Every female with an ounce of romance in their soul will be imagining themselves as her. Not to mention any males who have same gender desires." Raj smiled. "I wouldn't be surprised if some who don't are moved by it."

Nick snorted. "Yeah, sure, the son of a bitch does the adoring look very well. He is the god of…"

"Don't, Nick. He does adore her, I know it, and you know it as well. Give him that much."

He might know it, but it didn't mean he had to like it. The huge glass jar in the corner of his office that was filled with shattered blue marble caught his eye. God damn. He had a constant reminder of how much the god loved the woman. Even when he thought he had no future with her, he still went all out to protect her. "Yes. Yes he does." Nick gave Raj a sidelong look. "Did you check out the Chatter account?"

"No, hold one…oh merciful God," Raj said as he brought the service up and found the account. "He's trending. Did you see what these people are calling themselves?"

Calling…? Nick looked over the doctor's shoulder at the list of trending topics. #LokisArmy was number one worldwide. "Fuck. It's a damn good thing the ones holding his leash didn't know anything about social media. They'd have had the entire planet on its knees."

… …

"We'll take Banner, Gymir and Natasha with us," Loki decided. "Hawkeye will stay by the door with Hogun to watch his back. Fandral, remain just inside with the company and Slingard."

"That's not safe. What if you're attacked by that sneaky blue weasel?" Clint asked.

"We know Býleistr will try something at some point, if we take everyone with us, he'll put it off until he can improve his odds. This way he'll think me unprotected and make his move when we're best prepared for it. He won't see the women or a soft-appearing scientist as a threat. You are staying outside by the door as your weapons work best at a distance; Býleistr has no clue how deadly you are at that range. The only reason we're taking Banner is in case I succumb to the temptation of the Casket. Natasha is a distance weapons expert, but she is also better at spotting anomalies than Kara, so she goes with us as well.

"It is a sound plan, indeed," Fandral offered, not that Loki particularly valued his tactical opinion. He shot a look at Hogun who nodded agreement. That was the approval he was looking for.

"It's possible nothing will happen until the ice fields are well on their way to being restored. While the younger of my half-brothers isn't terribly bright, I much doubt he'd interrupt that process. We'll likely be safe during our next few outings."

"I'm all for safety," Banner said. "I like boring, too."

Loki's eyebrows shot up and Kara choked back a laugh. "Yet you're dating Darcy?" she asked.

Banner blushed. "Well, uh…exceptions prove the rule?"

… …

"Son?" Thor looked up from the window ledge where he sat staring out at the all but fully repaired Bifröst.

"Yes, mother?" He turned back to his vigil after he'd acknowledged her.

"What are you doing, Thor? We missed you at dinner."

He sighed. "Being useless."

"How so?" He could hear the surprise in her voice.

"I cannot help Loki; the Jötnar would not stand for it. I cannot help Haakun; the mortals would think me biased. I cannot go to Midgard and speak to Jane, if aught ill should happen on Jötunheim I must be where I can go help immediately. Father is well and seeing to his own court. I am useless."

"About court; why were you not there? You have much to learn, still. One day you will need to take the high seat permanently, we would have you be ready when that time comes." She couldn't possibly understand, he thought. "Son, I cannot understand if you do not tell me your reasons."

Thor cringed as she voiced his concern. She was still able to do that to him…it had to be some skill mothers developed. She was no mind reader; at least he did not believe so. "It feels…wrong to be there without him. Somehow I feel as though I am failing him again."

Frigga rested her hands on his shoulders and pressed her cheek against his. "You are not failing your brother. You are allowing Loki to prove himself and to make recompense for his misdeeds. The two of you will stand together soon enough. Meanwhile, my boy, you have responsibilities you are neglecting. I expect to see you at court in the morning and at all of the public meals. Am I clear?"

People always thought that Odin was the parent to be feared. They were wrong. Thor had always more greatly feared Frigga's displeasure. Her mere angry glance cut more deeply than any punishment Odin could dish out. "Yes, mother. I will be there."

"Excellent. Now get some sleep. You will not do anyone any good if you are not well rested."

… …

Darcy did a victory dance around the holographic displays of the FacePage, Chatter, and You-TV accounts. "Would you look at that?" she crowed. " PrinceLokiAsgard just cracked the top ten on Chatter and he hasn't even personally posted anything!" She nearly tripped over Jane as she boogied over to the FacePage display. "And he owns Justin freaky Bieber on FacePage!"

"Huh?" Jane responded, obviously not understanding a word Darcy was saying.

She sighed dramatically. "His page has a lot more people liking it than the singer does, that means."

"Oh. Is that good? Who is Justin freaky whatshisname?"

"Exactly!"

"No, Darce; who is he, really?"

Darcy stared at her single-minded friend. "Aw come on, Jane; seriously? I don't think he's all that, but even I know who the kid is."

Jane still looked mystified. Beth shook her head sympathetically. "He's a teenage singer from Canada that all of the teenyboppers are gaga over."

"Gaga? Lady Gaga? Wasn't she one of the pros on Dancing with the Stars?"

Groaning, Darcy dropped down onto the sofa. "You need to attend modern culture school with Steve, I swear."

Beth grinned. "Even he's better than that. He knows Bieber is the kid singer from Canada who can't keep his pants up and that Gaga is the woman singer who wore a dress made of meat. And Jane, she sang on DWTS once, she wasn't one of the dancing professionals."

Jane sighed. "It doesn't matter." She stared at the screens, shaking her head. "Are you going to make accounts for Thor?" the scientist finally asked.

"Absolutely not," Pepper ordered as she swept into the room. "We're promoting Loki; we don't need to distract the public with mention of Thor, particularly with their history."

"Besides, we don't have much media on him," Darcy added. "Maybe once Loki gets established; like when the wedding is being publicized, we can do a Thor page?"

"Possibly," Pepper hedged. "Meanwhile, how's Kara's page coming along?"

"It's built. I'm not going to release it until we get a big demand from the people wanting to know who the chick is, though. Right now the comments are still along the lines of the 'damn, why can't I be her' kind of thing."

"Okay. We'll want to open it up once Haakun is ready with his press release about her now being a princess of Asgard and the whole bit. Hmm. Maybe we should do Thor's then as well. Let me check with my PR experts."

"What about the rest of the Avengers? I mean, I know Tony has some fan pages, but shouldn't Iron Man have an official page?"

Pepper stared at her with her mouth hanging open for a minute before she began to smirk. "You're right. He'd love it. Go ahead, we'll clear it with him before you take it live. I'm sure he'd love to do a video for it, too. But wait on everyone else. They really need to be comfortable with it before we do anything. Bruce would shrug it off, but I really don't want to deal with an annoyed Clint or Natasha."

Darcy shuddered as she thought about the distinct lack of humor the two exhibited in New Mexico. "Yeah, me either. Beth, what about Steve?"

"I think he'd be embarrassed."

"Everything embarrasses him. The question is; will he do it?"

Beth grinned. "If we explain that it's good for the team, he will."

"Gotcha. Users of social media, get ready for the debut of Captain America!" Darcy grinned as her fingers flew across the virtual keyboard. "This is pretty cool, actually. We've given them a bad-boy Norse god to drool over, now we're giving them the ultimate 'Mom, Baseball, and Apple Pie' good guy human hunk. Well, enhanced human. Yep, this is going to be great."

… …

Hawk stared out over the snow covered valley. Loki had stridden into the deep layer of white and had thrust the weighted end of his alien spear down until it hit solid ground. He placed his hand around the shaft just where the snowline began, pulled the spear free and headed back to them. "The base layer is over a meter deep. I think one more wave of storms will do the job for now. We may have to return in a fortnight or so to ensure it maintains itself, but otherwise, we'll be done here tonight."

"Still no move by Býleistr, what is the bastard waiting for?" Natasha wondered.

"This, most likely," Loki told them. "I will tell his brother of our intent to release one more set of storms late this afternoon. Helblindi will likely happily report to his little brother that his trust in me was deserved, and the treacherous rat will then put his plans into motion. We must all be on high alert, particularly you, my love," he warned, turning to Kara. "Býleistr knows I would do anything to ensure your safety."

"He'd be an idiot to attack her," Hawk interrupted. He returned Loki's heated red glare. "Seriously, she could turn kid brother to ash with a look."

"Unless he has a sorcerer aiding him and said ally uses magic to contain her in some way. If you recall, Malekith managed to snap her spine. I do not want her to go through such, or worse, again. A trip back to Asgard with a broken spine could cripple her permanently if not kill her outright."

He swallowed a probably useless reassurance. "You're right. Okay, guys," he said to the others. "High alert and we do not count on Kara or Loki to take out the bad guys. We're the first line of defense."

Grim nods acknowledged the order. Well, grim nods and an annoyed moue from Kara. "I'm not arguing," she said when Loki frowned at her. "I'm just pissed at Býleistr that it's all necessary."

"Good. Then you'll be very careful."

She wrapped her armored arms round his blue waist and laid her bare cheek against his chest. That still freaked Clint out knowing that the intense cold of Loki's Jötunn form didn't bother her. "Yes, Loki; I'll be totally careful. I'm not going to give you anything more to worry about."

"Good."

… …

Býleistr schooled his expression to indifference as he left his brother's chamber. Helblindi wanted to fete the half breed at the evening meal. Why? All Loki had done was make a half-hearted attempt at fixing the damage he had caused. His brother was a fool who did not understand the power of the throne. Helblindi certainly didn't deserve to sit it. He nodded regally to Slingard as he passed the lesser of his brother's shadows. Helblindi favored the two commoners more than he did his younger brother. That rankled. But that would all change, and it would change tonight. Slipping out of the servants' exit at the far end of the fortress he moved like a wraith to the predetermined meeting place. "Their next trip to the ice fields will be their last," he told the shadowy figure that awaited him. "Make it their last trip anywhere."

His ally nodded. "Once we attack Asgard's prince, chaos will ensue and Helblindi will send his most trusted warriors to save his half-brother. That will give you the opportunity to end your elder's life. Don't waste it. Once I have the Casket, I am gone from this place. It is up to you to win your own throne from the only remaining obstacle to your inheritance."

He allowed his suppressed smirk to emerge. "Helblindi thinks to take the crown this night. All he will take is my blade through his eye. I will sit the throne and I will wear the crown. There will be none to dispute me."

The dark figure gave a half-bow. "Long live King Býleistr," he said.

… …

Kara shuddered as she cracked open her shields. She could feel the malicious intent heavy in the ambient energy of the plain. "They're here somewhere," she whispered over the comm, using English in case they were using some magical means of spying on them. "I can't pinpoint a location, though. It just feels like they're everywhere."

She frowned through her helm at Bruce. His anxiety was hitting her hard, but she didn't think that was masking the other readings. "Be ready," her husband said quietly, also in English. She turned to look at him as he braced the Casket against his abs and turned in the direction that had been decided upon. "I'm about to unleash the storm, they'll likely attack using its cover."

"We've got you all in sight," Hawkeye advised. "Bruce, Nat; keep Gymir at your back and stick as close as you can manage. If it all goes to hell they're going to need you sooner rather than later."

"Roger that," Natasha agreed.

Kara looked back at the pair edging closer, followed by the giant among giants. Gymir was staring intently at the snowpack, his expression uneasy. "Nat, ask Gymir what's wrong. Something's bothering him that we aren't seeing, it could be important."

Nat put a hand up to get the Jötunn's attention and used the All-speak that Loki had gifted them with. "What do you see?" she asked.

His grating voice carried over the Widow's comm unit. "The snowpack is too even. It is…unnatural."

Loki had already raised the lid of the Casket and the wind had started to howl as she whipped around. "Loki, they're under the snow…everywhere, that's why I couldn't pinpoint a location!"

He flashed an alarmed look and tried to force the Casket closed. It wouldn't budge. "Until the first storm is fully out, it won't close," he told her. "Run, now!" She hesitated and he glared at her. "You promised!"

She had. She ran toward Bruce and Nat but had only made it a few yards before a spear of ice shot up out of the snowpack and scraped along her enhanced armor. "Watch for spears of ice under your feet," she snapped out over the comm as she spun and focused on the energy of the being she 'felt' under the snow. The surface collapsed in a widening puddle of slush as the individual she'd targeted burned beneath it. Two figures burst out of cover to either side of her. One spun away almost as soon as it had emerged and she could see one of Hawkeye's specialty arrows embedded in his back. She threw herself forward and moved into a slide on the icy surface, smiling grimly as the arrowhead exploded and took out both that Jötunn and the one who had been reaching for her from her other side. "Nice, Clint!"

"Focus on what you're doing," he ordered tersely.

He was right, of course. She turned back to look for Loki. He was forcing the Casket closed while trying to back away from a mixed group of figures. There were a number of towering Jötnar, but what really made her breath catch in her throat were the much smaller figures that could only be Svartálfar. "Oh crap. Magic users!" she told the others as the group raised their hands in unison and Loki stopped moving. Wait…why…she felt the bracelet on her left wrist tingle. He was faking it! She loosed his magic, cursing herself for not doing it the second she'd realized they had a problem then tried to focus her fire on the dark elves. Nothing. They were using the same magical shielding that had protected Malekith.

More figures erupted from the snow and surrounded her. More Svartálfar. She felt magic hit and dissipate around her. The bracelet didn't tingle, so she assumed the runes in her armor repelled it. Either way, she froze in place as Loki had. A menacing roar came from where she'd last seen Bruce and Nat. Fortunately, the howling wind and whiteout conditions muffled it a good deal. "Gee," Natasha's voice said over the comm. "They made Bruce angry. Imagine that?"

… …

Bruce watched helplessly as an ice spear nearly impaled Kara, only the new Asgardian armor protected her. Loki wasn't moving and a large group of Svartálfar and Jötnar were rushing him. Blind fury poured through his blood. He had time to pull apart the clasps on the top half of his arctic gear, he was certain his other wouldn't be able to tolerate the constriction even if the damn stuff did grow in size with him, and shrugged it off. The freezing bite of the wind rushed the change along, he barely had enough time to turn to Nat and Gymir to warn them. "Back away!" he bellowed, trying to memorize details about the Jötunn that would enable his other to be able to tell him from the enemy. Rage filled his veins, clouded his brain and he turned to where the girl in gold was now being grabbed by puny dark figures.

"Help Kara!" a high pitched voice called from behind him. Turning, he narrowed his angry gaze to stare menacingly at a tiny female with blood colored hair. 'Friend', the quiet voice in his brain said. 'Natasha-friend'. He bellowed and turned toward the other small female, the pretty gold glittering. 'Friend', the calm voice that was the deeper part of his mind said again. 'Kara-friend'.

He loped through the thick white coldness, grimacing when heat rushed through his foot. Looking down he saw a white pointy thing sticking through it. He snarled, grabbed and broke the thing, then reached into the cold whiteness, grabbed the solid beneath it and pulled. Skinny blue thing came up in his fist. Skinny blue thing snarled, he could smell its fear. He grinned as the quiet voice in his head said 'Enemy, smash'. Another skinny blue thing burst from the white cold stuff beside him. Grabbing it in his other hand he smashed the two together as hard as he could. The crack echoed and almost black gooey stuff ran down the blue bodies to pool in the whiteness. Bellowing, he tossed the skinny blue things at the puny dark figures that held the Kara-friend then followed them. The gold covered head turned towards him. One puny dark thing held each of her gold arms and she fought their grip. "Hulk, they have magic, smash!" a high voice called from the Kara-friend's gold covered head.

'Dark elves, enemy, smash' the quiet voice reminded him. Pulling back both arms he swatted the two puny dark elves then stared as they flew, pulling Kara-friend with them. Snarling his annoyance he followed. Two puny dark elves stood back up. Raising his fists he smashed down on tops of their heads. Dark elves-enemy smashed down into ground. "Puny elves."

Kara-friend patted his chest. "They sure are," she said. "Thanks, Hulk."

"Kara-friend." He turned and swung at more dark elves that ran at them then turned to smash more skinny blue things. But skinny blue things fell first, screaming, holding their heads.

"Ha!" Kara-friend said. "They're not protected. Hulk, go after the small dark ones, I'll get the blue ones, okay?"

"Dark elves-enemy, smash," he agreed and turned away. More of the puny dark elves rushed towards them; grinning he grabbed them and smashed them together. They didn't break, not like skinny blue things, but still fell. He shrugged and smashed more into the cold white stuff. Some of the blue skinny things burst into fire.

"Damn it, Loki!" the Kara-friend's voice cried. He turned to see why she was upset. Shorter skinny blue thing surrounded by glow color of skin on his own arm. Dark elves-enemy around him, light flashing from their hands, green glow made cracking sound when light hit it. "Hulk, help him, it's Loki, they're trying to break through his magic!" the Kara-friend called.

He wasn't sure who Loki was. Shorter skinny blue thing? 'Puny god', calm voice said. No, this wasn't Puny god who called him beast. This puny thing blue. 'Puny god', calm voice insisted. 'Puny god-friend'. He scratched his head. "Why puny god blue?" 'Still puny god, puny god-friend'. Shaking away the confusion, he waded into the group of dark elves-enemy and grabbed them, smashing or throwing them, whichever felt good. One of the dark elves threw the flashing light at him. It hurt! He bellowed in the dark elves-enemy face and tried to crush it in his hands. It wouldn't crush! Frustrated, he grabbed it by its head and swung it around knocking aside many other dark elves-enemy. Flashing nearly blinded him as they hit each other. Then screaming started and one he was swinging lost its body. He grunted, grabbed another and ripped its head from its body. Cold white stuff turned brownish red.

… …

Even with his magic, the odds were impossible. How had Býleistr managed to hide this many Svartálfar from his brother's guards? More to the point, how had they gotten here? Oh, of course. They'd been here since Odin sent them away from Asgard. Malekith could easily have changed their emergence point mid-route and used sorcery to hide them from Heimdall's view. Loki grimaced as his shield fought off one magical attack after another. If he hadn't had the Casket, it would have failed by now, but the damned thing was glowing, even shut, and he could feel power from it augmenting his own. He could hear Kara yelling for him, but he didn't dare turn to check on her. The beast was bellowing again, this time he sounded much closer. Suddenly the Svartálfar to his right began staggering back, the magic they had been readying to throw interrupted and exploding into each others' own protective shields, neutralizing them. A headless body flew past and the other enemies began screaming. Loki smiled and gathered his magic for an attack. He let his shield drop and threw the many pronged attack across the field of battle. Unlike the Svartálfar sorcerers he was able to target by intent. Screams echoed around him and he turned to survey the damage. Most of the Svartálfar were down, either by his magical attack or from being smashed by Banner's beast. The attacking Jötnar were either down with the Hawkeye's arrows through an eye or with blood sluggishly dripping down their faces from an eye that was no longer there, courtesy of the Black Widow's silenced handguns. Other Jötnar were bursting into flame, one by one if they were far apart, those close together burned in groups. The Æsir along with Gymir and Slingard were making short work of the remaining Svartálfar and the Jötnar who had betrayed their crown prince. A sharp pain pierced his abdomen and he looked down in shock. A spear of Svartálfar make protruded perilously close to his meng mein. "I win," Malekith's voice drawled from behind him. "The Casket of Ancient Winters is mine."

… …

Author's Notes: I'm assuming most of you do not need to be told, but I've used 'FacePage' and 'Chatter' and 'You-TV' as substitutes for the famous social media sites with similar names as I really don't wish to advertise them after all the money they make on the advertising we have to see to 'pay' for using the so-called 'free' services.

Yes, I'm evil, and I know there will be ugly tears over this cliffhanger.