Author's Note: Hello there fellow readers. I've recently been busy studying for the SAT's so I haven't been writing as much. Will try to keep to my original update times, though. Enjoy!
:)
Odin watches the small girl that Frigga has taken upon herself to care for. Minva is a quiet child and she sticks by the queen's side in an effort to go unnoticed. Her face only peeks out from behind the queen's dresses when she begins to move and the small child is uncovered for barely a second, before darting for cover again. She needs someone to take charge of her. He knows this and so does Frigga. That is why it does not come as a surprise when his wife volunteers.
"We will raise her and care for her as a proper princess of Asgard. She has no one now and the people of Vanaheim are not too keen on the idea of accepting a refugee that has passed under the gaze of the Mad Titan," she tells him quietly. Odin nods slowly. He cannot say no, but he doesn't want Frigga to get too attached to the girl.
There may come a time when Minva will be old enough to decide on her own whether or not to return to her people's realm. He has told her this and they have both come to terms with it. Odin keeps his other, more sinister thoughts to himself. Thanos has never been one to leave behind loose ends.
"I was going to allow her to live with Loki. Once everything had died down, returned to normal even, I would have sent her to Midgard. She trusted him more than she ever will trust anyone else. The bond of pain can do that." Frigga's eyes are sad, but her smile is warm and loving toward the girl. Minva shyly smiles back. Odin can't help but smile too when she looks up at him. He had never expected himself to be caring for another child this young, so late in his life. But perhaps he can try to make amends for Loki. He sees it as another start. A new beginning, he thinks.
Tony sits patiently, watching the monitor from his room as Bruce shuffles around in the lab that they both share. The scientist goes to remove something from his desk. Tony sighs, a bit apprehensive when he sees it's a needle. A rather big one at that. He doesn't like the evil glint in Bruce's eyes one bit.
"Is this really necessary?" he asks impatiently over the live video feed. He could be doing better things with his time instead of getting a checkup from the friendly Green Giant's alter ego. For instance, he could be going over security measures for the tower. Never a bad idea when the general public labels you as a narcissistic bastard most of the time. Also, he's starting to lose space on his fingers for how many enemies he has accumulated in his short time as Ironman.
Bruce returns to Tony's room and the inventor is staring at the items in his hands with horror. Bruce tells him to pull up his sleeve. It is done with unnecessary grumbling which Bruce pays no attention to.
"You know, I just realized I'm terrified of needles. I fell on one as a kid and I guess the trauma always stuck with me," the inventor begins to ramble on. The alcohol pad is cold when Bruce rubs it against his skin. Then there is a sharp prick of pain as the needle pierces him and Bruce draws his blood into a vial. He removes it and attaches another tube to the needle which leads from an IV bag.
"I'm going to put you on a saline solution Tony. You're dehydrated and you've lost at least ten pounds in the past two weeks. That's not a healthy rate of weight loss for a man of your stature," he tells him calmly. Tony smiles ruefully.
"Is that supposed to be a short joke?" he asks weakly. Bruce barely glances at him. Tony grimaces at the man's stoicism.
"So what's my diagnosis doc? Do I need to be put on bedrest? Maybe have a tube shoved down a throat to help me breathe? Maybe my life has turned into a Lifetime special." Tony watches with interest, searching for any little reaction. When Bruce slams his fist down on his desk a bit harder than necessary, Tony jerks with surprise but is otherwise calm. The scientist turns to face him, taking deep breaths.
"This isn't a joke Tony. You need to start taking your health more seriously," he tells him in a stern voice. The inventor sighs tiredly. He isn't in the mood to be fighting a lecture by Bruce, so he just nods in agreement.
Tony is compliant when Bruce checks his IV. He focuses his gaze on the bag, willing it to go faster. He's not known for being a patient person and he knows sitting still for a whole half an hour or so will be a struggle for him. So instead, he focuses on Bruce. He says the first thing that comes to his mind.
"So...you and Steve are doing ok?" he asks. Bruce's hands freeze. He slowly begins to clear his supplies from the table.
"Tony, don't...just don't," he says. Tony frowns.
"Don't do what?" the inventor asks. Bruce sighs, taking off his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose.
"Don't do this to yourself," he says in a pleading voice. Tony frowns. He gives him a questioning look as he sits up.
"Bruce, I'm fine. Can't my curiosity over your well being be genuine?" he asks. In response, Bruce gives him a worried look. It somehow comes off as pity and Tony turns his face away, not wanting to see that emotion directed at him. He's never wanted anyone to feel sorry for him and he isn't going to start now.
"I'm not questioning your sincerity, Tony. I just don't think this is a particularly good topic to explore, given what...happened," he said. The inventor frowns.
"I'm simply asking, Bruce. It's what friends do. Don't they? No matter how painful it may be," the man tells him. Bruce feels his heartstrings clench at Tony's words. He has never heard his friend speak so deeply before. He shakes his head.
"Get some rest Tony. I'll check on you in half an hour," he said. The inventor watches in dismay as Bruce leaves the room, quietly closing the door behind him. Tony has no choice but to lie down and go to sleep. Not that the choice was hard to begin with. He can already begin to feel himself drifting off.
Tony wakes up and finds himself sitting in one of his Stark Industries offices. He's pretty sure that it's 6 o'clock pm on a Tuesday, but everything is too bright for it to be that late. Oddly, there isn't a clock anywhere to be found in the room.
There is a picture frame on Tony's desk and he turns it toward himself. He stares at it, and he sees himself as a happy man with two children. One sports a pair of dazzling green eyes and the other has slightly bluish tinged skin. There is a taller, darker blue skinned man standing behind them and he realizes it is Loki in his Jotun form. The god is beautiful with his sharp features seeming to stand out more with his exotic skin color. He can't help but smile. It's something he hasn't thought about until now and the feeling he's experiencing now is amazing.
He continues to smile and glances over as Pepper places a hand on his shoulder. She stands by his side looking down into a notebook, probably doing his taxes or organizing his schedule. Then there is a sudden crash and the lights begin to flicker. The building begins to shake.
As he continues to stare, the picture begins to darken and the glass begins to crack. He begins to panic. He opens the case and snatches the picture out in an effort to protect it from harm. As soon as he touches it, his hand begins to frost over with ice and he drops it. The ceiling opens and becomes a black hole which begins to suck everything in close proximity into it. The picture begins to go up and Tony dives after it. He feels himself begin to go up too. He looks to Pepper who is calmly putting her briefcase under her arm. She reaches out and grabs his wrist in a vice-like grip.
"You know, it's not all Thor's fault. You could have been there. You could have stopped that blade with your armor and your repulsor rays. You're supposed to be the Merchant of Death. But...you didn't because you wanted Loki to die..." she tells him coldly. She smiles and her features begin to twist in a sinister way. Tony cries out and tries to shake himself free of her hold, but her grip is firm. Too tight.
"You wanted it to happen!" Pepper snarls, a nasty set of yellowed sharp teeth replacing her normally even white ones. She then slowly begins to open her hand. As soon as the pressure lessens, the inventor feels himself begin to fall away again. Her sharp claws scratch his skin as he goes. He looks behind himself and a feeling of vertigo overwhelms him as he sees that dark void of space coming toward him. He thinks he would rather take Pepper's hand again, but reconsiders as Pepper's clawed hand reaches for his face. 'Maybe to give me a nice shave', he thinks.
The sharp nails slash across his cheek and forehead. Blood begins to flow into his eyes. Just before the darkness closes around him, he can hear a deep, grating laughter echoing around in his head. He shudders as he realizes that what he is hearing the voice of Thanos and it terrifies him.
They are currently in a secret passage that he has not used for quite a few centuries. The first time was when he was a young and foolish boy. For good reason, he has never entered it without unnecessary reason. Now, he hopes he doesn't have to see the guardian of this place or there will be some serious explaining to do. Desperate times called for desperate measures, however. He fingers a rather large dagger at his thigh almost obsessively.
When Lorelei begins to giggle hysterically, Loki turns to hiss at her angrily. There are more dangers down here than he can imagine and he isn't in the mood to be eaten today. Lorelei on the other hand...
"We are not entirely alone here, sorceress," he tells her in hushed tones. She frowns.
"So what if there are a few men using these passages alongside us. Perhaps we shall have a bit of fun with them," she says suggestively. Loki rolls his eyes at her boldness.
"Oh believe you me, you won't be having as much fun with the things down here than them with you. If you aren't eaten first that is," he tells her. Her smile fades and she remains quiet after what he tells her, becoming much more alert and cautious to his satisfaction. She tenses as a low growl echoes around them.
"What was that?" she demands. Loki shrugs, a slight smirk creeping to his lips.
"Dammed if I know. Perhaps a lost bilgesnipe. An abandoned specter's bones finally come to life. Whatever it is, it need not concern us. Now come along. I will not come back for you should you get lost," he tells her. She grumbles unhappily but stays close to his side.
After several moments, the growls seem to be getting louder, closer. Loki hurriedly pulls her along a dark wall to a small opening in the floor of the cavern. She wrinkles her nose at him and tries to pull away. The opening is covered in dirt and there is a sleeping creature half covering it.
"How are we going to get past that thing?" she demands. Loki smiles and lets go of her hand. To her horror, he actually goes and pets the slumbering creature awake.
"His name is Fenrir and he is...a friend," he tells her. The form moves and turns out to be a large wolf-like dog. It's blazing red eyes survey Lorelei with an almost human curiosity. Loki speaks to it quietly in a language she does not understand. Then it moves away and pads off, presumably to confront the other approaching beast. Loki points to the hole.
"You can't possibly expect me to fit down there do you?" she demands. The god sighs tiredly and simply pushes her out of the way, preparing to go first.
"It's a portal Lorelei. It shifts its size as needed," he tells her sternly. He holds out his hand to her.
"Ladies first," he says with a devilish grin. She sneers at him but takes the offered hand anyway. She nods slowly and steps in front of him.
"Such a gentleman," she mutters. His smile becomes even wider.
"Only for you," he says quietly. She scoffs just loud enough for him to hear. There is the loud sound of two dogs snarling at one another and a snap of jaws. Loki glances back with a worried look.
"I hope you know what you're doing. Otherwise, if I get eaten, I'm going to find a way to haunt you for eternity." Loki chuckles quietly. Oddly, he doesn't seem to feel any worry at her words. Only for his son. He had never approved of Fenrir's union with Geri and Freki. But, those are his friends. He cannot force him to choose better people to associate with. He turns back to Lorelei.
"Looking forward to it."
When Bruce asks JARVIS how Tony is doing, he is relieved to discover that the man is still sleeping, albeit a bit restlessly. He sighs, rubbing his temples. He doesn't want to deal with all of this stress right now. He's not sure he can at the moment. He sighs again and decides to stop putting things on hold.
Bruce picks up his cell phone and after two minutes of playing Hot-Potato with it, settles the device into his palm and presses the numbers on the screen.