Secondary explosion shook the underground compound once more and the gathered agents instantly turned to their director for orders. They were members of SHIELD, they were trained to deal with anything and anyone.
So who ever was out there and trying to get in they would deal with them swiftly and efficiently.
"Director Fury." a PA installed came to life and the voice of an agent from control room filled the tense silence, "We have visual on the intruders. Sir, they aren't human."
"I knew it..." Thor growled and lifted Mjolnir, pointing it in Loki's direction, "The Jotun monsters are invading Midgard once more."
The blue-skinned man only sighed in irritation. There seems to be no point in trying to explain things to the idiot with a red cape.
Fury nodded in the direction of his second-in-command, he didn't have to say the words, she knew what he meant. So she touched the comm in her ear and asked, "Description?"
"Tall, creepy looking... with metal on them and grey skinned." the agent answered over the PA, "The blue guy looks normal next to them."
"Those aren't Jotuns." Thor mumbled, before his blue eyes widened and he started to run in the direction he came from.
Startled agents were pushed aside as he rushed to the entrance he used to gain access to the compound. He had broken in, and didn't even bother to cover his tracks. Because of that they could also get inside and kill everyone in their path to gain what they came for.
And he had a feeling it was the same thing he arrived to retrieve.
The Chitauri wanted the Tesseract.
"Where the hell is he going?" Fury snapped, before turning back towards Loki and pointing a finger in his direction, "You! Do not move!"
But in the next heartbeat the space where the blue-skinned man stood was empty, no sign of him ever being there. But when an agent yelped, and bumped into the agent next to him, when something he couldn't see brushed up against him a loud curse escaped Fury's lips.
"Sir?" agent Hill asked for orders.
"Get the Avengers suit up. We need all the firepower we can get." Fury sighed, he is becoming too old for this shit.
A guy claiming he is a Norse god and a member of blue men group that can apparently turn invisible. And now these aliens attacking for who knows which reason.
And here he thought Hydra would be his biggest problem.
Thunder roared as Thor stepped out in the dry desert air, clouds slowly gathering on the sky over the compound, and the creatures that tried to break into the main entrance paused.
Luckily they haven't noticed the evacuation exit was broken into before. But now they were aware there was a way in and that there was someone protecting it. And a loud scream echoed through the air before they attacked.
Thor punched the ones that reached him first with Mjolnir when a blast, that originated somewhere from the sky, killed the Chitaur that tried to sneak around him while he was distracted and gain access to the compound.
Seconds later the Jotun materialized on his right and with a blast of green magic took out several more.
"There is no honor in using seidr during a battle." Thor announced, looking at Loki.
Instead of answering right away the younger man materialized several daggers out of nowhere and sent them flying towards the Chitauri. And every single one found its mark.
Loki rarely used that particular magic trick, he preferred hiding and avoiding confrontation, but Jane was inside the compound. If one of these things gets inside it could harm her.
She was already injured once cause he was careless. He will not allow anyone to harm her again.
"I'm impressed." a strange metal man said once he landed few feet away from them. His speckles red and gold metal suit glistered in sunlight and momentarily confused the invaders who paused before attacking again.
A few blast, daggers and blows later the Chitauri once more paused their attacks.
It allowed agents to come rushing out, heavily armed, and spread around the open entrance.
Among them were several individuals that stood out in the mass of uniformed agents. The heavily muscular man in blue and red with a shield, a redhead woman in black leather that only in appearance looked weak, an archer with purple details on his black suit that clutched his bow tightly, and a man with curly hair that seemed uncomfortable as he looked around.
Opposite of them the Chitauri pulled back slightly. And on first glance it seemed like they were afraid of the force that gathered against them. But the truth was far more dangerous.
The aliens parted slowly, leaving the passage for a single man to pass between them. And when he stopped in front of his army he smiled wickedly at those who opposed his soldiers.
They were nothing. Weaklings.
They will all die today.
"Identify yourself!" director Fury shouted as he pushed pass his agents and stepped few feet in front of them.
"I am Thanos, mortal. And I am here for the Tesseract." the tall, purple, and ugly spoke; his voice rough.
"There is nothing by that name here." Fury responded and Thor turned to look at him, a frown on his face. He knew for a fact the cube was inside of the facility behind them. Heimdall said it is, so it must be true.
"I can sense the power of the Infinity stone, it's calling me. It guided me to this small world. Its power surge was all it took for my machines to charge and open the portal." Thanos clenched his large fist, a golden gauntlet with empty slots attracting everyone's attention.
"I have heard of you." Thor said, when the name the creature gave them finally appeared from the distant memory his father once shared with him, "A mad Titan that courts Death. It is said you are dead."
"Son of Odin, it takes more to kill me than few swords Asgard has." Thanos mocked him, before focusing on the Jotun that stood on Thor's side, "His kind could have opposed me with their ancient winters, but they prefer peace to battle."
A small movement of his hand was the only signal the Chitauri needed to attack once more, this time the entire force moving as one.
Agents spread out, their guns firing rapidly and killing the aliens. But it seemed for each that fell two more attacked.
A sudden roar attracted everyone's attention, and while the SHIELD agents knew of him, and have on several occasions witnessed the transition from Dr. Jeckil to Mr. Hyde, it was still fascinating to see the mild-mannered dr. Banner becoming the Hulk.
"Aye, a great warrior hidden in a skin of a mortal man." Thor was impressed with the power the Hulk showed, as his large fists send numerous Chitauri flying back with each blow he made.
"And what are the rest of us? Chopped liver?" the Iron Man levitated on the spot few feet away from the thundered who just gave him a wry smile before he send Mjolnir flying into the attacking force of Chitauri.
Somewhere to the left a shield with a star in the center made extensive damage, and the enemies the man known as Captain America missed an assassin known as Hawkeye took out swiftly with a mere bow and a quiver full of arrows.
Loki send another cluster of daggers flying, before a single one appeared in his hand that he used on a monster that came too close. But before he managed to stab his enemy a gunshot send it to the sandy ground.
Red eyes snapped up from the dead body at his feet to see who helped him and came face to face with Black widow. A quick nod in her direction was the only thanks he offered her before he returned to fighting.
The unlikely allies were so focused on fighting the Chitauri that were relentless in their attacks they failed to notice the single one that managed to pass though their line of defense and enter the compound.
The creature moved with a single purpose. To gain access to the cube, and bring it to his master. And once Thanos receives the item he will remove all life from this little planet and give them what he promised for their assistance.
A release from service that would allow them to live outside of his rule and new home-world for the hordes of Chitauri that their own world can no longer sustain. And once they conquered this world noting will be in their way of forming colonies on other ones in this galaxy as well.
But right now they were nothing but drones. Alive cause he lived.
Few agents that remained inside and patrolled the hallways were quickly deposed of. The fools should have known better than to oppose a creature far more advanced than them, armed with a weapon their puny brains can only dream about.
A strange sound made the alien pause and turn back towards the hallway it just walked by. But when it didn't repeat the Chitaur continued towards the laboratory where the Tesseract was kept.
It could sense the power of the cube, but his race could not tame it. Only Thanos could.
Erik pulled Jane's hand but she pulled it free from his grasp and slowly moved towards the corner and peeked behind it in the direction the creature took just moments ago.
She had no idea what he was but he obviously wasn't friendly. The bloody print he left after himself was an obvious proof of that.
The alien, whatever he was called, stepped into fresh blood of someone he killed and then just continued forward. He killed and he didn't care.
Jane couldn't help but wish Loki was there with her. But he wasn't. He was somewhere out there, probably fighting these aliens.
A sudden feeling of over-protectiveness washed over her and Jane closed her eyes for a moment. It was so odd to feel like this for someone she knew so briefly, but she couldn't help herself. She wanted him to be safe.
"Jane." Erik hissed quietly, "Think about what you are doing."
"I'm doing everything I can."
"You are injured Jane. Your wound was sutured just few hours ago, so the painkillers must be losing effect by now."
And they were, but Jane refused to admit it. She didn't want Erik to know her side burned with each step she took.
She was Jane Foster. She traveled to Norway on a whim and found a prince that was lost for a millennium. What is one little wound when you look at the bigger picture of how her life was in past week.
"I am stopping that thing." she gritted though clenched teeth.
Erik sighed, "Jane, that thing will stop you. It will kill you."
"I refuse to cower in the mouse-hole, Erik. I may be most comfortable behind a computer screen, or in front of a starchart, but that doesn't mean I won't fight back if I have to."
"You don't have to." he hissed, trying to get her to understand there are trained agents all around them who were prepared for these kind of things.
But Jane refused to listen. The moment the alien was out of sight she followed it, unknowingly moving in the direction of the laboratory where a strange cube was kept.
Erik saw it, performed tests on it, and came out empty handed. Whatever it was it way beyond his expertise.
And now they followed the creature that moved directly towards it.
Erik had to wonder if the attack was somehow linked to the strange power burst the machines recorded, just moments before it was called in the agent found Jane with a strange blue-skinned man that vanished into a portal.
A brief hiss of the pneumatic doors opening signaled the alien had gained access to the laboratory and Erik once more grabbed Jane's wrist. She silently nodded and continued forward.
Loki froze in the middle of a battlefield, every nerve in his body screaming in shock. It never happened before, and he shouldn't be able to feel it, but for some reason he knew.
He knew Jane had been injured.
And that caused a unstoppable wave of rage to wash over him.
Thunder rolled as Thor send more Chitauri flying, their bodies covering the ground. But despite the large amount they already killed it seemed their numbers were never ending. There seemed to be no stopping them.
Blood red eyes looked around the commotion until he finally focused on the lone figure that stood separately from the others. He didn't even fight with his soldiers. Instead Thanos observed everything with a pleased grin on his face.
Loki felt ice consuming him.
Jane was hurt and needed him. But he could not leave the others to fight, turn his back on them like a coward. Still, his very being demanded that he takes care of his mate. After all that is why he returned to Earth after ending on Jotunheim and meeting his kind.
Odd sound filled the air, crackling of ice as it formed.
"Woah..." the man in the iron suit landed on his right and the front part of his helmet lifted, finally revealing the face of the man wearing it, "Nice trick Frosty. Got a few more?"
"Yes, but no time." Loki mumbled before he marched right past him, towards the purple figure he held responsible for his mate's injury.
Chitauri tried to stop him, they got in his way, but were swiftly killed before a Jotun prince found himself face to face with a mad Titan.
"So... a Frost giant believes he can defeat me." the rough voice attracted the attention of the SHIELD agents and the Avengers who thought with them. And Thor, who held Mjolnir in his hand, clenched it harder.
Loki let the ice that formed around his right arm into a sword melt into nothing. He didn't need it. There was another tool that he will use against his enemy. One that Thanos himself mentioned could stop him, not knowing it was currently in Loki's possession.
Thanos raised his right fist, the one with the incomplete gauntlet, and went to strike Loki when a small movement caught his attention.
He could have evaded it, the blast of ice that came from the small cube in the Jotun's arms. But he in his arrogance he noticed it too soon.
And moments later the whole body of the mad Titan was surrounded by ice.
The force of the Casket froze every drop of black blood in his veins, every cell in his body. And when Loki finally sent the artifact back into the his storage in nothing what was left of Thanos was a solid block of ice that could not harm anyone.
The Jotun turned towards the shocked people that watched him, ignoring the Chitauri that suddenly seemed sluggish, and instead focused on Thor.
"Now hit him with that thing." he pointed to the hammer in Thunderer's hand.
The second Thanos' body shattered into million tiny pieces the alien force that killed too many all dropped on the ground unmoving. The metal upgrades Thanos gave their species were also their downfall. For without him they were nothing but mindless drones. Without him to keep them alive they were dead.
A wild roar echoed through the space as Hulk announced he was pleased. Moments later orders were starting to come from several different directions as those in charge started to delegate what to do with wounded, dead and how to dispose of the aliens that attacked them.
Loki didn't stick around to listen to any of that. He rushed through the crowd, through the ruined doors inside the compound, and didn't stop until he reached the laboratory where his feelings told him Jane was in.
And she was there. Lying on the ground with a bleeding wound in her abdomen, with Erik holding his shirt pressed to it tightly in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
Behind them a Chitaur lied dead.
Loki didn't wait for an explanation, nor did he listen to Erik's protests. He simply picked Jane up and with a small movement of his hands called forth the Casket of Ancient Winters once more into his grasp.
Erik Selvig saw many extraordinary things since he started to work with SHIELD. But seeing a blue-skinned man taking Jane away though a portal that appeared out of nowhere was a sight he will never forger.
Nor will he forget the feeling of dread that he will never see the girl again.
Icy winds howled around Loki and the precious cargo is his arms as he appeared on the frozen ground of Jotunheim.
Unlike the first time when the Casket brought him in the middle of nowhere this time he and Jane appeared in a large hallway that led to his father's throne room.
Moments later a guard announced his return to Laufey, but before the Jotun king even managed to stand up from his throne his wife and mate was already rushing to meet her son.
And the queen of Asgard was right behind her.
Frigga refused to return to her realm with Odin, telling him her presence on Jotunheim was vital for the survival of the mortal woman.
The All-Father wasn't certain if it was wise to leave his wife among Frost giants, the race that has been their enemy for so long. But it was only after Frigga pointed out their mutual animosity was originating from prejudice and a terrible misunderstanding did he agree with her.
Laufey's promise as a king of Jotunheim was also a reason why queen of Asgard was still on the icy realm without a single guard from her own realm.
"Do you have healing rooms?" Frigga asked as she followed the taller woman towards where the young prince waited for aid, his mortal mate wounded and bleeding in his arms.
"Yes. But I am not certain we will manage to aid my son's mate." Farabauti was visibly distressed.
She had just got her only child back. If he was to lose his mate so soon after finding her it would destroy him. And she would lost him all over again.
"That is why I am here." Frigga paused in front of Loki and carefully moved Jane's hair off her face, "I do not posses a lot of seidr, but my knowledge if large enough to be able to heal your son's lady. And the apple will assist where I can not."
"Apple?" Loki asked as he followed his mother down the wide hallway, easily keeping pace with the Jotun queen despite the difference in size.
Frigga, who walked by his side, smiled at him kindly, "A gift from Asgard. Idunn's golden apple that gives the one who eats it a long and healthy life. As a mortal your mate would live but a fraction of the life you still have in front of you."
"So the apple will help?"
The Asgardian queen nodded, "Yes... but it must be her wish to eat it. A choice like that can not be forced upon her."
Loki remained silent after that, his mind repeating the words over and over again.
He understood the size of the gift given to them, to Jane, but also the consequences if she was to accept it. A life much longer than the one meant for her fragile kind.
He remained silent after placing her on the bed covered with soft white fur.
He remained silent as Frigga skillfully healed the wound on Jane's abdomen until nothing but a thin scar remained.
He only spoke when the older woman turned towards him and smiled.
"Thank you for saving her for me."
She smiled at him, a kind smile that he could still vaguely remember his mother used to give him, "Not only for you. For Iggdrasil."
Heimdall turned to his king, his golden eyes noticing the worry on Odin's face. He returned to Asgard alone, to welcome his son home once Thor returns, and was shocked when the gatekeeper informed him of the events on Midgard.
To learn Thanos was so close to obtaining an Infinity stone shook him to the core, but Odin was a king long enough and learned not to show emotions in front of anyone. Still, Heimdall wasn't anyone. He could see what others could not.
"The queen has successfully healed the mortal woman on Jotunheim. I believe she will call for me to open the Bifrost soon enough." he informed Odin.
"And my son?"
Instead of answering Heimdall used his sword to activate ancient machines that allowed them to travel among the realms. The wide window in front of them changed until a bright light momentarily blinded both men.
And when the light vanished Thor stood in front of them, Mjolnir in one hand and a handle of an oval shaped container in the other. And inside the thick glass a blue glowing cube.
The Thunderer did not greet his father, or informed him of the battle that occurred on Midgard. He did not mention Thanos or the army of Chitauri.
Instead he focused on one thing only.
"The Frost giant... he has taken a mortal to Jotunheim. We must follow him and retrieve her!"