AUTHOR'S NOTE: I have been so overwhelmingly excited this weekend with all the amazing goodness that's been coming out of comic con! It's truly an embarrassment of riches to all of us, the fans. Star Wars, Batman v. Superman, Suicide Squad, Crimson Peak, X-Men, Deadpool... WHEW! I could hardly keep up, but I managed to finish this chapter and i didn't want to update a week late, so here it is. I hope you all enjoy!
Born to be a King
Chapter 31
The hooded assassin leaped from roof to roof, bringing down Templar Knights by the dozens. Suddenly, when he reached and landed on a crowded plaza, he was swarmed. He began attacking, but was soon overridden. Then, a sword ran through his middle, and the assassin collapsed in a pool of blood...
"Damn it all to hell" Tony Stark muttered, tossing the controller aside. There was a chuckle on the lounge chair next to him.
"That's your second death in a row. You should have continued to attack from above" Arik laughed through a mouthful of pizza.
Tony blanched.
"It's not hard!" Arik exclaimed as though it were but a trifle "starting at level eleven, the number of knights double and they use more stealth which means you need to create your own fighting combinations with their own set of defensive techniques each. You always get killed because you go at it like a beast and don't watch your radius"
"Are you being serious right now? You've been here, what, four days? And already you're an expert on game console assassination. Go figure" he said with mock offense, handing Arik the control "I will have you know that I single-handedly had your father on his back..."
"Tony" Steve laughed "don't"
"Nobody is better at Assassin's Creed than me" Tony muttered under his breath as he took a long gulp of his scotch and watched Arik clean out an entire village free of Templar Knights.
"Yes!" Arik placed his arm aloft as he successfully completed level fourteen.
Behind the trio that sat in front of the large TV, the rest of the Avengers watched the little boy have the time of his life.
"Do you think he knows exactly who his father is? What he's capable of?" Bruce mused from the bar "I mean, does he even know what he did at this very same place?"
Natasha chuckled. "Careful, big guy. You sound jealous"
"Why does HE get to have a kid?" he thought out loud, confirming Natasha's assessment.
"It's ironic, isn't it? Ten years ago he tried to take over the world and now we're his personal babysitters"
"Great kid, though" Bruce said, laughing at the sight of Steve placing Arik over his shoulder and then throwing him on the couch after he made some sassy remark along the lines of 'the man out of time and his mediocre gameplay skills.' Arik's hearty laughter filled the entire penthouse with the brightest and happiest of sounds.
"Ironic indeed" Clint said into his beer tumbler.
"You know, for his father being a total maniac, the kid turned out alright" Maria Hill chipped in.
"Loki: The Earth-conquering egomaniac. Murderer. Sadistic psychopath. Great father. Doesn't add up" Bruce said.
"Must be the mother" Natasha said.
"Oh, definitely Barbara. I remember how she gave Loki a run for his money" Clint said.
"What was she like back then?"
"Totally hot. Still is" Hawkeye chuckled, earning him a jab from Natasha.
"Hey! Don't make me tell Laura!"
"Alright, alright. She was resilient. Brave. Very smart woman. She did what she did only out of fear of him"
"Obviously not just fear" Natasha said, rising from her bar stool and walking toward the couches.
"Nat!" Arik said "I cleaned out the church. You promised to show me how to nail the Leap of Faith!"
"Indeed I did, little man" she said, placing her drink on the table and taking the controller. Arik watched enraptured as she made the assassin climb to the highest pinnacle of the church, then leap and land unharmed in a pile of hay.
"WOOOOOOH!" she and Arik exclaimed in unison.
"Cheater" Tony grumbled "you're doing that weird magic that you learned from your daddy to rig the game"
"I sure am not!" Arik laughed "that's absurd. There is no fun to be had in cheating and lying your way through"
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH" all the Avengers hooted at once at the huge irony of his words.
"What?" he looked at them confused.
"Nothing, it's just that, we really like you kid" Tony said, looking affectionately at Arik and messing up his hair.
The evening raged on. All twenty one levels of Assassin's Creed were completed and the group now moved on to watch a movie. Empty boxes of pizza and cans of Coke littered the floor, most of them consumed by the little guest. All of them marveled at how much food Arik consumed, but after seeing his uncle Thor raid entire tables of food many times, it was really no surprise.
They were halfway through Jurassic World when a sudden brightness filled the room. They all turned to the sight of the Bifrost retreating and Thor making his way to the penthouse.
"Oh no" Tony groaned "vacation's over"
Moments later and after hugs from all, Arik joined Thor on the landing platform and they were both lifted in a flash of rainbow lights. When it receded, they all quietly began to walk back inside. Natasha suddenly stopped when she saw Tony Stark's eyes become red and glistening.
"Tony?" she asked "are you...?"
"Damn bifrost, picking up the wind. I got dust in my eye"
"The wind, eh?" she raised an eyebrow at him.
"Going to miss that kid" he sniffled, then cleared his throat and entered the penthouse.
Loki burst through the doors of the Hall of Records, carrying a raving Barbara in his arms. She struggled against his near bone-breaking hold and he had no choice but to drag her toward the platform in the center of the chamber.
"Let me go you fucking savage! Do you really think I'm going to believe you? You can't lie to me or trick me anymore!" she roared at him "I'll kill you, do you hear me?! I'll rip your insolent lying tongue out of your throat with my own bare hands when all this is over! Do you hear me! LET ME GO!"
She was suddenly silenced when she was slammed against a column with great force, knocking the wind right out of her.
"Oh, do shut up!" Loki snarled in her face "you groan and whine worse than a birthing bilgesnipe! Speak one more ill word and those chains will not be the only restrains you carry. Next it will be a muzzle. Now come here"
He yanked her towards the platform and deposited her in front of the large panel.
"What is that?" she rasped.
"I'm glad you asked, my pet. It's called 'The Ocular'. It shows the past, present, and intended future of those who tap into its power"
"And you plan to show me my real past with it?" she asked sarcastically.
"Indeed I do"
"You rigged it so it'll show me what you wish me to believe" she spat, sticking her neck out at him.
"Altering a source of great power that predates the dawn of creation. Sure, that seems possible" he laughed.
He took hold of her hand and guided it toward the panel in the center, but she resisted. A quick strong shake and a harsh look served as enough warning, and she finally complied. When her hand hovered just above the panel, he intertwined his fingers with hers and leaned in close to whisper in her ear.
"Today you will see the grand reality of your existence. Do you really think your destiny was to bind yourself to that pathetic mortal? To scrape a living by following him halfway around the universe in the pursuit of meager amounts of power and identity? No, my pet. You belong to me. Your freedom was mine to take, and mine to return tenfold"
There was something about his words that left her speechless. They seemed to be an echo of words she had perhaps heard before, and from the same man. Then she gasped when he brought their joined hands down onto the panel and she felt a surge being pulled from her. The walls suddenly lit up and the floating specks of light rushed toward the back of the room, where the two energies connected and the wall lit up like a giant screen, projecting live images. She watched stupefied when she saw the last memory she had of her entanglement with Loki playing out before her.
Barbara saw herself standing next to the fountain below Bethesda Terrace in Central Park. Her eyes were fixed on the terrace beyond, where the Avengers were standing around Thor and Loki. Then she looked up to the heavens as she saw the alien who had torn her life upside down be taken back to his home world a prisoner.
She was now panicking inside a cab, being driven at a high speed toward the Santa Monica pier.
"You've been summoned" said the driver, looking at her with bright, crimson eyes.
Next she was standing on a balcony, looking out towards the majestic city that opened up to her. Two strong arms suddenly encircled her, and Loki was now standing behind her, burying his nose into the crook of her neck.
"Why did you bring me here?" she asked breathless.
"Isn't it obvious?" he spoke into her neck "because I own you. I took you for a purpose, and that purpose is not yet served"
Barbara turned her eyes away when she saw her legs wrap around his waist as he took her on that balcony.
"No. Make it stop!" she rasped as she shut her eyes and tried to block out the sounds of lovemaking.
"Do not look away" Loki growled, forcing her to face the wall again "observe how you willingly surrender yourself to me"
"It's not true. You're doing this!"
"No, my pet. Fate does not lie, destiny does not fabricate. Now watch"
Time and time again she saw herself cry out in ecstasy as he took her so many times, in so many ways. Her days were spent in idle leisure, doted upon by servants. Spoiled and pampered, she was now the king's consort. At dusk she was led toward his innermost chambers, and at sunrise she was taken back to the golden prison of her rooms. Many moons passed in the same routine, until one day, the curious little human prisoner somehow managed to escape the palace. That night, she lay broken and violated, a helpless crying mess as she felt the full extent of his wrath. She had underestimated his high regard and now paid the price for such a childish notion. Her captor was as enchanting as he was cruel.
She now stood before a seemingly apologetic Loki.
"Have you any idea what would have happened had the guards been unable to find you, or brought you back in a state of great injury?"
"It wouldn't have mattered. I'm of no importance" she whispered through her tears.
"Asgard being turned upside down because of a human. Wouldn't that be a sight" he scoffed.
Barbara now saw herself standing on a gazebo on a high cliff above the city. Loki's arms were wrapped possessively around her as she looked out toward the raging ocean beyond.
"I know now why you look down upon me and the rest of my race. We humans are small, insignificant creatures who are here today and gone tomorrow. When I 'm old and withered you will have hardly aged a day. I will die, and you will still be as you are now..." her voice broke, leaving her message unsaid.
It did not, however, go missed. Loki turned her to face him and laid a loving hand upon her check.
"I will not have it so"
That moment, and those few words spoken on that cliff altered the fragile threads of destiny forever.
She saw the Golden Apples of Idunn. The golden fruit shimmered in the bowl, tempting and delicious. She reached for one and took a bite, then the apple fell from her hand and rolled away as she collapsed in agony on the floor.
She now lay dead. A heavy dread hung over the dimly lit room as Loki stood above her lifeless form.
He now offered his hand to her, and she took it, rising from the bed. The rosy hue of longevity glowed on her cheeks and her eyes burned a bright gold. She wrapped her arms around his neck and she kissed him, long and hard.
"You will not be free of me" she whispered into his ear.
"And you of me" he replied back.
She now knelt at the bottom step of the throne, clothed in the most magnificent gown she had ever seen. A long, green cape fell at her shoulders and reached the middle of the aisle. Behind her, thousands upon thousands of people held their breath as she proclaimed her vows of loyalty to the king atop the stairs...
"Then on this day I, Loki son of Odin, proclaim you Queen of Asgard, the realms of Vanaheim, Alfheim, Svartalfheim, and the nether regions below Yggdrasil. Now ascend, and take your rightful place beside the throne"
She rose on shaky legs and walked up the stairs of the dais. When she reached him, she took his hand and knelt on one knee before him. The throne room was dead silent as they witnessed Barbara, now Queen Sigyn, kiss the hand of the king. What they could not see, was the way her eyes bore into his, and the sigh that escaped her when he ran his knuckles across her jaw, the hint of a smile on her lips and a mischievous sparkle in his eyes.
He took her hand and helped her rise to her feet. She walked to the right side of the throne and took her place beside it, her cape sweeping down the steps below. Loki watched with sheer satisfaction as Barbara now stood on the top step, the faint traces of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"Asgard, I give you… your queen"
"That's impossible" Barbara breathed.
"This is us, Barbara. This is who we are, and this is where we've been. Embrace it, for it is the truth"
The hand that held her jaw now began to travel, gently caressing her throat and the exposed skin of her chest as she watched the scenes of the battle of Jotunheim. Loki smiled with satisfaction as he heard her gasp when she saw the vast, near innumerable army that landed on the cold realm, their purpose being to retrieve their queen who had been taken hostage by one of Asgard's oldest enemies. He kissed her shoulder when The Ocular showed her lost in a sea of grief and mourning following the events of the battle, when he had become lost once more. His hand traveled further south and he caressed her abdomen when The Ocular now showed her back on Earth, and she was presenting him with the fulfillment of her purpose: The establishment of his dynasty.
"His name is Arik Lokison" she said to an astonished Loki...
"No, it can't be" Barbara gasped.
"We have a son. You shall see him soon enough" he spoke against her skin.
"He's your heir" she was now saying to him.
"Of which realm? What throne is he to inherit when I stand king of Asgard no longer?" Loki replied.
"Then get it back" she spat.
She now unleashed her fury on the human world, creating a distraction while Loki placed all the pieces of his scheme together in Asgard. But it had gone all wrong. Civil war broke out in the Realm Eternal, and in the midst of the climax of the sibling rivalry, the queen of Nornheim had almost laid waste to Asgard. In the end, Nornheim was destroyed, and Barbara lay dead and bloodied in Loki's arms. The daggers that Loki had intended for Queen Karnilla were now buried deep in Barbara's heart...
Barbara couldn't restrain the tears that fell down her cheeks when she saw Loki roar upwards to the heavens as he held her lifeless body against him a second time.
He swore there would not be a third.
She now stood above him as he lay on the golden altar. His physical body was lifeless before her, cold and in its true Jotun form. But he was not dead. Her resurrection had come with a heavy price: Bestowing one's source of life upon a deceased host caused the giver to remain trapped inside the one resurrected. After nearly dying once more at the hands of the Mad Titan Thanos, she had managed to bring him back...
Barbara now recoiled as the last scenes played out.
The civil war between Loki and Thor was over, and both Loki and Barbara were now prisoners. They made the best of their circumstances, biding their time but to their own astonishment, they seemed to bask in the serenity of their imprisonment. They spent their days, not plotting schemes, but raising their son. Until one day, the gatekeeper came with the news that altered Loki's life forever:
He was indeed destined to become a king.
She now saw herself raising her glass and taking a drink after Loki toasted the Verdandinian king. Next, she and Loki were lying on the floor, writhing in agony. Soon, it ceased, and the last words she heard were the king's:
"Take Prince Loki to his chambers and deliver the woman to the human. Everything is now as it should be"
She now lay on a gurney, attached to a vast array of cords and machinery. A computer beeped a percentage that became higher and higher and the machinery hummed as the program altered the sequence of her conscience.
Next she knelt in one of the grand halls of the palace of Dwyvendale, her arm extended as she looked toward one of its many entrances. At the threshold a crumbling Beyard fell to his knees, clutching the hilt of her sword that was embedded into his core.
"Thank you" Loki whispered at her with a maniacal smile on his face. Then he watched her run away.
Next, she saw the images of what had occurred on Marr, and how with the aid of Thor, Loki had managed to get her back.
The images stopped. Loki removed their hands off the panel and she stood rooted to her spot.
"Is that it? Why won't it show the future?" she whispered.
"The future was changed when you were given to von Doom and he altered your mind" he explained "we no longer share the same destiny"
"I need to know. I need to know you're not lying!" she said, reaching toward the panel again "I need to know that Victor didn't do that to me!"
"Don't!" he instantly stopped her "it will only show you what's to come if you continue on your current path!"
"I need to know the truth!" she screamed, and managing to free her arm from his grip, she slammed her hand back down on the panel.
There was darkness. The deafening sounds of war raged on the dark wasteland as two vast armies fought to the death. On a high cliff above the plain, she and Loki were bloodied and battered, locked in fierce battle. Then they both finally stilled. They fell to their knees and collapsed against the other. Her sword had run him through and his spear had pierced her middle.
Weakly, he wrapped his arms around her as her hitching sobs of pain now became shallow breaths.
"I rather it be like this" he whispered into her dying ears "if death is the only way, then so be it"
Loki tore her hand off the panel. For a moment they stared at one another in shock, then Loki stepped back and away from her.
No, it couldn't be.
"Loki..." Barbara whispered as her hand reached out to touch his shoulder.
She was stunned when he suddenly lunged for her, slamming her back against the panel.
"Why, Barbara, why?!" he roared in her face "we were supposed to save our son and you condemn us all! I can't save you now, don't you see that?! Why must you bring us to this?!"
He snapped out of his outburst when he saw the confused and wounded expression on her face. He sighed and dropped his head when he realized that Barbara didn't even know what he meant. She had no clue that Death herself was coming to reclaim her.
He let her go and called for the guards.
"Take her to her chambers" he ordered.
As she was led away, Barbara looked back at Loki and noticed his sagged shoulders and his head lowered in defeat.
She should have been happy seeing him like this, but to her own surprise, she felt only sorrow.
The suns were setting in their perpendicular horizons when the light of the Bifrost broke the surface and touched down. Loki felt his weary heart lift just enough when he caught sight of the small child who stood next to Thor. Upon seeing his father, Arik ran across the courtyard into Loki's waiting arms. After a long embrace and expressions of how much one had missed the other, Arik looked into Loki's eyes and asked:
"Where is mother?"
End of Chapter 31
Responses to reviews:
Hiddles-Skittles: It's only getting better and better as Loki and Barbara sink lower and lower! Lol Remember when I told you that you were going to see them at their worst? Well, this is it ;) Now that Arik is back, it's going to add even a bigger dimension to their predicament. Thanks Diana! J
LisaF: Thank you, thank you darling!
Guest: Glad to know you're enjoying the developments in the story!
LokiGrey: I'm afraid you won't get what you wish you for yet, but it's coming, and with a big twist! Good luck with the new job and don't take things too hard while your mom is away, ok? ;) I'm finished with the first leg of my degree. I'm only waiting till next Monday to take the national exam. After that, I can begin with my undergraduate courses in the fall! J
CLTex: Thank you Christi! Those are exactly the words I would use to describe Loki and Barbara's position right now: Strange but exciting! I think that even though it's not the ideal situation for them (obviously lol) they are in some way getting to know each other again, and this time they're showing who they really are. Who know, it might benefit them in the future! ;) Love ya girlie!