SHADOW OF DEATH

Chapter 38: Foreboding

Skadmire burst through the door of his underground home with a look of fierce determination on his blue-armored face. He began to throw his belongings into a chest without so much as a word to where Loki sat at on a chair with a book in his lap.

For two weeks, Skadmire and Loki had scoured Xandar for word on the missing Infinity Stones. The pair had forged a tenuous alliance during their shared weeks. Not only was Loki indebted to the Jotun trader for his life and successive recuperation, but Skadmire had proved himself to be a capable scout. He was well-respected and well-connected around Xandar and he managed to gather information with enough tact that no suspicions were raised. They gathered bits and pieces – rumors really- about some, but it was the Power Stone which was within their grasp. With maps of the Nova Corps high security vault between them, they had plotted how best to steal the Stone from its Nova Corps hiding place and it was only a matter of days before the annual realm-wide celebration when they planned to make their move. Now, though, Skadmire's actions were entirely unexpected.

"What are you doing?" Loki asked with a tone of indifferent curiosity.

"Leaving," Skadmire responded. "Now."

Loki stood slowly and closed his book. He waved his hand over it and vanished it into his storage. He had to admit he was slightly impressed when he saw Skadmire perform the same spell on his chest of belongings. It vanished with a tingle of magic in the air and Skadmire turned fierce, red eyes onto Loki.

"He's here," Skadmire said gravely and with such an emphasis on the "he" that Loki's heart sank.

"Who?" Loki asked. He didn't need to ask. He already knew the answer, but he asked anyway.

"The Mad Titan. I just had it meself from a communication from me soldier friend in they grand army. The capital is under attack. The Nova Corps vault be a'burning. Ye know what they held there, aye?"

They should have acted sooner. They should have not waited for the noise and chaos of the Xandarian festival. Loki bit back a curse and he felt his face drain of all its color.

"You are sure it is him?" Loki asked.

"Aye."

Loki nodded, his throat suddenly constricting at the thought of his close proximity to his former master.

"He will kill at least half of all life here… if not more," Loki said. He quickly donned his cloak and gathered what remained of his belongings.

"Aye. That be why I be a'packing," Skadmire said. "Mayhaps we can reach the ships in the next town over before it come to that. We have early warning, though I wouldna wish to see the fate that befalls them that come after us."

Loki shook his head. "We do not need to reach the ships. I know another way," he said. "We can leave immediately."

Skadmire gave a hesitant nod and rose to follow Loki out the door of his home. Loki led Skadmire behind the swampy village to a corner of land sheltered both by a tall, overhanging rock face and a little clump of trees. Wary eyes scanned the sky overhead, fearing the dark shapes and explosions they both knew would come.

Loki materialized the Ice Casket in his arms. Skadmire's eyes widened but he held his comments to himself. Still, the silent appraisal of both the Ice Casket in Loki's hand and the blue shell coating his body left Loki feeling decidedly uncomfortable… and somehow guilty.

"I am still a novice in directing the Casket's power for travel," Loki said as he made his final preparations. "It will be neither a direct nor a rapid journey, but it will take us away from Xandar immediately."

"Aye. That'll do," Skadmire said. "Where will we go?"

"Midgard. I doubt even Midgard will escape the eye of the Mad Titan for long, but that is where my allies are currently stationed."

"With the Power Stone, nowhere in the universe will escape the eye of Thanos for long," Skadmire responded.

oooooo

The return journey was decidedly easier since he was now more familiar with the intricacies of the Casket, but it still took nearly a week. He had misjudged his final leg and had to back track across three different planets to compensate, but it was simple enough to remedy.

With another quick slip through space and time, he and the Jotun arrived just outside the borders of Wakanda, this time in the savanna rather than the forests. It was early evening and by the dust in the air, it had been long since it last rained. There were none of the wandering cattle keepers in sight but there were a handful of kudu grazing on the golden grasses. When they saw the alien intruders appear, they scattered back into the nearby hills and vanished.

"This be a different Midgard than me eyes have seen before," Skadmire remarked as he took in his surroundings.

"We are in the center, where the Midgardian sun's rays hit the most evenly during all seasons," Loki replied.

"The clime here is little better than Xandar," he grumbled back.

"Oh, I beg to differ. It is at least a little better. Xandar feels as though someone left a steam bath running all day and night. Here, at least, the nights can grow cool and the days are not so very hot. It can be rather tolerable, at times."

"You have spent some days here, then, Princeling?"

"Aye. More than a Midgardian cycle around the sun."

Loki led the way to where a control pad was hidden in the bark of an acacia tree. A code would open the illusory gateway beyond and lead them into a tunnel under the city. When he attempted to use the code, it failed to open. Instead, it triggered an alternate message and a projection of a rushed, and rather frantic, Shuri.

"Prince, if you return, seek us out," her image said. "There is trouble here. We have to flee to safety. Tunaenda sasa. We cannot wait. They've taken Baba. They think you are behind it all and that we have aided you…eh, they are correct if I phrase it so, but the way they put it, it does not sound nearly so well. Do not enter Birnin Zana. Do not speak to anyone in Wakanda. I repeat. Avoid Wakanda or it could put all our lives in danger. If you return, find us. The daktari and askari are with Mama and I."

The transmission flickered and evaporated, leaving Loki speechless and staring at where her image had just been.

"Trouble a'brewin' on Midgard?" Skadmire asked.

"So it would seem," Loki said. "I apologize for this unexpected reception."

"I be closer to home now than I be for long and I am away from the Mad Titan, for now. Let us do what needs be," Skadmire answered with a slight nod of his head.

Against the shallow sky and expanse of grassland, Skadmire's towering blue frame was anything but subtle. Loki cringed. How could he not bring attention to them while travelling with a Frost Giant in-tow? For the first time, Loki paused to appreciate his own mediocre height in comparison to Skadmire.

"Would it be possible for you to remove your armor - for a time?" Loki asked over his shoulder as he turned to walk back the way they had come.

"What fer?"

"Your height will gain you more attention than we need, but if you are blue, I am afraid you may terrify the little natives who are not used to mingling with the peoples of other realms."

"Aye," Skadmire said. The bright blue armor evaporated and left only the pale, tattooed skin beneath. With a wave of his hand, Skadmire conjured a light robe which he used to cover his exposed chest and most of his head and legs. While still a formidable, striking figure, he was less ostentatious and Loki nodded his approval of the change.

"Let us leave these grasslands and find shelter behind those rocks," Loki said and pointed to a pile of boulders near a dry stream bed. "I will need to search out my companions and would like to do so without gaining any notice from those within. Unfortunately, there are those within who are rather more skilled with detecting magical energies than is in our best interest at the moment."

"Truly? On Midgard? Magic in trees and in walls and in cities? Well, may the Isles of Hawlo melt! I never would have believed so much could change!"

They found shelter between the boulders and Loki cast an invisibility spell around them. Then he began to search.

Oooooo

The moon was high overhead before Loki finally caught it. A trace of familiar energy. It tingled along his senses like a familiar strain of music and he grabbed hold of it and followed. Far, far to the west and south, he could sense it.

"I have found her," Loki said, startling Skadmire who had nodded off against his sandstone headrest. Skadmire snorted into wakefulness and glanced at Loki through one eye.

"Her?"

"Aye. One of my allies."

"Among so many mortals and you can sense one?"

"Let us say she is no longer as mortal as she once was. It is not only the Tesseract which has chosen to meddle with the genetic codes of unwitting hosts."

Skadmire nodded and rose. Before they moved two paces, they were stopped by an orange and white furred shape sitting serenely at the side of a tree, as if waiting for them, it's eyes glowing in the darkness. Skadmire gasped and jumped backwards, nearly succeeding in withdrawing his weapon before Loki motioned for him to calm himself.

"Skadmire, meet Goose. It is a companion of mine," Loki said. As he spoke, Goose hissed and turned its back on Loki in such a haughty motion that Skadmire turned a dubious sideways glance back at Loki.

"If that be a companion, then I be a bosom-brother," the giant said. "Since when did the folks o' Midgard gain such beasts?"

"The Flerkin is another exile, though I know not how it came to be trapped on this realm. It found me and has shadowed me worse than an einherjar bodyguard. It may hold some ill-feelings for the lengths I went to in order to prevent it from following me to Xandar," Loki responded.

"Greetings, Goose," Loki said to the Flerkin as he cautiously approached. He knelt before it and reached out his hand, only to receive a claw swipe and another angry hiss. Loki withdrew his hand and shook it out with a muffled curse.

"Fine, hold onto your ill-will, beast," Loki muttered. "Why are you not with the Princess Shuri?"

Goose's ears flattened against its head at that and it turned its back on Loki. No one spoke for a long few moments before Loki finally relented. "If I apologize and say my fortunes would have been aided by your presence, would it appease you?"

Goose turned and sniffed his ankles before giving a hard bite on the toe of his boot. Loki tried to kick it off but Goose's hold was too tight. When Goose finally released, there were puncture marks in the toe of his one pair of unmarred soles. Then, Goose curled its tail around Loki's calves and meowed.

"We are seeking out the Princess Shuri and Dr. Foster," Loki said. "You are welcome to stay behind and cling to your ill-will or you may come along. I feel no remorse in leaving you here if you continue in such behavior."

Goose gave the prince an imperious and begrudging glare before it pranced off in the direction Loki meant for them to go.

"Oh, so you do know where my companions are already? Well, let us be off," Loki said. He pretended not to notice Skadmire's skeptical raised eyebrows and displeased mutterings as he followed.

While part of the journey could be completed using teleportation, the final leg of the journey required scaling an elevated pathway through a range of mountains. Loki knew little of this terrain or destination, but he knew Skadmire would not begrudge how the climate cooled the farther they climbed. The change in temperate was especially welcomed as the sun rose and began to cast its rays on the equatorial lands beneath its fingers.

"He will have obtained the Power Stone," Loki remarked, more to himself than to Skadmire. "This makes everything much more complicated."

"Those cursed Stones were a'never meant to be wielded by any of the realms," Skadmire replied angrily. "No finite being were meant to hold infinity in they hands. It's a'like trying to fit the oceans o'Midgard into a teapot. The Stones were meant to be left alone and do they work without bein' disturbed by the likes o'us. There always be a cost when they be used for a means they were not made fer."

"I fear the cost will be paid by many across the realms if the Power Stone remains in Thanos' accursed grip," Loki said.

"Aye… and it would please the damnable queen of Helheim to have so much power within her grips… how be the health o'the All-Father?"

"I…I don't know," Loki stammered, unsettled by how he never considered Odin's life to really have an end. As the life of a parent to any child, Odin's life seemed infinite and he had never really paused to consider that it would someday be otherwise. "I have not returned to Asgard… for some time."

Skadmire nodded solemnly. "We must send more prayers fer his health to continue," he said. "Or Thanos may be the least o'our worries."

The air grew thinner and colder the higher they climbed. Soon, they found that glacial ice covered the mountain's face and lay along the sides of their path. Skadmire gave a wide grin and paused to bury his hands in the snow.

"Midgard grows more lovely and welcoming by the moment," he said as he poured the ice over his head and into his robe. He removed his boots so he could walk barefoot and he gave a happy sigh as he did. "It's been long since I last saw such a blessed sight."

Goose, much less impressed by the change of climate, forgave Loki's transgressions to the extent that it now rode on Loki's shoulders. The Flerkin still glared at the prince at every opportunity and, once or twice, sharpened its claws on the prince's head. However, the Flerkin repented when it found itself chest deep in snow again. It chose to sheath its claws and maintain its warm feet and its perch on Loki's shoulder for the remainder of their journey.

They came upon a village that was hewed from the very edge of the mountain itself. Brick and stone huts lined terraces cut into the side of the mountain and the glass panes of their windows reflected off the light of the sun like ripples of water on a lake.

There, on the very highest terrace and set apart from the other homes, Goose led them towards a little compound of homes surrounded by a wooden fence.

"So, the beast has journeyed here before us," Skadmire remarked as he watched the sure way Goose picked its path.

"Apparently."

While Goose had no reservations against leaping in through an unlocked window, Skadmire and Loki decided to knock on one of the doors. Loki removed the invisibility spell and they waited as they heard a bustle of footsteps and voices inside.

"You are here!" Shuri said as she grasped Loki's hand and gave him a broad, dimpled grin. "I have never been so happy to see an alien in my entire life!"

She looked as if she'd lived through five years of life in the six weeks he had been away and his concern grew. Her face showed evidence of tears and sleepless nights. There were three Dora Milaje behind her, each with equally grim expressions on their faces. The queen, the Winter Soldier, and Dr. Njeri were all present in the room, but the king and prince were noticeably absent. From the moment he entered the room, he could feel Jane's eyes on him. The weight of them were like a firebrand behind his head and he determined not to notice her. At least, not yet. He focused all his attention on introductions instead.

"Please meet Skadmire of the Eastern Glaciers of Jotunheim," Loki said as his companion stepped forward to give a solemn greeting to each occupant in the room, in the fashion of the Jotnar. He bowed his head and placed his hand on his forehead as he met each. He stood so tall, his head brushed the low ceiling of the room and his companions openly gaped.

"You have come with another alien?" Shuri gasped.

"As you see," Loki responded. "It is a long story… one better left till a later time."

"I thought you said the aliens from Jotunheim were blue?" Shuri continued. She had yet to look away from Skadmire.

Skadmire chuckled and in a subtle movement, he donned his armor again. Every exposed inch of skin beneath his robe shifted to a deep sapphire blue. At Shuri's exclamation of surprise, he laughed harder. Then, he held out his hands before her and conjured a crystalline flower out of ice. He presented this to her with another solemn bow.

"A gift from the Eastern Glaciers of Jotunheim to the Princess of Midgard," he said.

"Oh, I like this alien" Shuri said. "I know Jane thinks Loki is charming, but I think this one could charm the scales off a snake. How did you do that?"

She took the proffered gift and turned it over in her hands, obviously delighted.

"Wow! The temperature in the room just dropped," Jane remarked, glancing around her to both the roaring fire and the goosebumps on her arms. "Did you do that?"

Skadmire nodded. "It be an effect of me armor, lady."

"Can I feel your skin?" she asked.

"Careful, lady. It be cold to the touch," he warned, but still extended his arm for her perusal.

Loki bit back the sudden surge of jealousy that burned through him both at the attention on his companion and the sight of Jane slipping her fingertips along Skadmire's exposed forearm. She immediately withdrew her hand again.

"Wow! That is cold!"

He shifted and removed his armor. Both Jane and Shuri watched in marked fascination and moved to feel the bare skin now covered only with his tattoos.

"Wow! That's amazing!" Jane said. "Oh, the questions I would like to ask you!"

Skadmire gave a sharp-toothed grin and bowed, obviously enjoying their attention. "I have more than a few of me own."

"So, how did you meet our prince?" Shuri asked. "I did not think his journey involved a trip to Jotunheim."

"Aye. Tis a tale! I be a lone trader on Xandar and I found the princeling half-dead in a swamp. He had the life near beat out of him by bandits. With his magic bound, he were as weak as a suckling ice hound."

"Oh. Oh. Wow," Jane gasped and her head swung around to stare at Loki. He looked away, suddenly regretting not providing Skadmire with a more dignified telling of events. After such an introduction there would be no easy way to avoid the mortification of his own failures.

"Aye, well, it be the workings of fate, so they say," Skadmire continued . "See, by saving the little princeling then, I were saving me own life, though I knew it not then. Here I stand, alive and well and not a corpse meself."

"Eh, eh, eh. It did not go as planned, then?" Shuri surmised.

"Tell us, Prince, what news?" the queen asked, stepping forward to press his hand with hers.

"I failed," he answered succinctly. "The Power Stone went into the hands of our enemy. We hardly escaped with our lives and here we are with little gained. I fear Midgard will be the first place he attacks."

The room fell silent and no one so much as moved or took their eyes off him. He shifted uncomfortably on his feet but tried not to let the motion show.

"How bad do you think this is going to be?" Jane asked, more in whisper than as a question.

"The Power Stone can extinguish an entire planet five times the size of Midgard in the blink of an eye."

"Ok. So, bad."

"It will take time for Thanos to reach Midgard. However, I fear that when he comes, it will not end well. Thanos will seek to destroy Midgard in revenge for my protection of it, regardless of which realm I am upon."

"Too bad we destroyed the Time Stone already. We could have used it to take the Power Stone back," Jane said.

Loki rolled his eyes. "And who told me to destroy it immediately?"

"Yeah, yeah. So, what now? How much time do you think we have?"

"It could be three months. It could be three years. I know not. There remains the Reality Stone, which was supposedly destroyed by Thor's grandfather, and the Soul Stone, which no one knows the location of."

"No. No. That first one is wrong. It wasn't destroyed…and the second one… someone does know the location of it," Jane remarked, her eyes distant.

"Ah, I have missed your magic tricks, Lady Jane," Loki said, venturing to give her the briefest of smiles. Then he turned to address the room-at-large again. "I believe the best way to proceed is to return to Asgard, face the wrath of Odin, and speak with our gatekeeper. He may be able to determine the locations of these Stones, as well as the movements of the Mad Titan. If I survive facing the All-Father, I can plead for the aid of Asgard in defense of Midgard and the rest of the Nine and warn him of the coming of Thanos."

"So, you will leave again," Jane asked.

"Aye. As soon as possible."

"But, Loki- what about Wakanda?" Jane asked.

Loki glanced around the room again – at each of the worn, weary faces and he sighed. "I am afraid I am a bit behind in events on Midgard. You will need to explain to me exactly what has transpired on Midgard in my absence."

Shuri blew out a long breath. "I will tell you, but it will be a long story."

Oooooo

"Breaking News. At least ten different countries have claimed responsibility for the assassination of the former King of Wakanda. Under allegations of terrorism and investigations into Wakanda's role in orchestrating the Fall, King T'Chaka was being held at U.N. offices in the Netherlands when the attack occurred.

"'We want justice. We want Wakanda to pay for what they have done,' claimed one of the organizers of the attack. 'I lost my entire family in Madrid. This is not enough. All the terrorists responsible for the Fall must be hunted down and brought to justice or we won't have peace. Now that T'Chaka is dead, I can sleep at night.' This is the BBC, reporting live. Next in world news…."

Shuri's world fell apart overnight. With a single terrible flash of light on a security camera, a single terrible transmission from T'Challa, and her father was gone. Stolen away before his time. As if that wasn't enough, Wakanda was next, and she very nearly lost her brother along with Wakanda. After N'Jadaka challenged T'Challa's right to succession and a ritual combat was declared, Shuri thought she had lost it all. When his battered, frail, and barely alive form was brought to Jabari by a passing tradesman, she was equally torn between joy and despair.

She had never, not once, considered the possibility that Wakanda… or her family… could fall.

Of course, she had always known she had more cousins than she could count. She knew jealousy was as corrosive as acid and cousins were as dangerous as they were helpful. But she had never dreamed for this to happen. For an Outsider, someone who did not follow their Pillars or know their ways, to now sit on the throne of Wakanda was unthinkable. She understood now that this could prove the end of Wakanda forever. She had never understood before how precarious they truly were- how easily a slip could lead to their permanent downfall. Wakanda existed as a lone island of sand, barely above sea level, and a single tsunami could engulf them, leaving nothing but memory in its wake.

Her cousin did not seek the good of Wakanda. Wakanda was a tool, a means to an end, his own personal colony of raw resources to exploit, blood to spill, and a means of self-aggrandizement. Simply because he was a blood relation did not mean he was not a colonizer at heart.

Dr. Njeri made her way to their refuge, a few days after the attack. She was visibly shaken and she came with more word from Birnin Zana.

"T'Challa sent me as soon as they got word from Ayo. It's bad. Wakanda has received rogue would-be vigilantes from a variety of countries appearing at Wakanda's borders, threatening violence and trying to set up home-made explosives. Ever since news outlets got word of the allegations, death threats have been pouring in from around the world."

"And Wakanda?"

"They are furious, understandably. However, they blame T'Challa. They say, 'If you did not harbor Outsiders or get involved in external affairs, this would not have happened. We should not have allowed the wageni into our borders!' N'Jadaka easily swept up public opinion by playing on their fears and blaming the royal family for everything that has occurred, both within Wakanda and without."

"What can we do?" Jane cried out.

"Nothing," Dr. Njeri replied sadly. "Sit quiet. Pray. Hope for a miracle."

"We shouldn't have left Wakanda," Jane said.

"I beg to differ, Dr. Foster. If you were in Wakanda now, the anger is such the general populace wouldn't hesitate to burn you if they caught you."

"Burn me?" Jane asked, dismayed.

"That's why T'Challa sent me away. I was the only outsider remaining and the mobs of angry, hurting, fearful citizens would only be too happy to use me as a scapegoat for all their problems… just as the international community was only too happy to use T'Chaka as a scapegoat for a

theirs."

"But you are both innocent!"

"Are we? I am guilty because I am an mgeni and it is the Outside world which has caused this upheaval in Wakanda. T'Chaka was guilty for the same, same reason. It would not matter if he was someday proved innocent, he would forever be seen as guilty. For hurting, angry people, the spilling of blood seems to quench some of their anger and make them feel somehow better, for a time, even if makes their problems grow."

"But it's not right!"

"What does a mob care for right or wrong? All they care about are the griefs they have suffered and what they feel they have lost. If you happen to represent some part of what they feel has injured them or what they fear, then they can bring back some semblance of control through harming you."

With such news, with such tidings, there were no dry eyes for days. Shuri felt like she had never known such sadness before and her mother was entirely distraught. The only positive development that came out of their circumstances was M'Baku's sudden contrition and genuine remorse. For all he delighted in gloating over Wakanda, he did not wish to see T'Chaka's death and he was even less pleased for the change in leadership to an unknown, unexperienced Outsider.

Their spirits were slightly revived when T'Challa was found alive and brought back to them. Shuri didn't care if he was now a disgraced former monarch or as weak as a regular man. She was just happy to have him alive.

Shuri took turns tending her brother. She bemoaned the lack of medical facilities in the sacred heart of Jabari and wished they could have returned to the lowlands. Ramonda pulled strings and managed to find a doctor willing to face potential banishment in order to tend their former prince, but Ramonda knew what she was asking. and how little she could repay him for his sacrifice.

With N'Jadaka on the throne, the family of the former king was now a dangerous liability. They could not return to Wakanda again. Not as long as N'Jadaka lived. If he died, well, then the royal family and their children could return with their own challengers in the line of succession, but not until the next change in leadership.

Their handful of Dora Milaje faced an impossible dilemma. If they chose to stay in Jabari, they became traitors who were exiled along with their former monarchs. Yet, they knew the current location of the royal family and so could put them at risk if they returned to Wakanda. If their former soldiers turned on them, they could be discovered. For the time being, the Dora Milaje agreed to stay in Jabari until their monarchs found a new country for them to seek asylum in.

Yet, where were they to go? It was challenging enough, in the best of times, for disgraced African monarchs to find asylum countries. Now that Wakanda was proclaimed a "country of terrorists" and "orchestrators of the Fall," it would be even harder.

"You two don't have to stay," Shuri said to Jane and Bucky, once the news of their cousin's ascent to the throne had been shared. "You have your own country to return to. I am afraid we no longer have much of a home to offer you."

Bucky gave an uncharacteristic snort and shook his head. Jane approached, hesitantly at first, and took Shuri in an embrace. "Maybe later. Not now," she said. "I think I'd rather stay with you for awhile longer, if that's ok."

At Shuri's answering sob, Jane hugged her even tighter. "I am so sorry," Jane whispered, her own tears joining Shuri's.

The question that loomed now was where were they to go?

"We cannot stay in Jabari forever," Shuri stated to her mother, when she could no longer hold her concerns to herself. "What do we do now?"

"I do not know. Once your brother grows strong, we will decide," her mother answered.

"If he grows strong," Shuri grumbled.

"I must have faith," her mother answered. She put her hand on Shuri's and gave it a gentle squeeze. The toll of the intervening weeks clearly showed on her worn face and untended braids. They had hardly slept and she could see the worry and grief in her mother's eyes. Shuri swallowed and bit back another round of tears. She did not think they had the luxury of time.

Her mother had enough faith to move mountains. For now, she would have to have enough faith for Shuri, too. Shuri tried not to be bitter. She understood the "bigger picture" but it all came at such a high cost. She knew it was not merely Loki they were assisting, but the whole world... and beyond... but she did not understand why it was Wakanda which must pay such a high price on behalf of everyone else.

She also did not understand where the Asgardian had vanished to. She kept hoping he would appear and somehow turn back time or set all to right with the snap of his magic fingers, but still he did not come. The more days passed, the more she wondered what would happen if he never did.

Oooooooo

Jane had never been so relieved to see Loki as she had been the day he appeared on the door step of their mountain refuge, giant blue alien in tow behind him. She even saw Shuri laugh again, for the first time since her father died, and it was good to see her spirits raised, even if only temporarily.

Their already tight quarters became nearly suffocating with the ever-growing band of refugees. Sergeant Barnes didn't complain, but adding two Jotuns and a Flerkin into his room made it all a bit tighter. Loki, however, didn't stay long.

Jane watched him, whenever she could, and she waited for a time when she could get him alone. By the tension in his posture and the frenetic pace beneath his movements, she could tell he was anxious. She did not think the intervening weeks had been easier on him than they had been for her. Still, she wanted the chance to ask and find out for herself.

It was not until his second night in Jabari that she managed to find him alone. It was late at night and she couldn't sleep. She still could not shake the lingering sense of foreboding that had taken up residence in her heart like cobwebs in a doorway and she had woken up from another nightmare. She wandered into the common room only to find she was not the only one awake. Loki sat on a couch, reading by candlelight.

She plopped down in the chair across from him and yawned.

"Hey," she said.

Slowly, methodically, he marked his place in his book and put it down. "Have you failed to sleep, Lady Jane?"

She shrugged. "Looks like you aren't doing any better."

His lips turned up with a crooked half-smile. "So it would appear."

"So…" she began, then she chided herself for not being able to come up with the right thing to say. Her mind flashed through a myriad of topics, each which seemed as clumsy and doomed-to-failure as the one preceding it. "I have your flowers," she finally said.

"Indeed?"

"Yeah. And, well, the rest of the stuff you left behind. You know, in case you need it. It was gonna get destroyed if we didn't take it with us."

"I will be glad to keep my gift from Mrs. Johnson. I thank you for your efforts on my behalf."

They both fell silent for a few moments before Jane gave a huff of frustration and sank back in her chair. "That's it?" she exclaimed. "You disappear for over a month… almost die… and that's all you are gonna tell me?"

"What more is there that you wish to know?"

"Oh, come on!"

His expression turned sly and his grin widened. "What is this? Are you rejoicing in my return? How will you continue your staunch denial of missing me with such enthusiasm to be in my presence again?"

With a burst of emotion that took them both by surprise, Jane crossed the room and threw her arms around his neck. "No! I won't deny it. I missed you. So much. So much has happened here and I didn't know if you were ok, and, well, you weren't."

Just as suddenly, she came to herself again and disentangled her arms and leaned back. Loki visibly preened, once he recovered from his surprise, but rather than gloat or mock her display, he only took her hand in his and placed a kiss on her knuckles.

"We are, both of us, fortunate again," he said, uncharacteristically solemnly. "I will not pretend otherwise."

"Loki… you almost died... again."

"I am harder to kill than a Muspel fire beetle," he said. "Woe to all who wish me otherwise. Not even I have succeeded." At her displeased gasp, he gave a wry, sad smile "I am glad there is at least one soul in the universe pleased I still live...and willing to embrace my return with genuine enthusiasm."

"You shouldn't have gone alone," she chided.

"You are right. It was fool-hardy of me to go unaccompanied. I nearly paid for my pride with my own flesh."

"I have a feeling you don't admit wrongdoing very often," she replied.

"I have a feeling I do not ever admit wrongdoing- out loud."

"It looks good on you," she said. "You should wear it more often."

He laughed. "Do not get used to it. I cannot promise you will see such admittances again in future."

"Ah, because you are always right?"

"Nay, Lady Jane. Because the secret to being always right is to behave wrongly with such confidence and audacity that everyone believes I am always right, even when I am atrociously misguided and wrong."

"Fake it till you make it?" she supplied.

"What a perfectly trite expression."

"That's what you just said but much more efficiently."

"I beg to differ."

"Tell me what else happened," Jane pressed. Loki did not bother to deflect and instead seemed almost relieved. He leaned forward in his seat and began his tale.. despite the frequency of Jane's interruptions. There were always more questions than even an infinite amount of time could allow her to pursue the answers for, so she tried to sift through her mental list and choose the most pressing. Still, with all that had occurred, she could not decide what was the most important.

"Skadmire sounds like he's been a wealth of information," Jane said, after his summary of Skadmire's revelations. "I don't understand, though. You not only were born on Earth but you are actually half-human?"

"Yes, Jane. It would appear so. Ironic, isn't it? Both realms I try to destroy happen to be those of my parentage. Laufey's transgressions have indeed been paid in full."

She exhaled deeply and shook her head at his comment.

"When I first found out about my parentage, Odin told me I was a runt. I suppose this explains why. I wasn't purely a Frost Giant. It also explains why I am not quite as strong as a Frost Giant. But Laufey's blood seems to have conferred my longevity and propensity for magic… though those attributes could also be a byproduct of the Tesseract's influence on my formation."

"So, we are both screwed up by Infinity Stones."

"What a perfectly horrible turn of phrase! No, Jane, we are both 'enhanced' and 'enriched' by Infinity Stones."

"That's what I said."

"It certainly is not."

"Whatever. So, you don't even know what parts of you are from a magic rock and which are from your parents."

"Indeed."

"You get more complicated by the day, you know?"

"When I first found out, I thought this," he said, and waved at himself, "was fake. That all I am was a lie, forced upon me by Odin's magic. I thought he, out of shame or fear or even love, forced me into living in an apparition of myself that was all a mirage."

"But this changes that," Jane observed. "This is actually you."

"Yes," he said. "Well, part of me at least. There are simply more parts of me than I previously knew, which is hardly a surprise. Still, it is some small comfort to know that not all of me is a lie and that this body, this appearance, this image of myself was not forced upon me by Odin, but is as much a part of me as my DNA. But I still must struggle through the other parts of this revelation. The bastard child of a war slave is hardly an illustrious heritage."

"Not to mention the blow to your pride and sense of superiority it must be to discover you are half human. You aren't so high and mighty now," she said as she gave him a gentle shove with her shoulder.

"I am afraid I have reached the limitations of my revelations for this particular century. That one must wait for another moment of terrifying clarity… or perhaps I shall simply claim the law of patrilineal descent and point out that it is only the blood of my father which can be counted towards my heritage."

"Not buying it."

"On the positive, this does mean I have a blood claim to the throne of Midgard. Do you think this will increase my chances of acceptance as sole ruler of this realm?"

"No chance."

"It's worth a try," he said and he winked at her.

"So, now that 'King Loki' has returned to his throne on Midgard, what happens next?"

His answering laugh was so loud she feared it would wake someone in the adjoining room. "I do like that. Please, it would do me well to be addressed as 'King Loki' by you from now on."

"Hmmm, I will consider it, but I will expect ample bribery and tribute in response… but you are deflecting. What happens next?"

"Ah, Jane. If it was only Midgard I had to tend to, it would be so much simpler… I do not know. I have so completely and utterly failed at what I set out to accomplish that I find myself entirely unsure what to do next. I will set out for Birnin Zana at first light and then I will return here. From there? I cannot say."

"We'll figure it out," she said.

"We?" He asked.

"You think I'm gonna let you go off on your own and almost get yourself killed again? No. Next time you set out on a mad quest for Infinity Stones, I'm coming with you."