Chapter 9

Algrim growled as he followed closely behind the other prisoners he had masqueraded as while on Muspelheim. When the Asgardians had arrived, Algrim played the part of Marauder quite well. He fought for a brief moment, killing at least two Asgardians in the act, and then allowed himself to be captured. Currently, the two Asgardian high warriors, the ones called Fandral and Volstagg, were leading him and the other prisoners into Asgard. When Algrim found himself teleported into Asgard from the Bifrost, he growled in contempt when he saw the golden city.

He would relish in seeing this place burn.

Ahead, Volstagg looked at the captured Marauders in disgust. "I can't believe I chose to spare this bunch of worthless scum."

"They should be grateful." Fandral added. "Believe me my dear friend, if it weren't for me, they'd be dead."

Volstagg just rolled his eyes at his friend's statement, and Fandral pouted with feigned hurt. "Don't look so downtrodden, Volstagg. Haven't you heard? We have mortal women in Asgard!"

"I have a wife." Volstagg reminded.

"Yes, well." Fandral said. "These aren't just any mortal women. It is Darcy Lewis, our old friend from two years back."

Volstagg was visibly surprised. "Truly? I don't recall her being very well liked by our elders. Especially after Thor..."

"The Lady Darcy regrets her actions." Fandral assured. "Besides, Sif seems to trust her now."

"Now that I find quite hard to grasp." Volstagg chuckled.

A platoon of Asgardian warriors flanking behind the captured group ushered the prisoners out of Heimdall's Observatory. As they left, Heimdall watched them leave, when his eyes fell upon the prisoner strutting along the back of the line.

Heimdall frowned. Something was off with this one...

As if sensing the god of sight's leer, the prisoner turned its head towards him and glared at Heimdall menacingly. Heimdall's eyes narrowed, clearly not intimidated by this creature's gaze. After the two stared at each other for a moment, the prisoner scoffed, and his yellow eyes, which could be seen through the holes of his horned helmet, briefly flashed a static-like blue.

At this, Heimdall blinked, and the prisoner grinned sadistically beneath his helmet. As the prisoners were led out of the observatory, a feeling of dread filled Heimdall.

ooooo

Back on Earth, secret business was brewing. On the Bus, flying thousands of miles above ground, Soladat Wrekk was standing in the lab of her two scientific teammates, Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz. She just stood with her arms crossed, waiting for them to say something.

"So, what is it you two wanted?" Soladat asked. "Is this about the broadcast? Has the team in London made any leeway as of yet?"

"Not that we've heard of." Fitz said.

"But that's not what we called you down here for." Simmons said. Soladat frowned, clearly confused. Simmons led her over to a large, high-tech screen on the wall nearby. It showed a map of London, and there was a point on the map that was highlighted in red. "We picked up an anomaly. It was in London. From what we've learned, it's the same readings that S.H.I.E.L.D. discovered during the New Mexico incident."

Soladat's eyes were wide for a moment. "What are you getting at?"

"Ma'am, either Hikesh and Dr. Foster got Selvig's prototype working," Simmons said, "or we've got ourselves another Asgardian tourist."

"That's not something to be thrilled about." Soladat said. "Especially after last time..."

"Ma'am, if I could interject, not all of the Asgardians can be as bad as Loki was, right?" Fitz asked. "I mean that one helped you and the Avengers stop the invasion of New York. Sif, right?"

Soladat hummed in thought, staring at the screen. An Asgardian in London. The same place where Dr. Selvig, Dr. Foster, and Thordis were at right now. Something was off...

"Soladat."

Soladat turned to see her second-in-command, Agent Melinda May, entering the lab. Behind her was Skye.

"Is something wrong, girls?" Soladat asked.

Melinda turned towards Skye, who nodded. "We've lost visual on Hikesh in London. He's completely vanished from the grid. Thordis, too. We've tried contacting Dr. Selvig and Dr. Foster through the artificial radio frequencies, but they haven't responded."

"Damn." Soladat muttered. She turned to May. "Take us to London. I think the situation there has become much more complicated."

ooooo

Algrim was silent as he and the other prisoners were led deep into the dungeons of Asgard. Enormous golden doors opened as Algrim saw the walls lines with cells. Shimmering gold fields of energy covered the cell doors, any prisoner attempting to touch it being burned horribly and thrown back with great force. Algrim scoffed. That wouldn't be a problem for him.

As Algrim and the other prisoners passed by dozens of cells, one occupant watched them pass with mild interest.

"Odin continues to bring me new friends." Loki said, hands folded behind his back. "How thoughtful."

Behind him, Frigga stood, looking at her son sadly. "The books I sent. Do they not interest you?"

Loki took a glance at his mother, glaring. "Is that how I'm to wile away eternity? Reading?"

"This is not a life sentence, Loki." Frigga said. "He is giving you another chance."

"Is he?" Loki cunningly asked. "If so, then why am I locked up here instead of wondering freely?"

Frigga frowned. "You know full well why we have left you confined here. You are to remain here until you finally understand the fault of your actions."

"My actions?" Loki said incredulously. "I was merely giving truth to the lie that I've been fed by entire life, that I was born to be king. I would have filled the void Thor left behind after his death. I would have taken a throne, ruled over as all Asgardian kings do, I would have taken a queen. The only one who was ever worthy."

"You think she would have joined you? After everything you did?" Frigga said. "After all the destruction and death you wrought upon her world?"

"I was trying to open her eyes, to what her world really is. Lost, scattered, and clambering for power." Loki defended himself. "She ascended beyond natural human understanding the moment she laid her hand on Thor's weapon. She became one of us. It was my duty to show her the truth."

"And yet, she didn't listen." Frigga said, arms crossed. "A wise thing to do."

Loki growled. Despite his denial, Frigga could sense the hurt and rejection in him. He cared for Darcy, yet despised her at the same time. He cared for her because she was the first to understand his follies and troubles, but hated her because she had taken all of his work away from him.

Frigga strode closer to Loki, who didn't face her. "Loki, I may not fully understand your turmoil. But you are still naive. A true king admits his faults. Do you truly not feel anything for the lives you took on Earth?"

Loki scoffed, still not facing his mother. "A mere handful compared to the number Odin has taken himself."

Frigga frowned. "Your father-"

"HE'S NOT MY FATHER!" Loki roared, spinning around to face Frigga. Frigga winced, and then looked at Loki with so much emotion that Loki suddenly felt sick to his stomach.

"Then am I not your mother?" She asked softly.

Loki's aggression and anger was cast aside only for a moment, and his heart ached at his mother's expression. He was close to saying that she was not indeed his mother, but just as those words were about to leave his lips, an old memory came back to him. It was back on Earth, when he and Darcy were on Stark Tower...

Thordis watched as the Chitauri laid waste to the great foundation of Manhattan. Gritting her teeth, she picked Loki up by the throat, and his eyes wobbled and blood dripped from his nose. He shook his head and settled his gaze on her.

"Look at that, Loki!" She yelled, forcing his head to face the carnage. "They're destroying everything! If this keeps up you'll be the king of nothing!"

But Loki shook his head. "No."

Hissing, Thordis forced Loki to look back at her. "Please, you have to stop this! Try to think about the people out there! Think about your family!"

Loki blinked, and images of his mother started flashing through his head, and he bit his lip.

Darcy sighed. "Do you really think they'd want you to be doing this right now?"

Loki bit his lower lip, looking away from his mother for a moment. Frigga looked at her son with hurt and worry.

"Loki?"

But Loki said nothing. He merely turned away from Frigga, and settled his gaze towards the rows of prisoners that were being led into the dungeon. Giving a sigh, Frigga folded her hands and looked thoughtfully at her son.

"I know you think otherwise." She said gently. "But in spite of everything that you have done, all that Odin and I have led you to believe..."

She walked up closer to him so that she was only a few feet from him. "We have always cared."

Then, in a shimmer of light, she vanished. Loki's heart clenched, and he went over to the bed nearby, sitting down slowly and gazing at the floor.

ooooo

Several stories above, the real Frigga stood, and shed a tear. She looked at the burning fire in the pit before her, not noticing the presence of another behind her.

"How is he?"

Frigga turned. It was only Odin. She wiped the tear from her face and gave him a smile. "He still rebuffs our attempts at kindness. I cannot say that I blame him."

"Yes." Odin sighed. "Are you certain we are doing the right thing?"

"There is still good in him, darling." Frigga assured. "I see glimmers of light that have not yet been extinguished. He will return to us. He just needs a push."

Odin nodded, still not quite sure. "Do you ever regret teaching him your magic?"

Frigga chuckled. "You and Thor spent more time on combat. I had to give him something."

"Well, your gifts certainly gave him an edge." Odin said, and then his face fell. "I honestly hope you are right Frigga. If there truly are traces of my son in there somewhere..."

"There are." Frigga assured. "I know it."

Odin nodded. Frigga then strode closer to him, taking his hand in hers and giving him a warm peck on the cheek. He gave her a smile at this.

"So, is it true?" Frigga said. "Mjolnir's Bearer is here in Asgard?"

Odin nodded. "Indeed. Sif brought her and two of her companions here."

"For what reason?" Frigga asked.

Odin's face turned dark. "Old secrets from long ago are surfacing. Secrets to dangerous to learn."

ooooo

"So, the blue guy took an ice club, and started bashing Loki around with it." Darcy explained.

"And you helped him?" Fandral asked incredulously. He and Volstagg were sitting by her side in the large banquet hall. Darcy was now clad in her Thordis robes, Mjolnir hanging from her shoulder. Several of the Asgardians present cast her slight glares, not appreciating her wearing the garb of their dead prince. But she didn't even seem to notice. Across from her, Jane sat in between Sif and Hikesh. She was wearing Asgardian royalty robes given to her by the palace maidens. They were blue, and made her look almost like a princess from one of those old Disney flics.

Hikesh still wore his garb from Earth. This earned him many stares from the people present. Many were baffled by his appearance, having never seen his species before. Like Darcy, he cared little.

"Well, he had just called Loki a lousy son and was beating the crap out of him." Darcy defended herself. "Besides, at the time, Loki seemed like the lesser of two evils."

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around the part where you kissed him." Jane said from across the table. "I mean seriously, you made out and then a year later he tries to kill you and take over the Earth. Do you to like each other? What's the story with you two anyway?"

Darcy shrugged. "I don't really get it myself. I think he wanted me to become his queen or something. He offered me to join him in taking over humanity. But I turned him down. He's cute, but I don't really think the life of royalty is for me."

She looked around the palace before her. "I mean don't get me wrong. This place is frickin classy. But there are to many pillars and rooms for my liking. I get lost pretty easily."

"It's true, she does." Jane said, earning a frown from Darcy.

Fandral and Volstagg couldn't help but chuckle. Fandral gave Darcy a charming smile. "You're alright, lass. Perhaps you and I could fancy a drink later."

Darcy blushed. "Maybe."

From across the table, Hikesh interjected. "We appreciate this meal, but what do you intend to do about Jane's condition?"

"The AllFather is still formulating a plan, Hikesh." Sif promised. "But until then, the Aether must remain in this vessel."

"Excuse me, but I resent being called a vessel." Jane said, glaring.

Hikesh frowned. "I do not feel good at leaving the fate of my friend in the hands of an old mutant. Especially one with arrogance that makes Loki's look like flattery."

"Mutant?" Fandral said, misinterpreting Hikesh's comment. "There's no need to be rude, my good sir. I mean he is the protector of the Nine Realms."

"Really?" Hikesh said. "And where was he when Loki was besieging the Earth?"

"The Bifrost was destroyed." Sif said. "He only had enough dark energy to send one of us to Earth."

"Hey, how did you get the Bifrost working again, anyway?" Darcy asked. "Didn't Papa Smurf destroy it?"

"We used the Tesseract to reconstitute the Bifrost." Sif explained. "It uses the same energy found in the Tesseract to traverse across worlds."

"Eezo."

"What?" Sif said, looking at Hikesh in surprise.

"It's called eezo. The energy in the Tesseract." Hikesh explained.

"How the hell do you know that?" Darcy asked.

"It's what my people called it when we built..."

"Hikesh." Sif growled, and the Prothean shut up, casting a glare at Sif.

"... the Mass Relays." Hikesh lied.

"What are Mass Relays?" Volstagg wondered.

Suddenly, a woman strode up to the group. She gave the group a smile. "Hello."

Sif, Fandral, and Volstagg bowed in respect. "My queen."

Queen? Darcy thought, and then her eyes widened. O shit... Thor's mother...

Frigga, however, didn't seem to show any hostility towards Darcy. Instead, she gave her a smile. "Lady Darcy, good to see you again."

"Er, hi." Darcy said, surprised. The last time they had seen each other, Frigga was glaring at her the whole time and demanding she be punished for killing Thor. What had happened?

"And Lady Jane, I presume?" Frigga asked Jane.

"You presume correctly." Jane said. "And you are?"

"She is Frigga, wife of Odin and queen of Asgard." Sif said.

"Oh." Jane said, giving Frigga a surprised look. "W-well, it's nice to meet you."

Frigga smiled. "As is you. And, Xegh Hikesh I believe?"

Hikesh nodded. "Yes."

Frigga smiled. "A pleasure. I hope you are all enjoying Asgard?"

"Are you kidding?" Darcy said. "It's gorgeous! I never got to see much of it last time cuz I was, well, you know. Fighting for my life."

"Yes I do recall." Frigga chuckled. "You saved our race from war."

Darcy smiled. She was starting to like Frigga a whole lot more. She was a lot nicer than Odin was. Frigga motioned for her and Jane to follow. "Come. Walk with me."

The girls looked at Hikesh, who just sighed. "Go ahead. I'll be fine."

The girls nodded, and got up and followed Frigga out of the banquet hall. They wondered through hallways, admiring the scenery and such. Frigga glanced at Jane.

"You are coping with all this incredibly well, Lady Jane. It is very admirable."

"Thanks. And just Jane, please. If that's alright?" She asked, and Frigga nodded. "But really, I'm totally freaking out here. The others told me how dangerous this thing is."

"We will find a way to get it out of you, my dear." Frigga promised.

"But, Odin said..."

"Odin doesn't know everything." Frigga said with a smile.

"But he's your husband." Darcy said, surprised.

"Yes." Frigga nodded. "And I love him truly. They say opposites attract after all."

Darcy and Jane chuckled at this. They really liked Frigga. She wasn't as arrogant or pompous as the other Asgardians they knew. But there was one thing that was really bothering Darcy.

"Explain something to me." She said.

Frigga raised an eyebrow. "Ask, and I will answer."

"The last time we met, you hated me. I mean I... well, you know." She said guiltily. Frigga gave her a sad smile.

"I continue to grieve over the loss of my son, and I did blame you, yes. In fact before, I thought very little of your people."

"Do you still?" Jane asked.

"No, I suppose not." Frigga said. "The moment you came into Asgard, Darcy, so much happened that it was difficult to grasp it all at once. My grief only increased when Loki was lost to us after that skirmish on the Bifrost."

"Some hope returned when we found out he was alive. But he was maddened with rage and grief. He seemed like a monster beyond redemption, but there was one thing that kept him sane. And that was you."

"Me?" Darcy said, surprised.

"Yes. For some reason, he cares for you. There was something about you that helped him cling to his old ways." Frigga said. "In a way, you saved him. You made it so there was still hope for him. I am gratefuly for that."

"Huh." Darcy said, surprised and a little touched. Maybe Loki wasn't so nuts after all.

"You are a strong woman, Darcy." Frigga said, smiling. "You are headstrong and impulsive, but that's not always a bad thing. You follow your instincts, relying solely on luck. And that has not brought you trouble so far. In fact, you remind me somewhat of myself when I was your age."

"Really?" Darcy said.

"Really?" Jane said too, looking at Frigga incredulously. She was having a hard time seeing Frigga, the wise woman before them, as a Darcy clone.

"Yes, really." Frigga said with a chuckle. "Like you, I was headstrong and naive, always running into danger, yet I always came out on top. It is good to not have so many worries weighing down on you. Mjolnir could not have picked a better wielder."

Darcy smiled. "Well gee. Thanks."

"It is my pleasure." Frigga said, smiling.

ooooo

Loki laid on his bed, bored out of his mind. His only way of passing the time was taking the goblet his mother left him and tossing it up and down, up and down like a ball. He let out a sigh, conflicted. He still couldn't grasp the fact that his 'father', the man who had lied to him all his life, still cared for him. His mother, he could believe. But Odin. He just couldn't fathom it.

Meanwhile, on the far end of the dungeon, chaos was abrewing. Algrim stood silently in the cell, while his cellmates all prowled around impatiently and angrily. Algrim scoffed at them all. They were merely tools to him.

He continued to wait, until suddenly, a voice entered his mind.

"ASSUMING CONTROL."

The other prisoners all spun around in surprise when a loud scream filled the room. Algrim was reeled over, gripping his stomach as an intense pain overloaded his senses. He collapsed to his knees, and the prisoners all backed away in fear when a dark red aura suddenly overshadowed him, red streams of static crackling around him. Immediately, the prisoners went up to the forcefield surrounding the cells, screaming for help.

Algrim slowly lifted his hands, and saw that his flesh was changing. Blue wires poked out of his flesh and throught his veins, causing him to hiss in discomfort. His eyes turned from yellow to bright blue, and he started convulsing violently when metallic spikes started jutting from his back. His body changed and grew until he was all buffed up, his skin now covered in cybernetic wires and implants. Tentacle-like wires thrashed around behind him, spewing red static. His blue eyes scanning the room, Algrim gave a low growl as he marched forward and tossed the cowardly prisoners away.

He brought his fists back, which were now covered in crackling red energy, and bashed them against the gold field. Like glass, the field shattered instantly. The prisoners all looked surprised for a moment, before exiting the cell. Algrim didn't even seem to notice them.

The guards all turned in surprise at the commotion, and immediately went to deal with the escapees. But Algrim had marched over to another cell, and did the same. One after another, prisoners were released.

In his cell, Loki frowned at the commotion, and slowly got up from his bed and over to the field. He glanced over, trying to see what was happening. Guards were running past him frantically.

Then, his eyes fell on the cybernetic monstrosity that was releasing the prisoners. After breaking open the cell right next to Loki's, Algrim came to the prince of lies. The two stared at each other.

Loki was repulsed by its appearance. So many cybernetic implants. They were more numerous than the Chitauri. They were practically like deformities. Loki cringed inside. Something about this beast filled him with dread. Could it be that Thanos kept true to his word and sent one of his underlings to deal with him?

No. This was definitely not one of Thanos'. This was something else.

The two continued to stare at each other, before Algrim turned away silently and stalked out. He stopped though, when Loki called out to him.

"You might want to take the stairs to the left."

Algrim turned slowly, growling at Loki. Loki just shrugged innocently, before Algrim turned and left.

ooooo

The loud alarm blared throughout the palace as Frigga, Darcy, and Jane all blinked in surprise, their conversation being interrupted.

"What the hell is that?" Darcy asked.

"It is the prison alarm." Frigga said, standing. "There has been a breakout."

"A breakout?" Jane said, surprised.

Instantly, guards were swarming the halls, all headed towards the prison. Sif, Fandral, Volstagg, and Hikesh all came to the room.

"My queen, something is happened. The AllFather requests you get to safety." She said, and eyed Jane. "You as well."

Frigga nodded, and took Jane by the arm. "Come."

Jane nodded and followed. Hikesh followed them as well, and Darcy stopped him. "Where are you going?"

"Director Fury instructed that I protect Jane no matter what." Hikesh said. "And I always follow orders."

Darcy nodded and watched Hikesh leave. She turned back to Sif. "You guys need some help?"

Fandral and Volstagg looked at Sif, who hesitated for a moment, before turning to Darcy. "Come on."

Darcy smiled. "Sweet!"

She held her hand out, and Mjolnir instantly flew from her shoulder and into her hand. It crackled with electricity.

"Let's do this!"

Here's chapter nine. The action will start soon. Thank you all for following, and review pleaz. Later.