A/N: I may have had some fun with this chapter. Not in a good way.
The Avengers, Loki, Iron Man, or anything of the like. Just the thoughts inside my head. And taking some personal freedoms with mythology and lore.
Balder grit his teeth as he pulled down again on the chains around his wrists. He'd stopped feeling the sting in his wrists as the cuffs bit into his skin days ago. All he focused on was trying to loose then chains from the walls every chance he got. It had been four days since he had seen Loki and he didn't like that.
He let out a huff, seeing his breath in front of him. The more he was there the more he thought about how far Jotho's deception went. It was obvious that he meant to kill Steve and Nathan, and Balder had to hope that he wasn't too late to try and find them. He didn't like the dark thoughts that this was supposed to get him and Loki killed as well. Was Odin safe from Jotho?
He and Loki hadn't been on Jotunheim for too long before they were ambushed by a hunting party of Giants. Loki had been right when he said that having him there had helped him out. It had upgraded him from immediate death to torture in the dungeons. Everyone knew about Loki, the smallest of the Jotuns, and the one to have killed their king. He was not very welcome.
For the first week they didn't even acknowledge Loki, and he was forced to stay in his Jotun form for the sake of the baby. The second week Balder wasn't exactly sure if anything had changed. He wasn't exactly conscious for most of the week, but they still let Loki tend to his injuries when they dropped him back in the dungeon.
But the start of the third week was when they took Loki from the room. He hadn't heard from him since.
Balder pumped his hands a few more times before pulling down again. He jerked a little when he felt one of the chains start to come loose. Looking up he smirked a little. Now he had to wait for one of his captors to come back. He was able to master any weapon, and he could work with chains around his wrist to take out those in his way.
Balder closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming himself, focusing. He only had once chance at this and he had to get it right. He wasn't sure how long he waited, but he heard a set of footsteps approaching his cell and forced himself to stay relaxed. The door opened and the Jotun entered. He could feel the Giant and that's when he moved.
Balder surged forward, pulling down with his arms, slamming his shoulder into the Giant's stomach. He was suddenly yanked back and he blinked. Only one chain had come loose and he glanced up. The giant was getting back to his feet and Balder threw his arm forward, the chain wrapping around the giants neck. Balder put his foot quickly on the top of his head and pulled his arm back, pulling the chain taut. he had the giant trapped on the ground and quickly loosing air. He grit his teeth as the giant tried to grab his foot, he could feel the cold of the giant trying to freeze his foot.
Slowly the giant slowed then stopped moving and Balder let out a breath. He wrapped both hand around the chain that was still holding him back and pulled, hard. it came out and he fell backwards, tripping over the body behind him.
"Sonuvabitch," he cursed as he rolled to his feet. Looking he didn't see any weapons on the giant but saw a ring of keys. Something he'd probably need. "I need some goddamn warm clothes," he muttered as he leaned out, checking the hall for anymore guards. The hall was empty and he quietly ran out. First thing was that he need to find a store room with some fabric, something he could use to keep warm, and something to give to Steve and Nathan. He knew it sounded bad, but he hoped that they had been found by the Giants as well, because then they'd have a higher chance of being kept alive.
He ducked into an alcove when he heard several guards coming his way and passed by undetected. Turning the corner from where they just came from he moved quickly. It didn't take long to find a store room and he bundled up, wrapping up more clothing with string that he found, throwing it over his shoulder. He still found no weapons, but found something that looked like a shield and grabbed it, hoping that maybe Steve could use it later.
Balder was tense as he moved through the halls, using his tracking sense to find anything in the cells that wasn't a Jotun, or at least a smaller one. All his senses were on high alert and he stopped when he heard a shout. His heart raced thinking that he has been spotted, but realized that it was coming from another room. Nathan. He took off down the hall and saw that a cell door was open. Unrolling the chains from his arms he rolled his neck and threw the chain out, catching another giant around the neck. Unfortunately this one wasn't alone.
"Balder!" He heard Steve yell then grabbed the shield and threw it in the room. He pulled down, slamming the giant into the ground and moved to get out of the grasp of the other one. There was a clang and Balder looked to see that Steve had managed to throw the shield, the edge embedded in the Jotun's neck, the giant falling to the ground.
"Oph!" He gasped when he was pulled to the ground, a large hand over his chest, cold seeping through his clothes. He pulled down sharply with his arm, jerking the guard, loosening his grip and Balder rolled out, then jumped onto his back. He dug his knees in the guards back and pulled up on the chain. One more tug and her head a snap. He let out a breath and collapsed on the dead guards back.
"I can't wait to get back to my warm, warm, very warm, bed," he muttered. He rolled back to his feet and grabbed the keys and ran to Steve who was closest. "Good to see you still have some skill with round things." Steve rubbed his wrists a little when they were free and took the bundle of clothes offered to him.
"Glad to see you at all," Steve retaliated. Balder moved to Nathan, who was leaning against the wall, body looking a little too pale, maybe tinged with blue. As balder removed his shackles Steve grabbed the other clothes, wrapping Nathan in them.
He gave a slow, almost lazy smile. "Your hands feel so warm, did you know that?"
"Don't go delirious on me boy." Balder started to rub one of his hands, creating friction, to try and help warm him up. "We have to find Loki and get the hell out of here."
Nathan frowned but it was Steve who spoke first, rubbing Nathans' other hand. "What is Loki doing here? He's pregnant."
"Don't think I didn't bring that up with him before he insisted he come." Balder rolled his eyes a little. "But, if he hadn't of come then I probably would have been killed on sight."
"They didn't kill us cause they found you first," Nathan almost slurred out. His body was starting to warm up, and he was starting to get most of his functions back. "They said you were looking for us."
"How long did you guys manage to survive before you were found?" Balder looked at Steve.
"Almost three days." Steve blew on his own hands before getting up to get the shield again. "We found a cave, managed to build a fire to keep us from getting hypothermia, and found some kind of animal. I think the cave we found was often used by hunters, so we got lucky, in a sense."
Nathan was now covering his face and blowing into his hands, trying to warm up his nose. "Okay, we gotta find Loki."
"Here," Balder pushed the rest of the clothes into Nathan's hands. "You carry that, stay by Steve and me. When we find Loki we have to get out, the further away we are without being followed the better. Heimdall will be able to bring us back to Asgard then." The boys nodded and Balder helped Nathan to his feet. "I have fears that possibly, Odin, Frigga, and Thor may be in danger." He also knew that the faster they left the better Nathan and Steve would be. They would be spending at least a week with the healers.
Maybe it was the adrenaline, but Nathan seemed to move faster as they went. Balder and Steve didn't comment on it, as long as the kid made it back home. Balder stopped and whipped his head to the side. He held out his hand before the other two could say anything anything. He took off running blindly and stopped in front of a door. They could all hear the faint crying of a baby.
Balder forced the door open and he let out a breath. There was a baby, a tiny Jotun, but it was no doubt Loki's son. He was at least put in a crudely put together crib with a blanket. Balder had a thought but quickly dismissed it as he hurried in and cradled the child in his arms. Nathan pulled out a piece of clothing and handed it to Balder who wrapped the little boy up in it. He was still crying but it lessened now that someone was holding him.
"Nathan," Balder motioned with his head for the younger man to come over. He gently put the boy in Nathan's arms. "You hold him, and stay behind us. We have to find Loki, and when we do you need to be sure to be there."
"Huh?" Nathan blinked, looking up from the blue baby in his arms.
"I'll explain later, come on. Loki won't be far." Balder almost jogged from the room, Steve and Nathan right behind him.
"How do you figure?" Steve asked.
"Because they'll want to make sure that Loki hears his cries, a kind of mental torture. It's what I would do, if I were heartless." Balder frowned as they searched.
They stopped when they came face to face with two guards, stopping in front of a door. Loki's door. Balder cracked his knuckles and Steve gripped the shield. "All we have to do if get the door open, Loki will do the rest. Trust me." Steve nodded, grabbing the keys from Balder's belt.
He moved first, swinging one chain low and the other high. It had the desired affect. The guard on the left grabbed the high chain while the other was pulled off his feet when it wrapped around his ankle and Balder pulled on it. Balder felt himself go flying closer tot he giants but heard Steve moving to the door.
Ducking under a swinging fist balder managed to pull the giants towards the open door. he saw Loki sitting on the floor, head down, but still in his Jotun form. He wasn't sure what they had done to him but he was unfortunately in just the state of mind that Balder needed. "Steve! Shield Nathan!" Steve ran over and pulled Nathan down and put the Shield up, putting the three of them behind the piece of metal.
"Loki!" Balder yelped a little when one of the giants had kicked his back, sending him to the floor. "We have your son! He's safe!" Loki looked up, red eyes catching Balder's. He could see it, they had been trying to block his powers, but Loki had been gathering up energy. His pupils flashed gold when he saw the giants behind Balder. Loki stood up slowly and the guards stopped to watch him, knowing nothing good was going to come of this.
Loki's hands started to glow with a dark green energy, his eyes glowing gold and he growled, loudly. One of the Jotun stepped over Balder quickly, the other placing his foot on balder to keep him down. He tried to get to Loki, but Loki just pulled one arm out, the chain shooting out from the wall. He did the same with his other arm and took a step forward, meeting the guard. Loki grabbed his arm and bent it back quickly, snapping the bone.
Balder yelled out when the guard on him pressed down, putting strain on his spine and rib cage. Loki rolled his head cracking his neck, balled up his hands and mumbled something under his breath. Balder closed his eyes as they room lit up. He could feel power wash over him as it gathered in the room, before suddenly expanding outwards in a rush of air. His hair was pushed back, the ends of his clothes starting to fray and burn, his limbs going weak under the power.
When he opened his eyes, Loki was still standing, breathing quickly through his nose, hands still glowing with power, but his eyes were red again. "Nathan," Balder coughed out, noting that there was no foot on top of him anymore. There were no Frost Giants in the room with them anymore.
Nathan tried not to stumble in, but his body was tingling from the power that Loki let out. If Steve's shield hadn't of been there, they would have been caught in the blast and who knows what would have happened. Nathan swallowed a little when he caught sight of Loki. The god looked feral, beyond dangerous. He took a few steps closer and lifted his arm a little, showing him the fussing child.
Loki saw the boy and took a breath. He blinked his eyes a few time before stepping forward quickly and taking the bundled baby into his arms. The child quieted at once, turning and putting a small hand on Loki's chest. As Loki reached up his skin started to change back to Asgardian pale, and as his fingers brushed over his son's head he also changed. Loki closed his eyes, letting out a slow breath.
Balder groaned as Steve helped him up. "What was that?" Nathan asked first.
"They took his child from him, Loki was going to be pissed off," Balder explained. "I figured that if he saw who had taken him then Loki would kill them, but only once he knew that the boy was safe."
"He wouldn't risk the life of the baby," Steve nodded a little, agreeing, watching Loki calm down in front of them.
"That was Loki pissed?" Nathan blinked a little.
"When he attacked New York, that was about equivalent to a hissy fit," Balder told him. "Imagine what he would have done had they killed they boy."
"None of us would have survived," Steve surmised and Balder nodded gravely.
"This was lucky." Balder slowly approached his brother, making sure that Loki could see who he was and that he was approaching. "Loki, we must leave. We have to get back to Asgard, to warn them of Jotho's betrayal. I fear for the lives of the rest of our family." Loki nodded a little and pulled the clothing around the boy a little tighter. Balder squeezed his shoulder. "We'll let Tony see the child as you take your revenge, brother." He shivered a little when Loki grinned slightly. That was a promise he intended to keep.
Tony opened his eyes wide when cold water hit his face. Coughing he looked around and saw several figures not too far away. Wherever he was it was dark and there were only candles for light. He let his eyes try to adjust before he saw that there was a man just off to his left.
"Did you know that some elves are considered to be descended from the Fae," the voice started taking and Tony tried to focus on him. Tony was on his knees, his arms pulled tight to the side, and it felt like he was against a tree. "Do you know much about the Fae?"
"Are you going to tell me that you have bright pink wings?" Tony quipped, trying to clear his head a little. "Because, honestly, that wouldn't surprise me."
"We have twisted powers, that is why our brethren drove us from exile, until we found this place, our Svartalfheim." The man moved to stand in front of Tony. Looking up he saw the man was dark, had purple-grey skin, long black hair, and pointed ear. Dark elves. "There's a theory that if one spends too much time with the Fae, then they also become twisted. We'd like to test that theory."
Tony swallowed thickly when the elf held up his hand, a small orb of tainted magenta energy forming in his palm. "This is going to hurt, Asgardian." He pushed the orb slowly into Tony's chest, just below the arc reactor. Tony gasped, instinctively trying to pull away. He could feel the power fragment, traveling through his body and he arched him back, groaning. He started to pant, scrunching his eyes closed, but refused to scream. This was just another cave that he had to find his way out of. He'd do it, because this time he had something to go back to.
