AN: Sorry for the late post. I've gotten caught in NaNo fever. The good news is that I hit 15,000 words last night. Yay! The bad news is that I am supposed to be at 25,000 by now. Oh well. I'll try not to make you all wait so long for the next chapter.
"I must say that this is quite flattering. All of you here just to greet me. I am truly touched," Fandral said, stepping across the roof as the Bifrost closed above him. "Although, now that I see you, I can't help but wonder if you weren't expecting someone else."
Everyone stood stunned for a moment. Tony, for one of the few time in his life, was at a loss for words. Honestly this had only happened to him maybe five times since he got past puberty. Right now he couldn't come up with a single thing to say.
It wasn't that they had been sure that it was going to be Loki coming down. There had been other options, but for the big reveal to be Fandral!?
"What are you doing here?" Bruce asked. Clearly just as thrown by the reveal as the rest of them were.
"I am here on a mission. My Queen has set me to a task and as a loyal servant to the royal family it is my duty to see it through. Now where is Thor?" Fandral asked.
"He's on his way," Bruce said.
"Any chance this is going to be like your last 'solemn mission' to visit your drinking buddy?" Tony asked.
"I have been sent with a message for Thor and Fenrir. The Queen also wished for Thor to receive this," Fandral explained, indicating a square chest at his feet. "However if Thor should decide to reward my efforts with a drink or two, then who am I to deny him?"
Tony relaxed a little at Fandral's answer. He was already remembering back to the last time Fandral had come to visit. The guy definitely knew how to have a good time. Which reminded Tony that he should have Pepper get their sexual harassment guy on standby again if he was going to be sticking around.
Tony's thoughts were interrupted when Thor slammed down on the roof a few feet away from him. "I was on a date with Jane, but I came as quickly as I… Fandral?" Thor said, his tone changing as he saw his friend.
Clint snickered in the background at Thor's choice of words. Every once in a while Tony had to take a moment to remind himself that Clint was actually a deadly assassin, and not a frat boy.
"What are you doing here?" Thor asked Fandral.
"I have a message for you and Fenrir from Asgard. Also your mother asked me to bring you a few things," Fandral repeated, kicking lightly at the small chest at his feet.
"Come," Thor said, grabbing the chest for himself and gesturing for Fandral to follow him inside. The rest of the team followed behind them. As they all went inside they passed Fenrir who was still standing alongside the doorway.
"Fenrir," Fandral smiled when he saw him. "You're looking much better than when I last saw you. I see that Midgard agrees with you." Fenrir didn't say anything and just watched as they all headed to the kitchen.
"So what's the message?" Steve asked, not wanting to waste time.
"It is about Loki," Fandral said, looking sadly at Fenrir.
"Yeah, I don't think that surprises anyone," Clint said. "What'd he do?"
"A few days ago he returned to Svartalfheim. It seems that he decided to take revenge on the people who had imprisoned his son," Fandral began.
"He killed Auolies?" Thor asked.
"The entire high council," Fandral corrected. "When that was done he unleashed some new weapon on the city itself. A small battalion from Asgard was sent to their aid, but by the time they arrived they weren't able to do much besides lead civilians to safety."
"How much damage did my brother do?" Thor said, looking conflicted.
"Most of the people of the city were able to escape unharmed. As for the city itself… there is nothing left of it," Fandral said.
"When you say that there's nothing left you mean…?" Bruce asked, shifting uncomfortably as he took a chair.
"I mean that he razed it to the ground," Fandral said.
That was a little unnerving. Tony knew that Loki was crazy, they all did, so him going for a crazy blood soaked revenge should have been a given. But the thought of burning an entire city to the point of ash was a lot of rage. Then again, who was Tony to criticize? Lord knows that he had basically fire bombed the people who had kidnapped and tortured him. And they had only kept him for a few weeks. So, when he thought about it like that, he was actually more surprised that Fenrir didn't look more pleased at the news. That kid was a mystery though. Either way, the reminder that Loki was capable of that much fire power was definitely an uncomfortable thought. Whatever his motive.
"Loki disappeared soon after his work on Svartalfheim was done. And it is believed that he will be coming to Midgard. That is why I was sent," Fandral said, turning to look at Fenrir. "I have been asked to remind you of the terms of your release."
Fenrir looked over at Fandral uncomfortably for a moment before quickly nodding his understanding.
"Speaking of deals," Tony said, more than happy for an excuse to stop the silence before it became an awkward silence. "Is there any way that I, or more accurately my lawyers could get a written copy of the terms of Fenrir's release.
"Oh, yes, I was told that one of you wanted that," Fandral reached into his cloak and pulled out a scroll. Tony wasn't entirely sure where he had been keeping it, seeing as it looked like he'd pulled it out of the cape, but thought he'd be happier not asking.
"Well, now that we've gotten these dreary formalities out fo the way," Fandral said, and with a smile he pulled the lid off of the chest that Thor was still holding. Thor put the chest down on a table and looked inside happily. Thor plunged his hand inside and came out with a strip of red.
"I'm glad to see this. I only had one left and it was beginning to look a bit ragged," Thor explained to his friend.
Tony and the rest of the group watched Thor in surprise. There was no way that he was holding what it looked like he was holding.
"Thor, does your mom make your capes for you?" Clint finally asked.
"Where did you think I have been getting them?" Thor said, simply as he took three more capes out of the box. Thor continued to pull things out of the chest and it was quickly becoming clear that this was a care package. While everyone watched as Thor dug into what looked suspiciously like a tin of cookies, Fandral grabbed a small stone jar from the chest and brought it over to Fenrir. Fandral opened the jar and showed him the contents.
"Frigga said that you would know how to use this," Fandral said, closing the jar and handing it over to the other man. Fenrir seemed about ready to speak, but then stopped himself and nodded. "She hopes to send more later. When time allows."
"This is all wonderful. You are a good friend to have brought all of this to me," Thor said.
"It was my pleasure," Fandral replied.
"I am sorry to cut our time short but I am afraid that I had been spending time with Jane when you arrived. I was forced to leave her rather abruptly. This has been happening all too frequently lately so it would be best if I returned to her now. If you can afford to stay, I would enjoy catching up when I return," Thor said, not waiting for an answer before heading out to the roof.
Fandral watched through the window as Thor took off and then made himself comfortable in the kitchen.
"I guess that means you're staying?" Pepper asked.
Fandral smiled over at her. "With such lovely enticements here on Midgard I don't see how I could ever dream of leaving." Pepper glared at him and he straightened up a little in his seat. "I was thinking of staying for a few days. I haven't seen Thor since his visit to Asgard, not to mention that you all might need the assistance should Loki arrive."
Pepper looked over at him annoyed, but left the room without saying anything.
Personally Tony was glad that Fandral was going to be sticking around for a while. For all the annoyance that Fandral might have caused to his legal department, Fandral was a blast to be around. The last time that he had come to visit Thor had been one for the books.
Since Fandral was unfamiliar with modern day Earth traditions, Tony and Thor had decided to introduce him to a Pub Crawl. Tony had made it through three bars with the two Party Gods before passing out. He'd woken up on the roof of a bank with a tattoo on his stomach that said "Iron Man was here!" A few expensive laser appointments later and it was still one of Tony's favorite not-memories.
As for Thor and Fandral, after abandoning Tony they had continued to just about every bar in New York City. Then they'd dissiapeared for a few days before showing up at the border to Tijuana. FAndral had at least two dozen phone numbers in his pockets and Thor had five or six of what looked like poisonous snake bites on his legs. So all in all it had been a pretty exciting visit. And Tony couldn't wait to see how this one went.
A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A
Fenrir hurried down the hallway to his room, all the while fighting against the urge to run. He felt like someone was chasing him and, even though he knew that they weren't , he felt relieved when he got to his room and was able to shut the door behind him. He stood resting with his back on the door for a few moments before he was able to move. Even when he stepped away he couldn't help eyeing the door like it was about to burst open again.
"It's fine," Fenrir whispered, trying to reason with himself. "He didn't come her to bring you back. You're safe here. They won't just let someone take you away."
He looked down at the stone jar he was still clutching. He considered beginning its use now, but decided against it. He was so nervous he might use it incorrectly and then end up wasting more of it than he could afford. He walked over to a dresser and put the jar into a drawer. He would start using it later in the night when he was calmer.
Fenrir couldn't believe how he was acting. This was disgusting. The worst part of it all was that for a while he'd actually thought that he'd been getting braver. He had been able to talk and socialize with the other Avengers. He had even been able to begin going running in the mornings with the Captain. Now he realized that all of it meant nothing. Not if all that it took was one look at the Bifrost opening up to remind him of what a coward he truly was.
It wasn't as though it had been one of the Einherjar who had come through looking for him. This was Fandral. A man who'd used to give him toys and candy when he'd been small. Who had been one of the few people to genuinely welcome his presence back on Asgard. Fandral had even tried to protect him when they'd both been attacked by guards.
Yet just a few minutes in a room with someone from Asgard and Fenrir had been running off to hide. He truly was as pathetic a creature as they'd always told him he was.
Fenrir looked over at the door and tried to force himself to go back out. He knew that he should leave and rejoin everyone still in the kitchen, but he couldn't. More than anything else he just wanted to stay in his room. Maybe even crawl under his bed just to be sure that anyone who came looking for him wouldn't have to easy a time. But he'd sworn to himself that he would never do that again after Thor had almost caught him once.
A part of him couldn't help but wonder if it would really be so bad for him to just stay where he was until Fandral left. Everyone in the Tower kept on telling him that he could do whatever he pleases. Why couldn't he simply choose to stay put? Would it be such a bad thing? He started to sit down on his bed but stood up again. That wasn't going to work either.
Fenrir didn't know what he should do. The one thing that he did know was that he couldn't just hide. Whatever else he might be, he was an Asgardian. Asgardians don't give in to fear. So, summoning what little courage he had, Fenrir made his way over to the door.
Between the fear of rejoining everyone and the shame at his own cowardice, Fenrir came very close to spending his day leaning into a wall. He was finally able to make a decision by compromising. He would go out of his room but to a more isolated area of the Tower.
After wandering the halls for a while he was able to find a room that looked like it wasn't being used for much. All it seemed to have in it was an uncomfortable looking gray couch looking out through some windows. Looking around to make sure that there was no one coming Fenrir went in and went to sit down. He quickly realized that the room must not be as disused as he thought because someone had left a laptop sitting in the center of the couch. Fenrir wondered who it might belong to and, before he could talk himself out of it, indulged his curiosity and looked at what was on the screen.
Fenrir looked at the screen in confusion for a moment as he tried to figure out what it was he was looking at. Once he figured it out he dropped down to the couch in shock. It was at that point that Clint came into the room.
Clint starred at Fenrir for a moment. "How much of that did you see?" He asked, when he realized what Fenrir had found.
"It's been you?" Fenrir asked. "All of the fake Iron Men?"
"Not all of them. The first ones were genuine. Then, well, I needed something to do while Nat was away." Clint explained.
"But how?" Fenrir asked.
"A few months ago I found this website," Clint explained, indicating the page that Fenrir had found on the laptop. "The whole idea is for people to come on and suggest ideas for villain names, powers, basically overall concepts. The sight is mostly used by fanfic writers or D&D fanatics. But every once in a while some B list villain wannabe would use the site for ideas.
"So after I found out what the site was I entered a few names. Just as a joke. But then one of them was chosen. It was before you came here. This loser called himself the Crimson Snowshoe. So after I found out that it could actually work I thought it would be funny to see if I could really get people to take the names that I was putting up. And then Tony was getting so freaked out by the Iron Man copycats that it just made sense to keep contributing."
"How often do you add names to these lists?" Fenrir asked.
"Well not all of them are going to be picked. So I try to enter about ten a day to improve my odds," Clint said.
"That is… I can't believe you would… can I help?" Fenrir asked.
-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-
The view through the windows wasn't the best but at least it allowed Loki to see what was going on with his son without having to use magic. He was positive that there would be other sorcerers looking for him so the less he used his magic the more easily he could stay out of sight. And he was going to need every advantage he could get. From what he had seen today, things were going to be more difficult than he'd thought.
So far it didn't seem like Fenrir ever left the Tower without one of the Avengers by his side. So there was no way that he would be able to contact his son without going in himself. The appearance of Fandral was another complication. Thor might be oblivious but Fandral, for all the nonsense in his personal life, was smarter than he let on. He also was more familiar with the signs of Loki's magic than most.
The most disturbing thing that Loki had noticed since he'd begun his observations was that Fenrir seemed to have formed a bond with the archer. Certainly Fenrir deserved to have friends, but for him to have chosen Barton! The man was fine for a soldier but Fenrir could do better if he was looking for a companion.
Loki knew that this was his own fault. If he had been able to convince his son to leave with him when he'd come back the first time then he never would have had a chance to bond with any of the Avengers. Now, now everything was going to be more difficult.
Loki didn't like not having a plan, but for the moment he was just going to have to wait. Watch and wait for an opportunity. For a moment to contact his son.
AN: I am so happy to see that people are still reading this story 30 chapters in! This story has morphed into something much bigger than what I originally planned for it. All in all I think that the change has been for the best and I hope all of you think so too.
I love hearing what everyone thinks of my story and what is going on with Fenrir. So read, review and I'll see you next chapter.