SHADOW OF DEATH
Chapter 48: Cessation
"Jane! Stop! Do not bring Mjolnir down onto the Power Stone," Thor shouted. He came running back to her from the forest, his hands held up in supplication.
"We need to destroy it," she said, without turning to face him. She was determined. In her fury, her frustration, she meant to put all her strength into her swing and ensure the Stone joined her sisters in oblivion.
"Yes… yes… but not now," he pleaded, placing an arm on hers to stay Mjolnir in place. "Please, hear me out."
She lowered Mjolnir and eyed him dubiously, even more so when she saw Hela trailing after him. "I'm listening."
It was Hela, and not Thor, who answered.
"This is known as the 'Power Stone' for a reason," Hela stated, with a nonchalance that belied the gravity on Thor's face. She paused to conjure up a flower in her palms and then she dropped her creation onto the grass at her feet. She did not hurry her approach nor force any emotion into her words.
"Mjolnir destroyed both the Time Stone and Mind Stone. It should be able to destroy this one as well," Jane argued.
Hela grimaced and she created a thorn bush rather than a flower. "Aye, though only because those Stones wished for you to destroy them – the traitors! If they fought against you, no weapon in the universe could have succeeded. This one, though, is not like her sisters. She'll take out this entire realm when she goes, and us with it – if we are fool enough to remain as we are. If you wish all our deaths, then proceed."
"Oh. That would be bad," Jane said, her eyes growing wide in comprehension. She took a few steps away from the Stone and frowned.
Thor visibly deflated and gave her a grateful smile. He clasped her on the shoulder. "We will destroy it – but we must decide the best means so that we are not caught in its demise. Let us not make any rash movements until we can confer more."
Hela, undisturbed by the idea of her own death, ignored Thor and Jane. Instead, her attention was caught by the movements of the warriors who continued their battle, unaware of the cessation in its heart.
"Oh, for the love of Helheim," she spat and she glared as if the battlefield itself had personally offended her. In a screech, Hela lifted up her hands and a wave of violet energy flashed across the battlefield. She stalked across the field, then, glower firmly etched on her face. Every pair of opponents she crossed, she caused their weapons to turn into feathers or vines and every fallen or injured soldier, on both sides, she mended and bound until they stood whole and hale before her.
"Will you rabble all cease this? I cannot think properly with you all carousing as you are."
The warriors all fell still, floral weapons still in their hands, and watched as Hela sighed in relief and marched back to the central mound where the king of Asgard still lay. Then, she walked up to the prone body of Loki and kicked him with the toe of her flower-encrusted sandal. Thor held Jane back when she protested and moved to place herself between Loki and the new wielder of the Soul Stone.
"You!" She hissed. "Asgard's bastard king." When Loki did not stir, she kicked him harder and raised her voice. "What did you do?"
When he failed to answer again, she knelt down and listened to the heart that remained silent. She frowned. In a flash of violet light, the Soul Stone enveloped the motionless king. Suddenly, Loki sat upright, spluttering and cursing and struggling to catch his breath. He received another kick to his gut from the impatient queen.
"I was speaking with you and I expect an answer," she said, one eyebrow arched and her eyes flashing in irritation.
"Pardon me if I fail to answer after my death," he retorted. He gave a wheezing gasp and struggled to catch his breath for a few moments. When she moved her foot to strike him again, he caught the toe of her sandal with his hand and pushed her away. "What is this? Killing me once was not enough to satisfy you?"
"Oh, I could kill you over and over again and enjoy it just as much as the first time," she answered. "Now, rise and answer my questions."
He took her proffered hand and shakily stood to his feet. He leaned over once and appeared to sway to the side before he thrust himself to his full height and gave Hela a mockery of a bow.
"For what burning question have you summoned be back from Valhalla, my Lady?" he asked, though he spluttered on the final words and nearly could not finish before a fit of coughing overcame him.
"What did you do to me?" Hela hissed between clenched teeth. When she outstretched her arms, it caused the sleeves of her lavender dress to hang from her elbows and reveal the pale skin on her forearms. With a flash of violet eyes, bouquets of lilies appeared in both her hands. She threw these in his face with such force that they exploded in petals. Bits of white flowers clung to his hair and shoulders and trailed onto the ground around him.
"Gave you what you sought," Loki answered, once he had forced the flowers from his face and could freely speak.
"Oh no! You, Son of Ice, you knew exactly what you were doing! You tyrant! You treacherous serpent!" Hela spat. With each insult, she continued to conjure bouquets of flowers, each which met their ends on the crown of Loki's head.
"I am afraid my senses are not what they ought to be at the moment," Loki said, between mouthfuls of flowers. He groaned and placed a hand against his chest again. "If you will remember, I was dead only a few moments ago so you will need to be more direct. What exactly is your grievance against me?"
"You bound me to this Stone! I cannot relinquish it and it forces its power through my veins."
"If you will remember, you did request that I give you the Stone."
"Trickster! You knew exactly what you were doing."
"In this case, it was more of a wild shot in the dark."
"Keep your silver tongue in your mouth, you treacherous cur! I am enslaved to the will of this Stone. Even now, I am caught in a web between all the lives that will be and have been and currently are. I cannot inflict the slightest of injury without feeling it as a wound upon myself. This much life and living things is suffocating me!"
"You say all this like it is a problem."
"You wretch! You have cursed me!" Hela shouted. She lunged at him and tried to place her hands around his neck to strangle him. However, she could not pull her fingers tight before it was her own mouth that cried out in pain and she released him. She collapsed onto the ground next to him and tried to pull the Stone from her neck. When the necklace came over her head, it materialized in a bracelet around her wrist, then as an anklet, then as a crown. No matter how she tried, the Stone refused to leave her care and only shifted form as a new adornment.
"I loathe you more than this cursed realm," she cried and pushed Loki back to the ground in an inelegant heap. He grinned.
"This suits you, Sister," he said, wielding the familiar term as an insult. "Or, rather, should I call you cousin? We are, after all, family."
"By the Norns, I have never hated anyone as I hate you right now. If I could remove your entrails from your body, I would use them to tie around your throat and hang you for the vultures to devour."
"Ah, Sister, those are but words. I cannot take you seriously unless I thought you truly meant it."
She spat curses at him again, but she dared not act on any of them for she would feel their weight against her own soul.
Oooo
Jane did not wait a moment longer before she ran up to Loki and threw her arms around Loki's neck and pulled him into her embrace.
"I thought I lost you," she said, in between desperate kisses. "You were gone and I couldn't fix it."
"Sounds familiar," he said, running one hand fondly through the patch of white in her hair. "Unpleasant, isn't it?"
"Don't you do that again. Ever."
"But with such a reception as a reward? The temptation is far too strong."
Jane groaned and nestled her head into his chest to where she could hear the reverberating sound of his laughter… and the even more glorious sound of his heartbeat. She failed to pull away, even when Thor came and interrupted them.
"Brother," Thor said with a solemn nod of his head and a solid arm placed on Loki's shoulder. "You are back, then?"
"Father sends his greetings," Loki said, not taking his eyes from Thor.
"You reached it… you travelled all the way to Valhalla?"
"Aye. You were right. It was rather an unfortunate experience to be torn back to this droll battlefield and compelled back into my broken body. I wonder at you not decrying such a return after the Soul Stone forced you back to us."
Thor's answering smile did not quite reach his eyes. "Aye. Well, our work is not yet done… nor is the Land of the Living quite ready to part with us," he said and he gave a meaningful glance down at the woman ensconced in Loki's arms.
Loki nodded and pulled Jane closer to place a fervent kiss on the top of her head. "Tis true. There are some benefits, I suppose. I do not believe Lady Jane would have forgiven me if I stayed as I was."
"Oh, don't you even joke about it," Jane said. "You are right. I wouldn't forgive you. I'd find some way to storm Valhalla and bring you back to me."
"I do not doubt it for a moment. Woe to any guardian of the dead who stood in the way of the Midgardian warrior maid!" Loki said. He wrapped his arms tighter around her waist and kissed her again. "I find it rather ironic that my permanent exile away from the land of the living was delayed by the Goddess of Death. She is full of surprises. I may come to enjoy her, if she continues as she is."
"You will, no doubt, enjoy tormenting her to the utmost."
"Of course. What other reason did she call me back to life for but to make her decry her own existence?"
All three glanced across the field to where Hela was arguing with a Chitauri chieftain and pointing angrily at their ships still zooming across the sky overhead. In a burst of violet light, the ships sank to the ground and would not gain altitude again. The Chitauri chieftain held his weapon at Hela's head, only for it to evaporate into the form of a grey snake and fall in a slithering heap onto the floor.
Loki laughed in earnest but it ended in a cough. At Jane and Thor's worried expressions, he waved them away. "Hela may have bound my fatal injuries, but she did not bother with some of the less-pressing puncture wounds. Jane, would you mind seeing if you can finish healing me properly?"
She nodded. Her blue eyes glowed when she lifted Mjolnir and began to search his battered form, infusing his body with her own strength so each cut and bruise and puncture wound would heal. When her eyes finally dimmed and she lowered the hammer, Loki stood tall and straight again. He flexed his arms and then cast a series of illusions behind him in an explosion of light and color. Then he lifted Jane in his arms so he could swing her around in a circle and place a final kiss on her temple.
"You are a wonder, Lady Jane," he said. "Thank you."
"Well, what now?" Jane asked. She pointed to where the Power Stone still lay, a soft orange glow emanating from its heart.
"It must be destroyed, but to do so is no easy task," Thor answered.
"So I gathered. Can we evacuate the army and then destroy it?" Jane asked.
"Ah, but then we fail to evacuate you and I do not find that an acceptable solution," Loki said.
"Isn't there something else we can use to blow it up?" Jane asked. "You know, like a bomb or an exploding dragon or something?"
"Exploding dragon? On which realm do you recommend we search for such a creature?" Loki asked with an arched eyebrow.
Jane shrugged. "Muspelheim?"
Loki chuckled. "The prince of Muspelheim could have proved useful at such a time as this. However, I would not entrust the destruction of such a Stone to him. He is as likely to decide to keep it as destroy it."
"What of that Midgardian magic that sent my companions and myself to the Halls of Valhalla?" Thor asked. "Did it not destroy the Tesseract?"
"You mean an atomic bomb?" Jane asked, mouth agape. "I'm surprised you'd ever want to see one of those again."
"I cannot say I enjoyed my first exposure to your Midgardian weapon, but it was quite effective in causing destruction."
"Aye," Loki said, thoughtfully. "I do not know the mechanics of it, though."
"Let us gather the Midgardians, then," Thor said.
To Jane's surprise, it was not only Shuri, Bucky, and Okoye who Thor gathered. A band of familiar faces also came and she nearly cried out when she recognized the tell-tale armor of Captain America, Tony Stark, and other Avengers who had been declared lost in the Battle of New York.
"You are alive!" she said, pulling away from Loki to gawk at the newcomers.
"So we've been told," Tony Stark said through the faceplate of his suit. "I am not quite sure I believe it. Cap, you better pinch me cause I swear I'm still dreamin'."
"But how…," Jane asked, but could not figure out how to word her question.
"Father had been gathering the greatest of all warriors from all the realms throughout his lifetime. He kept them, in preparation for the battle against Hela he knew was coming," Thor explained. "After the Battle of New York, he gathered not only myself but my warrior-companions, who fought so valiantly at my side."
"But most of them were vaporized… or buried… how is it possible?"
"Ah, Odin All-Father had his own special order of secrets," Loki said. "He must have used some of the most illicit of dark magic for such an undertaking. It is little wonder that Hela first benefited from his preserved army."
"You say 'magic' as if that should explain everything," Jane grumbled. "I still want to know how."
"Later, dearest," Loki whispered back to her. "I will happily explain it all in minutiae to the best of my abilities, but, perhaps, now is not the ideal time nor place for such a conversation."
"You always say that," she answered with a scowl. Loki twined his fingers in her and pulled her back against his chest. They listened as Thor continued to inform the Avengers of the basics of all that occurred in their absence.
"Hmmm, I believe my brother has grown rather crafty in his old age," Loki whispered into Jane's ear. "You hear how he mentions nothing of my gracious attempts to rebuild and rule Midgard after the Fall? I thought they would be quite pleased to know that, in the end, I did manage to conquer Midgard."
"Shhh, you. I don't think that bit of information would be particularly helpful right now."
"I am always helpful."
When he received an elbow in his stomach he stopped talking and only grinned at the nearby Midgardians. However, his grin was so wide and broad that it took on a nearly maniacal glint and Jane did not doubt he did it to intentionally raise the ire of his former enemies.
"Wait, so if the Avengers are back, does that mean that all the people who died in New York are also back?" Jane asked, her sudden burst of hopeful enthusiasm splashing across her face.
"Nay, Lady Jane," Thor answered gently. "Only the handful of those who impressed Heimdall and who were deemed worthy as warriors were gathered by my father."
Her face fell and she bit her bottom lip to try to hide her sudden rush of disappointment. She felt Loki's arm wrap around her waist.
"I'm sorry, Jane," he whispered into her ear.
"Yeah. Me, too," she said.
When Thor finished his explanation, he took a step back and motioned to his brother. "My fellow warrior-companions, I thank you for your service on behalf of Asgard, the Nine Realms, and beyond, this day. You have fought valiantly, both on Midgard and here on Asgard. Now, I must present you to Asgard's king. He has further questions for you."
The Avengers exchanged wary glances before it was Tony who spoke what they were all thinking. "You have got to be kidding me," he said, opening his face plate again to stare at Loki.
Loki's grin turned both calculating and defiant. He released Jane and stepped forward with a mock bow. "Greetings, Midgardian heroes. It is my greatest of pleasure to meet with you again."
"I'd like it better if we met on the other side of my arrow," Hawkeye groused.
"Thor, I hate to say it, but your family is crazy. Totally bonkers. The word 'dysfunctional' doesn't even cut it!" Dr. Banner said. He was no longer green but instead stood quietly in a discarded robe and carefully watched all that went on around him. "Why would Asgard make Loki king?"
"Well, Thor could hardly rule from Valhalla, could he?" Loki answered. "I know of very few monarchies which permit their sovereigns to rule after death."
"Except, apparently, your crazy sister," Tony added.
"Ah, well, the offspring of the House of Odin are always exceptional," Loki answered. "Now, Son of Howard. I would like to inquire more into the Midgardian technology called a 'nuclear bomb.' And how I may obtain one of my own."
"Oh, hell," Tony said and put his faceplate back on. "This day just keeps getting better and better."
"Only on condition you plan to use it on yourself," Hawkeye said.
"Ah, well, seeing how little success that reaped the first time, I doubt it would prove more successful the second. No, I wish to blow up Asgard."
"Seriously, Thor? This is who Asgard made king?"
Thor grinned. "Absolutely."