Chapter 8

The next morning, Thor was still reeling from the revelation that his mother had been prepared to commit treason. He was so caught in the thought that he didn't see Sif approaching until he almost ran into her.

"Sif, I'm glad to see you. I couldn't find you last night when I was saying farewell and I was afraid I wouldn't have a chance to talk to you before I left," Thor said.

"So the rumors are true," Sif said, eyeing the chest Thor was carrying over his shoulder. "You really are bringing Fenrir to Midgard."

"I'm on my way to his cell now."

"Thor, where exactly on Midgard are you planning to take Fenrir?" Sif asked, walking alongside Thor as he began moving down the hall.

"He'll stay at Avengers Tower with me."

"You and the Avengers?"

"Naturally."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Thor stopped to face his friend.

"You still think that he's dangerous don't you?"

"I think that this plan is dangerous." Sif said, slowly.

"This plan was made by Frigga. She would not send her only grandson to Midgard if she did not think it was for the best," He explained.

"Frigga is desperate to get Fenrir out of the dungeon. Her judgment might not be as clear as it usually is." Sif reasoned.

"She wants him to be safe, and what safer place could he find than the home of me and the Avengers?" Thor shifted the chest from one shoulder to the next before continuing.

"Thor, your friends might not be thrilled at the idea of housing the son of their greatest enemy," Sif explained.

"My teammates will understand. Besides any concerns they might have will vanish when they learn that his magic is being suppressed."

"Don't take him with you, Thor," Sif said. Thor was about to argue, when she continued. "Not until you tell your teammates what is going on. If they're really as understanding as you think then Fenrir will only be delayed a few days."

"I can't force him to spend another hour in that cell. Not when I promised him that we would be leaving," Thor saw the logic of what Sif said, and in truth he was worried about how the other Avengers would react to Fenrir, but he couldn't change his plans. So he said his goodbye and continued on his way. Unfortunately, he soon found the path to the dungeon blocked.

"Preparing to bring your new charge to Midgard?" Odin asked, eyeing the chest over Thor's shoulder. Thor remained silent and waited for Odin to move away from the door. Finally Odin stepped to the side and motioned for Thor to continue on.

"You think my actions are cruel?" Odin asked, just as Thor had begun to descend the stairs.

"I think they are insane," Thor said, refusing to look back.

"You still allow your emotions to rule over your judgment. As a king you'll have to see the truth beyond your own desires." Odin said.

"And what is the truth?" Thor demanded, slamming the chest to the ground. "What is it about Fenrir that you hate so much? What are you afraid of?"

"When Loki brought his son home I was displeased but I allowed it. I saw no harm in letting him play at fatherhood. But a few weeks after his arrival a seer came to the palace with a prophesy about Fenrir," Odin said.

"And she told you about what would happen on Svartalfheim?" Thor asked.

"No. She said that Fenrir would become powerful beyond control. That one day he would stand before the greatest warrior in the realm and bring him to his knees. And that he would be the one to bring Ragnarok to Asgard," Odin finished and for a moment Thor felt himself frozen.

"Prophesies don't always come true," He said, finally. "And even then they are rarely what we think they will be. It might not mean what it sounds like it means," Thor said, wanting to convince himself as much as his father.

"I once convinced myself the same thing. For years I was able to hope that Fenrir would be nothing to fear; but then Loki began to teach him magic. You remember how quickly he learned tricks that took his father years to master," Odin said. "I saw the danger building and still I allowed him to remain. Then we brought him to Svartalfheim."

"That was an accident," Thor said.

"There was no denying what he was, or what he would do, after that," Odin said, ignoring Thor. "King Auolies was eager to have justice for his people, so I agreed to his terms and rid Asgard of a threat."

"You knew what he was going to do to Fenrir?"

"The details of his imprisonment were irrelevant. Auolies agreed to keep him contained and without access to his magic, and that was all that mattered," Odin said. Thor felt sick at what he was hearing.

"Now you know all," Odin said. "It is not too late for you to change your mind. Leave the boy where he is and return to Midgard on your own," Thor began to protest but Odin quickly interrupted him. "It won't be like Svartalfheim. The only person who would have access to his cell would be Frigga. He will not be harmed; merely confined," Odin had barely finished speaking when Thor made his answer.

"No," He said, picking the trunk up from where he'd left it. He turned to leave when Odin stopped him again.

"Thor," He said, quietly. "Once Fenrir leaves Asgard his threat to us will be gone. As long as he obeys the terms of his banishment then I need never be concerned with him again. But the threat to you will be greater than ever. There is no question that on Midgard you are 'the greatest warrior in the realm'."

"I will take the risk," Thor said, turning his back on his father and going down to the dungeon.

/*/*/*/*/*/*

"Thor," Fenrir jumped to his feet the moment he saw the door open. "Are we going?"

"We can go as soon as-" Thor stopped mid-sentence when he saw the Fenrir's neck was bare. "How did you get the collar off?" Fenrir's eyes immediately dropped to the ground.

"O-Odin sent someone here already. He… he took the collar off," Fenrir said. "Are we going?" He asked again, looking at Thor nervously.

"With the collar gone there's nothing left to stop us." A look of relief drifted across Fenrir's face so quickly that Thor almost missed it; but not quite.

For the first time since his arrival on Asgard Thor didn't have to drag Fenrir along behind him. As they left the dungeons Fenrir hurried to keep pace with his uncle. Looking over Thor saw that Fenrir was holding tightly to the book he'd brought him on his first day in the dungeon. He offered to put it into the chest but Fenrir seemed reluctant to let it go so they simply continued on their way to the Bifrost.

"Frigga," Fenrir said, when he saw his grandmother waiting for him. "You came."

"I couldn't let you leave without saying goodbye," Frigga replied, going to join him. Thor decided to let them have a moment alone and went over to stand with Heimdall.

"Where am I sending you?" Heimdall asked, giving Fenrir a wary look.

"To Midgard," Thor said, when suddenly he got an idea. "To the land of my Lady Jane." Heimdall gave him a questioning look before nodding his head.

"Very well," He said, opening the bridge. Thor turned to where his mother and Fenrir were still talking.

"Fenris, are you ready to go?" Thor asked. Fenrir took one last look at Frigga before he nodded and went to join Thor.

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

The trip between the realms took less than a minute, but it was enough time for Fenrir to completely lose his composure. As soon as their landing was complete Fenrir dropped to his hands and knees, breathing deeply.

"I'm sorry," He said to the sand.

Thor held out a hand to help his nephew up. He wanted to say something comforting. Anything to reassure his nephew.

"We'll walk from here," Was all he could come up with. Still it seemed that it was enough and Fenrir reached out a hand and let Thor help him up.

They were only a few minutes into their walk toward the town when Thor saw a glint of light moving toward them in the distance.

"She must have seen us land," A huge smile lit up his face as he watched the van approach. Thor swung an arm around his nephew. "It seems you won't need to walk after all."

Fenrir watched the van pull up to them and fought against his desire to shake Thor off. The van stopped and Jane sprang out of the driver's seat. Thor let go of Fenrir and opened his arms to catch Jane.

"Thor!" Jane yelled, springing into his arms. Fenrir wished that he could smile at what was clearly a happy reunion. But once they started kissing he couldn't help but stare at the ground and wait for it to be over. "I was starting to think they'd finally convinced you to stay in Asgard." Jane said, pulling away.

"No," Thor said. For a second his smile faltered. "It may be a long time before I return to Asgard." Jane started to say something, when she saw Fenrir.

"Oh. I'm sorry; I didn't know you brought someone with you," Jane said, her cheeks beginning to turn red.

"Fenris," Thor called over his shoulder. Fenrir walked a few steps and let Thor pull him the rest of the way forward. "This is the Lady Jane." Thor said, beaming at her. "One of the wisest women in this realm. She is my dearest companion on Midgard."

Jane smiled at Thor and reached out to shake Fenrir's hand. Fenrir flinched backwards.

"Jane, I would like to present my nephew, Fenrir," Thor said. This time it was Jane's turn to flinch.

"Nephew? Then that would make him…?" Jane didn't want to finish.

"He is Loki's son," Thor said.

"Oh. Loki's son," Jane said, stunned. "Okay, so he's, um, what's he doing here?"

"He has come to stay with me," Thor explained.

"Stay here?" Jane asked. "Why? Since when does Loki even have kids?"

"Much has happened since I left, and I promise that I will explain everything. But first I must ask you for a favor." Thor said. Jane waited for him to finish. "I must return to New York, to speak with my fellow Avengers. I need to explain what happened on Asgard and convince them that it is safe to allow Fenrir to live at the tower. Until I do this I don't think he can remain with me. Jane, there is no one I would trust more to look after him while I am gone." The shock following Thor's announcement was felt on all sides.

"What?!" Fenrir gasped.

"I don't understand," Jane said. She couldn't believe what Thor was telling her. There was no way Thor was asking her to take care of Loki's son.

"I thought I was staying with you. You said I was staying with you," Fenrir said, the panic showing through in his voice.

"You will come with me," Thor insisted, reaching out a hand to comfort his nephew. "This is only for a short time."

"Thor, I don't know if this is a good idea," Jane said, looking back and forth between the two of them.

"It's not," Fenrir added.

"Please," Thor said to both of them. "If I bring Fenrir with me now then I fear that all the other Avengers will see is Loki. I need a chance to explain. To bring him there before I do could make things…difficult."

"Thor you can't just dump your nephew here. I don't even know him," Jane said.

"Jane, I promise you that Fenrir will bring no harm to anyone," Thor said.

"That's not what I'm worried about. Although it does worry me a little that that was the first place your mind went to." Jane said with a look toward Fenrir.

"What's wrong with assuring you that Fenrir is not dangerous?" Thor asked.

"Thor…" Jane began.

"Please, Jane," Thor said, looking distressed. "You are the only person I can trust to do this."

Jane's first impulse was to say no. To refuse to let anything connected with Loki anywhere near her or her home. Thor always wanted to see the good in people he loved, even when it wasn't there. She couldn't take the risk that Loki's son was more dangerous than Thor wanted to believe. She was all ready to say this to Thor. That's why she was so surprised when she heard herself say "okay".

"Thank you, Jane." Thor said. "I promise you that I will be back in a day."

"And you're sure he's… you're sure." She whispered, with a look toward Fenrir.

"He's been through much, but he's a good boy," Thor said earnestly. He then turned his eyes toward his nephew and saw that he'd lost what little color he'd had. Thor quickly went over and tried to reassure him. "I will be back soon."

"Just let me come now." Fenrir pleaded. Thor looked sadly at his nephew.

"I will come back as quickly as I can," Thor said, putting a hand on Fenrir's shoulder. "Trust, Jane. She will not let you come to harm." And with that, Thor quickly loaded the chest into Jane's van, took one last look at them both, spun his hammer and took off. Leaving Fenrir and Jane standing alone in the dessert.

"I guess you're coming home with me." Jane said.