Hey, all! Sorry for the wait; my internal clock got messed up this week, and I screwed it up again today, lol.
I can't believe it but we're getting pretty close to the end of this fanfiction; I've only been working on it since my freshman year of college over two years ago, lol. There will be a handful of chapters after this that will complete our story, but I will then be taking requests for any moments, before or after this story, that you would like to see. Just let me know through a review or PM me! I would love to hear what you would like to see more of.
Please let me know what you think of this chapter by dropping a moment or two! Enjoy!
TW: Brief mention of thoughts of rape. Please proceed with caution.
Loki's POV
The blood rushing in my ears was loud but not loud enough to drown out the obsessive thoughts swarming my brain. My hands shook with trepidation where they hung by my side. My entire body was buzzing with anticipation. When we had come up with our plan of attack back on Asgard, I thought I was finally going to be able to do something active, something that mattered. Now, however, I was reminded that stealth missions were a game of hurry up and wait. And I was beyond tired of waiting.
I forced myself to keep still when a strong hand was placed on my shoulder. I glanced over my right shoulder to my brother who was waiting just as impatiently by my side. We were too close to the palace to risk saying a word, but my brother's now dark brown eyes conveyed an entire silent conversation.
At my father's request, I had disguised the both of us and while it wasn't much effort to minorly alter my own physical guise as I had been doing it for a millennia, I could feel the strain of keeping up Thor's new appearance. I had darkened Thor's complexion and given him short brown hair in a cut similar to Steve's. My own appearance took up brown eyes that matched my brothers with shoulder-length dirty blonde hair. I also changed our facial features slightly so we didn't look like ourselves in wigs. It was enough to keep us safe without overdoing it.
Steve and Tony were standing only a couple of feet away, also hiding in the shadows not far from the wall of the palace. While Tony's job was to be aerial surveillance, he was also our way into the palace. We couldn't just go waltzing through the front doors; that would defeat the purpose of the stealth aspect of the mission. We also expected most entryways and exits to be guarded, and word from Scott proved our assumptions correct. We were now just waiting on Scott for a safe location for Tony to cut a hole in the stone wall of the palace to create an entrance. After he made us a way in, he would be back in the air with Rhodey and Sam.
"Cap, we're ready for the Widow, White Wolf, Spider-Man, and Hawkeye to enter the palace," Scott said clearly through the com system we were all hooked up to. This time I did jump, not used to having voices funneling directly in my ears. We had decided to go with our aliases for this mission just in case anything were to happen. We couldn't have the Dark Elves finding out their true identities even if they have never heard of the Avengers before. This fight stayed here. Thor and I had taken the aliases Arthur and Merlin respectively. No one had been able to say no to Peter's suggestion.
There were quiet confirmations from each of the four members of the first team. Again, we were left to hurry up and wait for the four of them to clear the way, do some recon, and get into position. I started chewing on my nails to keep me from saying something in my impatience. Everyone was doing their job to a tee. So far, everything was going to plan. I just needed to be patient and wait for Bucky, Natasha, Clint, and Peter to do what they did best.
Finally, Scott's voice rang through the coms once more. "Cap, I think we're almost clear here. We're ready to prepare for you, Arthur, and Merlin to enter the palace, but we make it quick; I don't want to draw unwanted attention," Scott said. "I managed to find a blind spot not far from the entrance to the dungeons. I tracked a few rounds of guards as they moved. I'll give you the signal that will give us the best opening. Our only issue is the pair of guards stationed in front of the doors leading down to the dungeons; they're going to hear a laser cutting a hole in the wall." I heard someone curse over the coms as the news of two guards being posted directly outside of the dungeons and our only way in.
"Is everyone else in position?" Cap asked through the system referring to the two pairs lurking somewhere within the palace. "Give us a description of how this place is set up." There was a moment of tense silence before Natasha responded.
"We're in position, Cap. There are two hallways running perpendicular to the doors leading to the dungeon. We're going to need a distraction for the two guards posted outside the dungeon. Spider-Man and I are in the far hallway keeping an eye on the guards as well as the hallway itself." "White Wolf and Hawkeye are in the closer hallway mirroring our position. What are your orders, Captain?"
"Merlin, when White Wolf and Hawkeye give you the all-clear, I want you to teleport into the hallway just on the other side of this wall," the captain directed, pointing to the wall on our immediate left just around the corner from the dungeons. "I know you're already expending a lot of energy holding your and Arthur's disguises in place, but I need a distraction that won't be able to be tracked, one that doesn't leave any residue. You got something like that in your arsenal?"
"Absolutely," I said without a second of hesitation, already formulating a plan. "Just give me the signal." A tense silence filled the com system as I waited for a clean entrance into the castle. When Clint gave a sharp 'now' through the system, I focused my energy and magic and quickly found myself just inside the palace walls. Looking up the hallway, I barely spotted Clint and Bucky in their hiding spots. Clint gave me a nod, and I once again focused my magic.
"This'll give them someone to chase for a little bit," I muttered under my breath as I created the illusion of five Draugar. "They're gonna come right past you both," I muttered before forcing the five undead soldiers to race up the hallway past the two assassins. The undead beasts roared, quickly gaining the attention of the two guards. I knew that once the Dark Elves caught up with the illusions they would know someone had infiltrated the castle, but it was enough of a distraction to get the rest of the team in unseen and hopefully unheard.
"Now!" I directed as soon as the Dark Elven soldiers were out of sight, and not a moment later, a laser was cutting a makeshift doorway in the stone wall of the palace. I grimaced, my jaw clenching in sudden anxiety, at the noise of laser against stone. Though I knew the AI within Tony's suit was doing its best to keep the noise to a minimum. Hopefully, my illusion would create enough of a commotion that this could be done seamlessly.
A moment after the piece of stone was dislodged from the rest of the wall, Thor and Steve were making their entrance. "Slight change of plans," the captain said as soon as he stepped through into the stone structure and surveyed his new surroundings. "White Wolf and Hawkeye; I want you both to stay up here and ensure we don't end up with any unwanted visitors while we locate the princess. Both Spiders, I want you leading the way when we get down there; we need to get this done quickly and the best way to do that is with more eyes."
No one responded to the captain's orders, just moved into their new positions. Bucky stayed on his end of the hallway while Clint silently made his way to the far end of the hallway and took up his post there. Natasha flung the doors of the dungeon wide open and slipped inside. Peter was quick to follow her into the stairwell from his position hanging from the ceiling. Despite everything I had seen in my over one thousand years of life, the sight of the young boy crawling around on the ceiling was unsettling.
With a quick glance at Thor, I followed Natasha and Peter through the door and down into the depths of the dungeon below; Steve was hot on our heels. The stairwell leading underground was cold and damp and the air was musty, even on the top step. It was like stepping through a portal between realms. The tightness in my chest that had been present since my wife had been so violently ripped away from me got tighter still at the thought of these being the conditions my wife had been stuck in for so long.
When we reached the bottom of the stairs, we were met with the sight of a singular hallway leading a couple hundred feet straight ahead. Cell doors adorned both sides of the passageway, and I could tell there were several other hallways branching off the central passage on both the left and right sides.
"We'll need to split up to cover more ground quicker," Steve said before I could shake myself out of my stupor and get my feet to move. "Merlin and Arthur, split up at the first intersection. Spider-Man and Black Widow, the same at the second intersection. I'll take the last hallway along the back wall. Be careful, anyone else could be down here. Use the coms. Make sure everyone is on the same page, even everyone above ground."
All five of us were in motion before Steve had even finished speaking. I immediately veered left down the first hallway I came across; I could see Thor turning right in my periphery. While being as quiet as possible, I made my way down the first hallway, looking for any signs of life. As far as I could hear and see, the dungeon was devoid of any living creature. The faint hope I had held in my chest for so long was quickly dissolving into nothing. While my hope dwindled, the sharp pain in my chest increased.
"Everyone hold your positions," I suddenly heard Peter hiss through the coms. I skidded to a stop, nearly tripping over my own feet as I rushed to put my back to the wall. "I hear someone; I think they're coming from the hallway I'm in now. Captain Rogers, what should I do?"
Before the super soldier could reply, Natasha's voice filled my ears. "Everyone else keep moving; I'll give Spider-Man some backup," she ordered.
"You heard the woman," Steve's tense voice commanded. "Keep moving. Widow, keep us updated." As I resumed my search down my designated hallway, I kept my ear out for Peter and Natasha's conversation as it filtered through the communication system.
"The voice is definitely coming from down this hallway," Peter confirmed. "I can't hear the person super well, but the voice sounds male. I'll have Karen enhance the audio."
"Can you have the enhanced audio patched through the comlink?" Steve pressed the young superhero.
"I don't know," Peter admitted. "I'll ask Karen." There was a brief moment of silence before a harsh, grating voice filled my ears.
"I wonder what your husband would do if he saw you in such a state, or the rest of your family for that matter. Though I guess they're not your family anymore, so it wouldn't matter all that much anyhow.
She was alive. My wife was alive.
"(Y/N)," I whispered, turning on my heel to march right down the damn hallway and obliterate whoever was speaking such words to my wife.
"Hold your position, Merlin!" Steve commanded. "Widow, move in. Do what you have to do," Steve demanded, his voice harsh and filled with malice I had never heard from the man before. There was a quiet confirmation from Natasha. Still connected even though we were a good way underground, I knew the team above ground was hearing every vile word the dark elf was speaking to my wife.
"Oh how I was hoping that old bastard Odin would have sent a team of Einherjar to rescue you, but I always knew they never would have done that; you aren't worth anything to them now. You're nothing more than a bargaining chip."
"Spider-Man, I don't know what you have to do to get me up there with you, but do it," Natasha snapped. Her voice was strained with barely withheld anger. Peter gave his ascent, and I could hear some scuffling over the line.
"If he had sent a group of Einherjar over with no evidence against us, we would had every right to start a full-out war with Asgard. We already destroyed your home. What's one more useless royal family? What do you think about that, Princess (Y/N)?"
I heard Natasha curse over the line and heard more scuffling. "Widow?" I heard Steve ask, his voice strained. Natasha didn't reply. "Black Widow, report." Natasha didn't answer, but we did get a sharp shushing noise from Peter. Once again, deafening silence filled the line.
"My only regret about this entire ordeal is that I didn't have my fun with you when I had the chance. Maybe I would have figured-"
I saw red at the words spoken directly to my wife, about something more diabolical than any other sin when the repulsive voice cut off. It was quickly replaced with a shout which was also cut off, this time with the familiar sound of a neck snapping in two.
"We're clear," was Natasha's clipped response. "Down the left hallway at the second intersection." I soon found myself sprinting down the hall the way I had come. I nearly ran into Thor as I made a sharp left turn into the main hallway. I only spared him a glance before continuing on my journey to reach my life.
All the while, I could hear some of the team discussing exit strategies as they prepared to evacuate from the palace. Vaguely, I could also hear the rattling of metal as Peter and Natasha undoubtedly worked their way into (Y/N)'s cell. But the only thing I could truly focus on was reaching my wife's side.
Not soon enough, I found myself shouldering my way past Peter who stood at the cell door, and to Natasha's side as she knelt within the cell. I would feel bad about the somewhat rough treatment of the young boy later, but right now, I could only focus on my wife. Nothing prepared me for the sight before me. My stomach was immediately twisted into knots, and I felt bile creep up my throat.
Natasha had pulled (Y/N)'s upper body onto her lap, keeping her head elevated while the red-haired woman spoke softly to the injured woman. The pale blue dress (Y/N) had been wearing that night of the attack was in tatters, barely covering the most vulnerable and private areas of her body. I could see the large, festering wound on her side, and even if I hadn't been able to see it, I could smell the scent of infected flesh. It was a scent like no other. The stench alone would have made me sick in any other circumstance, only the shock keeping the contents of my stomach where it belonged.
I crashed to my knees beside the broken form of my wife. The only thing keeping me from wailing in agony was the sight of her chest rising and falling with her breathing. Her breathing was labored and slow, but she was breathing. She was alive.
"Oh Norns," I moaned. "Oh Norns, what did they do to you?" I practically wailed. I let the disguise fade away, short blonde hair melting into raven strands, my eyes regaining their green color as I carefully pulled (Y/N) into my lap. The woman in my arms released a gut-wrenching cry as Natasha pressed a piece of clean fabric to (Y/N)'s massive wound. "It's okay, (Y/N)," I muttered. "I'm here now. You're safe."
Suddenly, (Y/N)'s frail body was being wracked with harsh sobs, the motion of the sobs forced unto her chest aggressive enough to look painful. I placed a shaking hand on her cheek, trying to calm her. Tears were pouring down my own face, falling down my cheeks and off my chin to land on her face.
"(Y/N), (Y/N), shh, (Y/N), shh, I have you now," I promised her as I stroked a shaking hand through her filthy, matted hair. "You're okay, I'm here to take you home, sweetheart. We're going home. I'm here now. I'm here." A garbled noise left her mouth as she looked up at me, her hands starting to move toward me, but she simply didn't have the strength. As she continued to try and speak, I could just make out the first syllable of my name.
"Yes, darling, it's me. Just stay awake, my love. Keep your eyes on me, my love, keep those beautiful eyes on me," I begged the woman, but I could see the little strength she still held onto was fading fast. The tightness in my chest increased tenfold as her eyes began to slip closed, fluttering in an attempt to stay open. "Darling, (Y/N), please, keep your eyes, open, please, my love, please," I sobbed as I heard Natasha, Thor, Steve, and Peter talking somewhere close to me. I could hear the rest of the team through the coms still lodged in my right ear.
(Y/N)'s eyes finally slipped closed, and I felt something in my chest shatter into a million pieces. The pain was overwhelming and all-encompassing. The only sound I could hear was that of a loud ringing in my ears.
"Loki, Loki, I need you to listen to me!" I heard my brother's deep voice order as strong hands shook my shoulders. I turned to look at my older brother, looking for support in an absolutely horrid circumstance. He too was crying, silent tears dripping down his cheeks. "She's breathing, Loki. She's alive. Put your hand on her chest," he instructed. He wrapped one of my wrists in his large hands and placed it on my wife's brittle chest. While it was subtle, I could feel her chest rising and falling as she took in air, as she breathed.
I let on a shaky sob of relief.
"We need to get her back to Asgard. Mother will be able to heal her, but we need to get moving," Thor said with as much composure as the current situation allowed for. I nodded as I worked to collect myself. "Let's take her home, brother, back where she belongs, with her family."