Chapter Four: Life and Death
The movement of a squad of Dӧkkálfar leaving the massive structure ahead was apparent even before the trio made it over the ridge. Loki lagged behind a step, keeping his chained hands held out in front of him while he climbed. Thor turned to face the others once they had all reached the top, and looked to Jane.
"Are you ready?"
Loki opened his mouth to answer before her, but stopped when a thought occurred to him.
When I die, what will happen to you? he asked Charles.
"As ready as I'll ever be," Jane answered Thor's question, adding under her breath, "Without knowing the plan..."
Although your concern is appreciated, Loki, I would rather you didn't preoccupy yourself with my well being. I'm sure that you can and will make it through this, Charles replied, but the barely noticeable flicker of anxiety in reaction to Loki's question was answer enough.
"Brother?" Thor asked. He and Jane had just noticed the way that Loki had zoned out while they were talking.
"Are you okay?" Jane inquired.
Loki gave her a reassuring nod, but continued to stare off into space. You require a host, he thought to Charles, while the others scrutinized him. I am correct, am I not? That is my true value to you.
No. It isn't that at all, but you have figured out why I wasn't going to tell you, Charles answered despondently. Whether or not you can accept it, Loki, I am genuinely trying to help.
Loki resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the unlikelihood of that being the case, and shifted his attention to Thor.
"I'm ready," he announced, flashing a grin that didn't reach his eyes. "Despite your imbecilic plan of course."
"When you are in command, we will go with your plan," Thor said simply. Loki brushed past Jane and held his cuffed wrists out in front of him with an expectant expression. His older brother looked down at the cuffs, then up at Loki, arching his eyebrows as if to say 'you think I'm that stupid?'
"Come now, Brother. You still don't trust me?" Loki challenged. Behind him Jane let out an amused scoff. He glanced fleetingly over at her and the venom in his gaze was enough to banish the rest of her humor. She pulled her shawl tighter around herself, suddenly feeling a chill that had nothing to do with their frigid surroundings. This was not the Loki whom she'd met down in the dungeon just a couple of days ago. This was the Loki who had invaded New York.
"Would you?" Thor pointed out. But to Jane's surprise and mounting anxiety, he reached up and removed the chains anyway. Loki flashed him a shallow smile and began to turn away, rubbing at his sore wrists.
"You can't say that I didn't warn you," he joked, whirling back around to steal his daggers off of his brother's belt and stab him with them. Jane let out a startled cry and slapped a hand over her mouth, stumbling back a step. Thor coughed and grabbed Loki's shoulders to keep from collapsing. "L-Loki..."
"Trust is merely weakness," Loki hissed into his ear and shoved him down the hill. He sneered, "You great fool! You truly believed that I would care about avenging your mother's death?"
Jane frowned. That hadn't sounded right to her. Before she could think about it much, Loki had crossed the short distance between them and grabbed her by the hair, dragging her down the hill after Thor. For some reason, it didn't seem to hurt as much as it probably should, but she was hardly going to question that.
"Lord Malekith!" Loki shouted gleefully as he dumped her in front of the waiting crowd of Dӧkkálfar. "I am Loki of Jötunheim, and I have brought you a gift!"
Thor grabbed his hammer to try to fight their way out, but Loki strode over and chopped his hand clean off. The Trickster then spun gracefully around to face Malekith, grinning as if his brother wasn't currently rolling around on the bloody sand behind him screaming.
"All I ask in return is to have a front row seat from which to watch Asgard burn," Loki concluded maliciously.
Malekith ran a searching gaze over the maniacal young prince then looked to the massive warrior standing at his right shoulder. "Algrim?"
"I remember this one from the prison, my Lord. He is no friend of Asgard," Algrim confirmed. Jane was fairly certain that he had been the beast of a man that they had seen in the cells, the one who'd stabbed Queen Frigga.
"Very well," Malekith decided, watching Loki prowl around behind Jane. "I suggest that you take a step back."
Loki inclined his head in thanks and did as instructed.
Are you absolutely certain that this is a good idea? Charles questioned doubtfully.
No. Be silent, Loki responded, averting his gaze to the sand for the second that it took to hold their unwanted exchange, then Jane was floating up off the ground. Malekith held one arm outstretched towards her and at his silent bidding, the strange, alien substance gradually began to flow back out of her. Behind her, Loki was watching with rapt attention, but it was neither the Aether nor its master that he was looking at. He waited until the last of the dark liquid/gas had flickered and sparked its way out through Jane's mouth and she was sinking to the sand. Suddenly, Loki surged forward.
"Thor! Do it now!" he shouted, crouching over Jane to become her humanoid shield as Thor jumped to his feet, calling his hammer back into his suddenly-intact hand. He called down a massive surge of lightning to fry the Aether in midair, and didn't stop until it hardened and exploded in a rain of scarlet, crystalline shards.
There was a beat of awed silence, then Jane whispered, "It worked!" sounding surprised. Her relief vanished in the next moment when she caught sight of the way that Loki was casting his gaze around them looking disturbed, perplexed and far too easy to read.
"What is this?" he breathed, looking paler by the second (which is really saying something). "I feel..." all at once Loki realized the only reason that he could be sensing what he was, and his hand went to the place on his chest plate under which the prism rested. I don't suppose that you were going to mention this to me either, he told Charles.
I didn't know.
Thor was looking around them now, too, his hammer half-raised and ready to fend off the new threat. The little shards of crystal were vibrating more and more until they floated up off the ground and coalesced into the familiar black-and-red cloud that all three travelers were now far too familiar with.
"Impossible," Thor denied, watching the cloud whirl, flex and flow toward Malekith's waiting arms. The Dӧkkálfar leader opened his mouth, preparing to accept the primeval power into himself. Against the expectations of all present, the Aether stopped less than a foot away from his face and curled in on itself, changing direction. It was now headed straight for Loki.
"What the..." Jane muttered, at a loss, and pressed her hands over her mouth and nose when the Aether got too close for comfort.
Loki sat back on his haunches, staring at the approaching... miasma, and taking note of the way that Charles' consciousness immediately recoiled from it. Disgust, fear, pain, unwilling attraction, none of the feedback that Charles was relaying to his host was at all encouraging.
"What is the meaning of this!" Malekith spat.
Loki remained stock still for a beat, weighing the pros and cons of accepting the Aether. He finally came to a conclusion and rolled out of the way when the Aether surged forwards. It was almost as if it had sensed his decision. That was an issue for another time.
Loki spun and darted away. If he could just outrun it, maybe he could figure a way out of this. He had always been fast, after all. Alas, he'd hesitated for too long. The Aether caught him, frozen in mid-step at the bottom of the incline, and held him as stiff and motionless as a statue. It arced over him, pouring in through his eyes, ears, and nose. He didn't appear to be breathing anymore...
"Loki!" Thor exclaimed, starting towards him, but the Dark Elves beat him to it.
"Enough of this!" Malekith roared, storming over to reach out and physically yank the misbehaving fluid towards him with a rough tug. If Loki could have screamed, he would have. As much as the Aether burned him while it forced its way in, having it torn out of him so carelessly was worse. For a split second, his face contorted in pain, then he collapsed on the sand like a marionette with its strings cut.
"Brother!" Thor bellowed and ran towards him. Malekith stalled, battling with the Aether for control, then threw him back with a wave of his hand, sending Thor flying with a flash of searing-hot, red light. He spun on his heels to address his men.
"Kill these two. Bring the jötun boy to me when you're done," he ordered and headed back towards the towering structure behind them without sparing his enemies a passing glance.
Loki? Loki? Can you hear me? Charles' worried urging broke through the haze of pain in Loki's mind. I know. I'm sorry. Just bear with me for a second... The pain faded away into the background until Loki barely even noticed it anymore. There, that's better.
There was a pause while everyone standing behind them considered each other, then Thor let out a battle-cry and zapped several enemies with lightning from Mjölnir. A thunderstorm was brewing overhead despite the fact that it wasn't the type of weather that occurred in this realm. But then Thor did have a phenomenal temper, enough to make one furious God of Thunder vs. ten Dӧkkálfar soldiers look like an even match.
Well, Thor never was good at silence. A louder rumble from overhead emphasized Loki's point. The planet itself seemed to agree with the injured Trickster. He's probably going to trample me soon as I can't move.
Ah, there you are, Charles noted, relieved, I haven't figured that out yet, but I'm working on it. There was an uncertain pause. You don't mind, do you?
Are you questioning whether I mind if you cure my paralysis?
Well. It's sometimes hard to tell with you, Charles stated. Loki could feel the consciousness exploring different parts of his brain. It was disorienting, but he wasn't in any position to complain.
"Thor! We have to get out of here!" they heard Jane shout.
Good luck with that, Loki thought to himself. Thor never turns down a good fight.
"THOR!" she shouted louder, running towards Loki.
And, there you are. I could have told her not to bother, if I could move!Loki pushed.
Impatience will get you everywhere, Charles responded in a gentle tone.
Was that sarcasm? Now? While we wait to be slaughtered. As Thor is too impulsive to flee, Jane will be of no use in battle, and I am- Loki's internal rant was interrupted by a Dark Elf tripping over him and stamping on his hand. Ah! CURSED LUMMOX! DAMN HIM TO THE DEEPEST PITS OF MUSPELHEIM! BLOODY, FIERY DEA— Charles, stop laughing. This is your fault.
No it isn't. Anyway, I've almost found it.
Jane knocked out the soldier with a shield she had picked up at some point during her dash towards them, throwing her whole body into the blow. She immediately lost the measure of Loki's esteem that the act gained her when she let go of the weapon, and dropped to her knees in front of him to check for a pulse.
"He's alive!" Jane shouted to someone off to the right, presumably Thor, beginning to look for signs of an injury. Then she caught sight of something else past Loki's back and stiffened. There was a trail of blood down her left forearm and Loki could hear someone stalking towards them. That must be what frightened her. "Thor?!" She shifted her gaze from Thor to whoever was marching toward them, beginning to panic. "THOR! Come on..." When patting Loki's cheek wouldn't snap him out of it, Jane slipped her arms under his to try to move him with no success. "Damnit! I'm not even strong enough to drag you."
I know, Loki responded internally, despite the fact that she couldn't hear it.
Instead of running (which was Jane's only practical option in Loki's opinion) Jane bit her lip, grabbed the stolen shield, and leaned over to cover him as best she could. Instead of the attack that he had expected, Loki heard a familiar rush of air, followed by the sound of an impact close behind him.
You are such a pessimist, Charles noted amiably.
Thor had tackled their would be attacker and was now punching him repeatedly in the face, if Loki wasn't horribly mistaken. A warmth spread through his body, shifting into that intense, prickly feeling one gets when a limb has fallen asleep - except that it was throughout his entire body! Jane sat bolt upright at the sound of his huge gasp.
"Nghhh!" Loki shuddered, while Charles tried to console him by pointing out that, At least the pain is gone.
"Oh thank God! Are you okay?" Jane exclaimed. Shaking her head, she corrected herself, "Of course you're not okay."
Loki wasn't listening. He was looking for something to kill. He looked over at the fight going on to his other side just in time to see his mother's killer, Algrim, knock Thor to the ground. Thor tried to call Mjölnir into his hand, but Algrim slapped it out of the air -something that he shouldn't have been able to do.
He dies, Loki decided. His muscles were still weak and trembling like the limbs of a newborn calf, but that didn't matter; Algrim hadn't noticed that he was awake yet. He was too focused on the desperate looking Aesir that he thought he'd cornered; also Loki was just that epically enraged. He stretched one trembling arm out towards the Kursed soldier and hurled a blast of poison-green energy at Algrim. It hit the very center of his chest and exploded through him with a flash that had all of them shielding their eyes.
"Are you alright?" Thor semi-demanded, rushing over to them as soon as the light had faded. Loki flopped back down on the cold sand and let his eyes fall shut, assuming that he meant only Jane.
"It's a shallow cut, nothing serious," Jane assured, with an energetic nod. Loki was beginning to feel like he was floating. I can't afford to lose consciousness. We aren't finished yet...he noted without any conviction.
"Brother!"
Loki jolted in surprise and his eyes flew open. Thor was a lot closer than he had been a second ago.
"Where are you injured?" Thor said in a forceful way that made it obvious this wasn't the first time he had asked.
"Ah," Loki said, mulling the question over. "No idea."
Thor and Jane exchanged displeased looks over his now shivering torso.
"I may have merely been drained," Loki offered in his version of an encouraging voice. It was not that encouraging.
"Great," Jane spat and surged to her feet to start pacing in and out of his line of sight. "What the hell are we going to do now?!"
"Can you stand?" Thor queried in the voice that he usually reserved for directing the Allfather's troops.
"No."
Thor nodded decisively, scooped Loki up and balanced the protesting Trickster across his shoulders.
"No. Thor, put me down this instant!"
"We do not have the time to wait for you to regain your strength," Thor reasoned and stood up.
"Why not just leave me? I'll only slow you down," Loki argued in clipped tones.
"Stop being so dramatic. I am certain that we will find a healer for you soon enough."
Loki glared at the ground. He didn't really have the energy for an extended debate on the subject, and Thor had already started walking. Loki fell asleep before they reached the caves, despite the others' poking or prodding him every once in a while to try and keep him conscious.
When he woke up again, he was lying in an unfamiliar bed with the sound of arguing voices trickling in from the adjacent room. Where are we? he thought, sleepily taking stock of his surroundings, but Charles remained silent. There was an unfamiliar, armed man, in a tailored gray suit reclining in the desk chair on his right. So we've reached Midgard somehow. Loki barely registered his presence, as he appeared to be asleep.
Loki was in a simple, twin-sized bed with blue cotton sheets that matched the sky-blue walls of the bedroom and contrasted dramatically with the stranger's fiery hair. The dark blue comforter matched the folding doors to the closet on his left. They were open halfway, leaving an assortment of women's sweaters and other cold-weather apparel in sight. Ah, Dr. Foster's room, he concluded.
Loki heard Thor's voice respond to one of the unidentified speakers in the other room as he reached up to push the blankets away from his chest. Someone had changed him into a pair of black cotton sweatpants and attached a sticky circular device to the top right side of his bare chest. He was pretty sure that it was a sensor of some sort. Monitoring my heart-rate, he concluded, then realized what was missing. Loki sat bolt upright and patted a hand over his chest in a pointless search. His pendant was gone. That was the reason for Charles' silence. Someone had stolen Charles. Loki gritted his teeth and moved to tear the sensor off of his chest.
"I'd rather you didn't," remarked an unexpected baritone, causing Loki to still with his hand hovering over the sensor. His eyes snapped to the the man watching him intently from his seat in the light gray armchair.
"Where is it?" Loki demanded, cursing the way that his gravelly-sounding voice cracked halfway through the sentence.
"Where is what?" the mortal replied smoothly. His expression was expertly controlled, giving almost nothing away. This man was a professional liar, and a clever one at that. Loki could see it in his eyes. Loki let his gaze wander over the mortal's face, then studied his posture, his weapon, the tailored suit that he wore, learning everything that he needed to know.
"My mistake, Agent. It's clear that you have nothing that interests me," Loki dismissed, lying back against the pillows in a deceptively relaxed manner. "I wish to speak with my brother."
"I thought you said that I didn't have anything that you wanted."
"You don't have Thor," Loki corrected, surprised by his own vehemence. "He has merely chosen to assist your kind, not you, specifically. Your organization would do well to remember that fact."
A corner of the agent's mouth quirked upward in approval. "Hang on a mo'," he quipped, overemphasizing his barely-apparent accent. Loki hadn't even registered its similarity to Charles' until then, but he was startled out of that train of thought when the young man exited the room in a blur of inhuman speed. He then returned to his seat a minute later in the same fashion, smiling at the surprise on Loki's face.
"I'm not your first mutant, am I?" he joked.
Loki opened his mouth to reply, but instead shifted his attention to Thor's arrival.
"Brother! You're awake!"
"Astute as ever," Loki quipped, covering his discomfort with sarcasm.
Thor ignored it and sat down on the edge of the bed. Loki tried to dodge Thor's hand when he reached out to cup Loki's cheek, but wasn't quick enough, and was forced to endure his overprotective scrutiny.
"Thor."
"You look pale."
"I always look pale," Loki argued, pulling out of his grip. "What have I missed?"
"Jane and I were able to escape without any serious injury," Thor assured him.
Loki shot him a withering look. "Don't be dull. What of Malekith?"
"Jane and Dr. Selvig have a plan."
"And?" Loki prompted, tilting his head to watch Thor's face when he looked guiltily away. "Brother?"
"You need not concern yourself."
"Thor!" Loki protested.
"You will remain here under Agent Maxwell's watch while we-" Thor informed him, no longer willing to meet his eye.
"You cannot face him alone!" Loki interrupted.
"-enact Dr. Selvig's plan," Thor continued without acknowledging his argument. "I will return for you once the battle is over."
"No. Thor, this is madness! Whatever you and your allies may think of me. You know that I can help you!"
"Loki, I have made my decision," Thor stated.
"Then rethink it! You have seen what the Aether is capable of!"
"Loki..."
"The power of Mjolnir will not be enough to vanquish this foe! He wants me, you can use me to-"
"Loki! Enough!" Thor finally snapped, grabbing him by the shoulders. Loki opened his mouth to keep arguing, but Thor talked over him. "You are not well. You will remain here, where it is safe, and you will rest," he said, punctuating each statement with a gentle shake.
Loki just stared at him. For once he was at a loss for words. After a pregnant pause, Thor looked past him to the SHIELD Agent still sitting quietly in the armchair.
"I need a moment alone with my brother."
Agent Maxwell nodded and left the room without a word. Loki was still staring at Thor, trying to process the unexpected show of concern.
"What is Malekith's interest in you?" Thor asked him in a calmer tone.
Loki shook his head, absently reaching up to worry the pendant that held his prism, only to be reminded of its loss. "I don't... The Aether was drawn to me. It wanted me, not him..." He scowled down at the empty place where the pendant ought to be.
"It was important to you," Thor recalled, watching Loki's empty hand fall onto his lap. "Why?"
"It doesn't matter now," Loki said dejectedly. He wasn't even sure of the answer himself. He had no logical reason to miss Charles, but he still felt somewhat lost without the familiar presence in his mind. Loki had never had many friends of his own, and the pendant itself... He clenched his jaw, not wanting to be so sentimental. It was only a piece of metal. Liar.
"It mattered to you," Thor countered. "You would not have gone back to retrieve it if that weren't so."
Loki hesitated for a moment, considering his answer. He didn't particularly want to tell Thor about the prism. Keeping Charles a secret was half the fun of knowing him. "It..." A sad smile broke over Loki's face when he recalled the night that he had gotten the pendant. "I stole it from Mother," he admitted to half of the truth, surprised by how much the memory affected him. "She knew. I could tell that I had been discovered, but she never..." He shrugged and turned away from Thor to look out at the damaged cityscape outside the window, blinking away unshed tears. "I lost it."
Thor paused to study him, probably trying to decipher whether or not he was lying. Then he took one of Loki's hands and held it palm up between them, causing Loki to turn and give him a questioning look. "The others wanted to make sure that you had not hidden anything dangerous on your person," Thor explained, pulling something out of a pouch on his belt with his free hand. "I thought that they might take it from you if it was discovered." He lowered the long silver chain into Loki's palm and closed his fingers around it. A single tear fell as Loki gasped at the familiar sensation that rushed up through his arm from the point where his skin touched the prism.
Loki? Oh, dear... Are you alright? Charles inquired, instantly noticing that he was upset.
Loki looked out the window again, acting like he was trying to hide that he was crying while he responded, I'm just fine, although I might be in SHEILD custody soon, due to Thor's shortsightedness, and offered Charles a look at his most recent memories (except the part about maybe missing him a little).
Thor reached up and rested a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright, Little Brother."
"Don't," Loki cut in sharply, offended by Thor's inappropriate appeal. "I am your prisoner, remember? Not your brother."
Thor squeezed his shoulder. "You will always be my brother."
Loki refused to respond, stubbornly keeping his gaze locked on the view outside Jane's window. It looked like someone had gone and given London a black eye in his absence. The observation was rather distracting now that it had occurred to him.
"I will see you upon my return," Thor promised and got up to rejoin Jane and the others out in the living room. When Agent Maxwell returned to his seat a few minutes later, Loki was already curled up under the covers, pretending to sleep. It seemed to be working for a while. Loki heard someone come to stand in the doorway.
"Dr. Foster," Agent Maxwell greeted, shutting the book that he'd been reading.
"Hey. How is he?" Jane inquired more quietly. Another point for the woman, in Loki's opinion. At least she was being considerate. Loki could feel that Charles was amused by that observation, since he wasn't actually even trying to sleep.
"His heart-rate and electrolyte levels seem to be back to normal," Maxwell informed Jane. There was a brief pause, after which he continued at a slightly lower volume. "He should recover completely once he gets some rest."
"Malekith might come after him while we're gone..." Jane said, and Loki heard a rustle of fabric as she shifted uncomfortably.
"In which case, he will have to contend with me," Maxwell stated.
Is that meant to be reassuring? Loki thought incredulously.
"Of course..." Jane said, echoing the sentiment, although she was trying to be tactful about it.
He may be more competent than you expect, Charles remarked knowingly.
What are you not telling me?
I think he prefers to give that impression.
"Listen," Jane began, seeming to contemplate her words as she spoke. "Agent Maxwell, you should know something."
"Yes, Doctor?"
You know him! Loki realized.
"I don't think that Loki is as bad as he seems," Jane faltered, probably in response to the agent's skepticism. "I'm not trying to say that he's an innocent. I think that there's a lot that we don't know about him, and he tries to seem nastier than he is. I just... I don't want him to die because no one gave him the benefit of the doubt."
Yes, quite well, Charles confirmed. I also trust him.
As you trust me, Loki challenged, in the awkward silence that had fallen over the room.
I trust you to be yourself, Charles amended, and Loki tried not to acknowledge his own disappointment.
"I'll keep that in mind," Maxwell finally replied, sounding unexpectedly sincere.
"Okay. Um... Thanks," Jane said, sounding as nonplussed by his reaction as Loki was. "I uh, I have to go..."
"Good Luck, Dr. Foster," Agent Maxwell responded, sounding a tad amused. There was relative silence for a while, broken by the sound of the door opening and closing when the others left to face down Malekith. Loki figured that he was going to be stuck lying in bed for a while with nothing but Charles' company to distract him, when he felt a pair of feet being perched on his knees. He hesitated for a beat, hearing Charles' chuckle in his mind. Then he pulled his legs out from under the invading indigo loafers. The owner of said loafers didn't even lower his book to acknowledge the withering look that Loki sent his way.
"How rude of me," he stated, turning a page in 'The Hound of the Baskervilles'.
"What is wrong with you?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I disturb you?" Maxwell responded, feigning innocence. Then he dropped the act, snapping his book shut and placing it on the desk beside him."Your brother warned me about your insomnia. He also mentioned your propensity for feigning sleep in order to avoid social interaction."
"Then it is good that we understand each other," Loki replied, with a fake smile and rolled onto his back, beginning to project random patterns of light across the ceiling.
"Very mature," Maxwell observed.
"It passes the time," Loki drawled, drawing the many colors whirling across the ceiling together to form a dragon the size of a house cat in the air above him. He directed the peacock-colored creature in little spiraling patterns over the bed.
"Yes, very nice. My sister used to say the same thing," Maxwell responded in a similarly bored tone. "...when we were twelve."
Loki paused in mid-gesture, surprised, and looked over at the other man.
"Mutants, remember?" Maxwell reminded him.
"Can you do so as well?"
"No," the agent shook his head and watched Loki's dragon repeat its previous flightpath out of a lack of further direction. "I'm just a speedster. Wanda's the genius."
"Are you certain that it's wise to mention her to an enemy such as me?"
The speedster chuckled and leaned back in his chair. "You're not my enemy yet," he pointed out, and smiled. "Besides, she'd see you coming."
"Is that so?" Loki said, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, yes."
Loki could hear the pride in the younger man's voice. He also got an odd feeling that he'd meant the declaration literally.
He did, Charles stated.
"A seer?" Loki considered aloud, although he was asking Charles as much as he was asking Agent Maxwell. The speedster shrugged while Charles expressed disapproval over the flicker of greed he had sensed in Loki's mind.
"So tell me, last time you were on this planet you tried to invade New York," Maxwell prompted.
"If you are expecting an apology, you will be sorely disappointed," Loki drawled, directing the dragon to fly over and explore the closet. Charles sent out a little burst of calm and safety in response to Loki's carefully masked anxiety at the mention of the Chitauri invasion. Loki chose not to openly acknowledge that, either, as he was uncertain how to do so.
"I wasn't. I just wondered if you might want to explain yourself," Agent Maxwell said lightly, as though he didn't care either way.
"I would expect you to be far less forgiving after I murdered your comrade."
"Who's that then?"
"I believe that his name was Coulson?" Loki intoned as though he didn't have the man's name and face perfectly memorized.
"What, Phil?"
Loki hummed an affirmative and drew the dragon out through the slats in the closet door, causing it to burst into a cloud of many differently-colored butterflies.
"You didn't," Maxwell corrected, holding out a finger for a violet colored butterfly to land on. "But I imagine that he is still very cross with you."
"What!?" Loki turned on him, causing a few of the butterflies to flicker out of existence in his shock.
"Phil's fine. I just talked with him a few hours ago when he informed me of this assignment," Agent Maxwell said, blowing on the projected butterfly so that it fluttered away towards the door. He locked his blue-gray eyes on Loki's. "I couldn't help but wonder what I'd done to piss him off. Nothing personal."
"So you say."
"Honestly. It's got nothing to do with you. I'm a mutant, in London," Maxwell said meaningfully. "I can understand why he wouldn't send Barton on this one, but it's not as though he's the only human operative available."
"I don't know what that means."
Agent Maxwell tilted his head, accepting his point. "Well you weren't really interested in politics during your last visit. Many people here on Earth still have trouble accepting those they view as different."
Loki looked up at the ceiling, schooling his expression, and vanished all of the butterflies with a wave of his hand.
"Hmm," Agent Maxwell clapped once before rubbing his palms together. "How about a bite to eat? Darcy was passing around some tasty-looking biscuits earlier. I expect there might be a few of them left over."
"What's a biscuit?" Loki inquired halfheartedly.
"Oh, it's a kind of a sweet... They call them cookies back in America, but I suppose I've picked up a few of Mummy's eccentricities."
Loki arched an inquisitive eyebrow, only becoming more curious at Charles' amused, almost affectionate-feeling reaction to the mention of 'Mummy.' Agent Maxwell gave a dismissive wave of his hand and went to fetch the biscuits.
Charles?
It's a long story, and I'm not sure that this is the best time- Charles' response was interrupted when the window suddenly exploded inward. Loki only just rolled off of the bed in time to avoid being hit. He tore the sensor off of his chest and rolled to his feet to see Thor and Malekith fall against Jane's desk, destroying it while they wrestled.
"What the..." Agent Maxwell said, appearing in the doorway with a plate of chocolate hobnobs. Loki grabbed a lamp off of the bedside table and smashed it over the Dökkálfar's head. Malekith fell onto his back on the floor between the three of them, momentarily stunned.
"Thank you," Thor panted, then registered where he was. "Loki?"
Loki gave him a little sarcastic wave.
"Care to explain?" Agent Maxwell requested, taking a bite out of one of the biscuits from the plate he was still holding.
"Time-space distortions..." Thor quoted, bending down to grab Malekith by the collar of his cloak.
Malekith let out a malicious chuckle and blasted Thor through the wall behind him with another burst of scarlet energy. He leapt to his feet and turned to leer at Loki, completely ignoring Agent Maxwell's existence. The SHEILD Agent set the plate of cookies on the nearby dresser and shot the Dark Elf in the head, only succeeding in making him stumble a few steps to one side before the Aether repaired the damage. Malekith glanced at him fleetingly, hurling him away with another blast of energy.
"You don't really need me," Loki stalled, taking a step back when Malekith began to prowl towards him. Malekith cocked his head to the side in a predatory manner. This really is typical circumstances for my life now, isn't it, Loki grumbled internally. Just when I had come to accept that my fate was to reside in Asgard's prison, Thor breaks me out and drags me halfway across Yggdrassil so that I can become prey for some insane Elf King. Why?! What have I ever done to the Norns?!
...What? Charles responded.
Exactly!
"You possess far more power than you have any right to. How is that?" Malekith questioned, taking another step closer, so that he now had the Trickster backed up against the wall.
Loki just gave him a wry little shrug, not even bothering to make his denial seem convincing. "Surely it is of no concern to you in this enhanced state. You possess enough power to bring the nine realms to their knees. I should seem naught but a gifted child by comparison."
"You're probably right, nonetheless your brother will miss you dearly," Malekith taunted and lunged forward, grabbing Loki by the throat. Loki fought him and struggled to draw in a breath, but the Dökkálfar leader had become too impossibly strong. "Or if not, it will be my pleasure to know that I have slain the youngest son of Odin."
A/N: Yay! We finally made it to Earth/Midgard! I hope it was to your liking. I must admit I'll be very relieved once I'm completely free of the vestiges of the Thor 2 story line (like the movie and all, it's just more fun to write my own plot). Anyway, thanks for reading this guys. Special thanks to icanhearthedrums and XaviersLover for reviewing. Feedback is always welcome.