Pairing: Tony/Loki, Thor/Sif, Clint/Darcy

Rating: M

Word Count: Don't know and don't care

Summary: While his palace is under siege by Odin and his army, King Laufey sends his infant son away with a powerful and much sought-after weapon. His hope is that when he is old enough, the boy will be able to wield it and defeat Odin to save not only Jotunheim, but as well as the other realms that have fallen to the tyrant's rule.

Warnings: Somebody dies. That's about it.

Don't own The Avengers, because if I did then the damn movie would have come out sooner. And I don't own Lord of the Rings, because if I did then Boromir wouldn't have died, and neither would have Théoden. Théoden's a badass.

For people who have read some of my other fics on AO3, you know that I tend to write Laufey's character as a father who cares about Loki...in his own special way. I just tend to avoid the band wagon and refuse to portray him as an alcoholic douche who beats his kids, even though he kind of starts that way in "The Little Frost Giant." Sorry if I just spoiled it for anyone.

Prologue

All around him, his people were being slaughtered like animals. His palace was collapsing and crumbling to pieces at his feet. Laufey couldn't imagine being in a more hellish place. He was unable to protect his people, which was his duty as their King, but he would do everything in his power to give his son a chance. Holding his only child to his chest, the Jotun King barricaded the doors of the temple before approaching the altar.

"Loki, my precious child. You were brought into this world at a terrible time. And I deeply regret that I must ask so much of you." From a pouch he had tied at his waist, Laufey removed a small blue cube. The luminescence of the object cast shadows on the walls. "You may not understand me now, but you will remember my words as I tell them to you. The leader of our enemy holds a weapon that can destroy anything in its sight at first glance. This, the Tesseract, is the only thing that can defeat his weapon."

He smiled fondly when the infant outstretched his tiny arms towards the glowing cube. He placed the cube in his son's hands and watched as the child brought it to his toothless mouth and started gnawing on an edge.

"When you reach adulthood, you must go to Asgard and use this Tesseract to defeat Gungnir. Only then can you reclaim the heart of our Realm. Only then can Jotunheim flourish again. But until that time, beware of the man with one eye."

Laufey looked over his shoulder when he heard shouting from outside. He stuck two fingers into his mouth and whistled, the infant's expression slightly contorting in discomfort at the noise. The sound of a wolf howling made the room shake, and soon after the voices became mixed with snarls and ripping. When it became completely silent, Laufey rose from the floor and slowly approached the temple entrance.

He removed the barricades and opened the door, jumping back when the mangled corpse of an Asgardian soldier fell through. Footfalls which had a faint clicking noise, like toenails or claws, became louder before a large wolf leaped through the opening and sat obediently at Laufey's feet. The wolf licked its lips, revealing two rows of bloodstained teeth.

Laufey wrapped the cloth tighter around Loki's body and tucked the cube inside. Once he was certain they were both secure, he tied a knot and held it in front of the animal's mouth. After a few seconds, the wolf opened its jaws and clamped down on the knot.

"Fenrir, from this moment on, it is your responsibility to keep him safe," Laufey said, holding the back of the wolf's neck with a loose grip. As if he understood, the infant began to cry. Fenrir whimpered and pawed at Laufey's thigh, leaving a bloodstain on his loincloth. "You know where to take him."

Knowing that was his cue, Fenrir bounded towards the door, easily leaping over the pile of bodies because of his large size. When he could no longer hear the wolf's claws scraping the floor, Laufey slumped against the altar and heaved a sigh. Heavy shudders wracked his body and he brought a hand up to cover his face. It felt sticky, and he realized it was blood from when he touched Fenrir's neck.

It didn't take very long before he heard the door creak open and footsteps that echoed in the room. He didn't need to look up. He already knew who it was.

"Well, it appears I've been caught."

"Where is it, Laufey?"

"You mean your eye?" Laufey responded, finally lifting his gaze, only to see the point of a spear aimed directly at the place between his eyes. "I don't know what good it will do you now."

"The Cube! Where is it?!" The old man shouted, earning a chuckle.

"Hah. There is no Cube here."

The Asgardian grit his teeth and lowered his weapon, seeming to relent. As soon as he had turned towards the door, he quickly pivoted and fired a beam of light at the other male. He looked at his adversary with an expression of disgust before formally leaving the room to return to his soldiers.

Behind him, the former King of Jotunheim laid on his side and stared forward with blank eyes, the same color as the blood that pooled at the foot of the altar.

TBC

I hope I'm not the only person who cried. Anyway, I thought this was too short for a chapter, so I made it the prologue. And now you know.