Disclaimer: Loki, The Other, and all other Marvel characters belong to Marvel (duh). Jormungand and Hela belong to Norse Mythology, and Erika is mine.
Sorry for the delay between chapters, inspiration has been a cold heartless bitch.
Big thanks to Sperky7220 for being my sort-of beta reader, who usually doesn't have enough time to check my work because of college. She was able to look over the early draft of this chapter and give me a little feedback. Thank you Estrella-wa!
First Jormungand, then Hela—now all that was missing were Fenrir and Sleipnir. Loki had no idea how his two younger children had escaped their banishment, but he was certain his eldest and second-youngest would not be so fortunate; after all, one was bound by unbreakable chains, and the other was cursed to forever be Odin's mighty steed.
"We can free them," Jormungand insisted. "Hela and I—our magic combined could free them!"
"Don't you think I've already tried?" Loki asked tiredly, leaning back on Stark's—Tony's—couch. "With my magic, I could not free any of you."
"I know where Fenrir is," Erika spoke up. "According to Jor, all I need for my magic to unlock is my memories—the ones you took from me. If I get those back, then maybe all three of us would be enough to—"
"No!" Loki interrupted. Somehow, locking her memories has allowed her to evade the Allfather's notice—even now, the remnants of the spells Loki cast were diverting Heimdall's attention, urging him not to notice Erika. Breaking those spells would draw his attention to her, and then the Allfather would know of her existence. Loki did not even wish to think what punishment would befall Erika, just for being his child.
Erika stood up. "I'm not a little girl anymore," she insisted. "I can take care of myself—plus I have Earth's Mightiest Heroes to protect me!" She paused. "I know you can't reverse it, but Jor or Hela could—just tell them how."
Loki still refused.
He did not, however, realize just how stubborn his and Tony's child could be.
"We should not be here," Hela murmured as she and Erika rummaged through Loki's rooms on Asgard (and how cool was it that Erika could physically travel to Asgard?).
"Is your concealment spell hiding us?"
"Well, yes, but—"
"Then we've got nothing to worry about." She picked up another book. "It's so weird—these are all in different languages, but it's like my brain rearranges the words into English."
"That would be the Allspeak," said Jormungand, descending from an upper level of the rooms with a book in his hand. "Any and all know languages are known to you, thanks to your heritage."
"Well, that explains why I did so well in Spanish class," Erika muttered. She glanced at the book he held. "Is that it?"
Jormungand nodded.
Erika grinned. "Awesome."
"Does it have to be blood? My blood?"
"Yours and your father's, yes."
"Ew."
Getting a sample of her own blood was a cinch. Getting a sample of her dad's blood, however, was a different story, and involved sneaking into Dr. Banner's medical lab, where she knew he'd have blood of everyone living in Stark Tower.
She got the blood and got out, just barely avoiding running into the doctor, which she was thankful for—sneaking around in his lab might just get him mad enough for the Other Guy to make an appearance, and she really didn't want that.
Loki could feel the build of magic in the air, but did not know what it was until several days after, when he was in Tony's lab. Tony had made him new armor and given it a green and gold paint job. He'd even made Loki a leather holster for his throwing knives.
Loki didn't remember ever telling Tony he used knives, and he said as much.
"Really? I could've sworn you said something about it."
Loki shook his head. "I do not share that information lightly."
Tony let out a small 'huh,' then shrugged it off. "Lucky guess, then."
A few minutes later, both of them froze, the same memory rising to the surface in both their minds.
"Uh, Babe? What's with the letter opener?" Tony asked while watching Loki polish a dagger.
Loki held the dagger between his fingertips and grinned. "It's always nice to have a back-up plan, and they do hold a nice element of surprise."
Tony flopped back down in the chair across from Loki. "Is Kiddo safe with those in the house?" he asked, concerned, not for the first time, for their daughter's safety.
Loki scoffed. "Do you think me so foolish, to have something that would harm one of my own?"
Tony frowned. "Good point." A beat of silence, then, "So. Daggers. Kinda sneaky for a noble warrior of Asgard."
Loki's grin was wolfish. "I am many things, Stark, but noble is not one of them. Thor and the Warriors Three have often compared my knife throwing and illusions as 'simple tricks,' and have often accused me of being a coward." His grin widened. "They are often silenced once they have said knife held to their throats."
Tony chuckled. "God, I love you."
"The feeling is mutual."
Erika started crying then, and Loki put down his dagger to go check on her.
Tony was the first to snap back to the present. "Whoa," he muttered, looking like he was seeing Loki for the first time. "Just—whoa." He swallowed. "What the hell was that?"
Loki sighed angrily and massaged the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "That, Stark, was our stubborn daughter doing exactly what I told her NOT to do."
"Yeah? What else is new?"
That stupid girl had done the exact opposite of what Loki had told her to do. He'd ordered her to let it be, and now . . . now, who knew what would happen?
It hadn't worked.
At least, it hadn't done what Erika had thought. Her memories were still fuzzy at best, and there was only the barest hint of a memory that could suggest that Loki was her mother.
Jormungand had suggested that unlocking her memories was the key to unlocking her magic, but it had been three days since they cast the spell and Erika was still the same—still mortal and without magic.
"It was worth a try," Hela told her, trying to console her.
"Like you said before, magic isn't everything," Jormungand added.
Erika hadn't really known what to expect, but she'd gotten her hopes up that maybe there was something in her—something magical, like the rest of her family. She was still a genius, though, just like Tony, and for now that would have to be enough.
Erika had expected Loki to be upset with her for disobeying him, but he never said a word.
"Who is this little one that comes to us?" something growled into her ear, its voice low and gravelly. "You reek of humanity."
Erika didn't dare turn around—she didn't have to. Whoever spoke circled around her and she was at a loss for words. It—he was clearly Chitauri, but more evolved.
The Other, then (Loki had told them everything eh could of the alien army, including its leader and the Mad Titan—Erika hoped never to face him).
"How has such a little human managed to find their way here, I wonder?" he continued, and paused. "I see into your mind—you are mortal, but also of Asgard. You belong to that wretch who failed us."
Loki.
"Know this, girl—we meant what we said; there is no place for him to hide from us. We will come, and Midgard will fall, and not even your armies can stop us."
Erica jolted awake, sweat beading her forehead.
"Crap."
A/N: My beta reader said Loki was too squishy and soft in the earliest draft of this chapter, so I hope I changed it well enough. He's still a squishy marshmallow inside, but now hopefully he's not broadcasting it for everyone to see.
I'm so excited—I know exactly how I want this to end, and I'm trying my best to keep this at a believable pace and get to where I want to go. There's still a long way to go until the end, though, so bear with me.
Thank you to everyone who's favorited, followed, or reviewed this story. Your support and feedback means so much