To Melt The Snow, Ch14
Series: Thor (Movie), The Avengers (Movie)
Characters: Thor, Loki, Odin, Bruce Banner, The Avengers (later on)
Couple: Thor/Loki
Title: To Melt The Snow
Word Count: 2,536
Chapter: 14/19
Status: Complete
Rating: R/Mature
Disclaimer: I have no claim whatsoever on any the marvel franchises at all, I'm just borrowing them for my story that will bring me no money whatsoever. I shall be forever broke.
Summary: Loki is sentenced to death and in order to save him, Thor must take him to one of the most dangerous places for his brother to be: Midgard.
Loki shook his head to clear it and when he opened his eyes, all the screens in front of him were flashing red for a moment. “Jarvis?”
“The suit is not permanently damaged. It has sustained far worse.”
Well, that was something at least. He turned, the suit moving with him almost as if he wasn’t even wearing it, to look up. On a nearby rooftop were a group of men in full armor. He didn’t recognize the insignia, or style. They could have been from anywhere and he was left wondering if these men were from Asgard, or if they were other enemies. They were not the Chitauri, that much he was certain.
Slowly he eased from a crouching position to a standing one. “Jarvis, we must come to an agreement.”
“Of what, sir?”
“How this battle is to proceed. I know nothing about this iron suit I have been clamped in and,” He glanced to the side, seeing people scurry into buildings, but still watching, “it would likely be best if I did not leave it. I am not helpless, however.”
“What are you suggesting, sir?”
“That this ‘Iron Man’ is about to develop some new abilities. You will handle the suit, such as flying and its weapons. I will handle the magic and tactics. Agreed?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Now, a bit of flight would be desirable.”
He felt something at his feet and suddenly, with a burst, he was in the air. It felt highly unstable, not like when Thor was flying him and while he would never admit it aloud, Loki knew that he would be woefully inadequate to handle this armor without Jarvis’ input.
There was a blast of magic sent his way, none of the four warriors paying any attention to the mortals that had run below. It was an exploratory blast, testing in a way, and he wondered if they knew it was him or if they were just testing how Iron Man fought. It didn’t take much for Jarvis to get him out of the way. It did make it clear that at least one of those against him was a warrior that had a bit of magic, but he didn’t want to go so far as to say that he was a mage just yet.
“Forward, Jarvis, and land on the rooftop.”
The AI did as he was told and expertly flew forward, as if he’d been doing it for years and landed with the same panache as Stark would, on the rooftop in the middle of those attacking him. They immediately backed away and watched him and at the very least they were competent enough that they wouldn’t quite dare to rush him. One of them drew a sword and his eyes narrowed. Insignia he didn’t recognize, but the way the man held himself he could tell was Asgardian. Loki had seen it often enough when Thor had trained in their youth.
Renegades then? He cursed that he had been sent away from the tower before he could learn from the Warriors Three about how the news had been taken and what Odin had said. If the Allfather had been as resolute as he claimed before he left, determined to show his support of his sons, than these were renegades going against their king. If there was even a hint of lackluster attitude about Odin, they would not consider what they were doing to be treason. It could make all the difference when they were brought before the Allfather for their punishment.
Did that mean, however, that they knew Loki was in the suit? If they were truly just after him and not willing to start a war with Midgard, then they would be hesitant to attack. As if to prove his thoughts, one of the men tried to silently move away. Breaking away from the fight then, which meant they thought it was Tony Stark the Avenger. Loki smirked. This could prove interesting.
He teleported himself right in front of the man and even as he stumbled back, he could see the suspicion in his eyes. If they wanted him, him they would get. He did not need the Avengers or Thor.
“It’s him.”
It was the only words that he had heard them speak since they arrived. These were not young men inflamed by passion; they were older veterans that knew what their goal was and had the discipline to keep their emotions out of it. Very well, if they wanted to be serious about it, he would be serious about it.
With a flourish of his hand that would have made Stark proud, a sheet of ice appeared underneath two of the warriors’ feet unexpectedly. They slipped a little and one fell to his knee, and Loki had to resist the urge to laugh. He noted one of them, clearly the leader, rushing him from the side and lifted his arm, letting Jarvis release one of the bolts from the palm of the suit. He ducked the fourth that had come up from behind and attempted to behead him.
Loki had never told anyone that he had maintained a way to reach into the vault on Asgard, even from Midgard. He could still reach the casket of winters if he chose, but with just these four, good as they were, he didn’t think he needed to. Besides, it was too unpredictable and the risk of harming Midgard was greatly increased. The Avengers and Thor would never forgive him if a single hair on any mortal’s head had been harmed. He could use it due to his heritage, but only once or twice; he didn’t have the control or knowledge of the relic that he’d like.
Three more blasts thanks to Jarvis kept three of the warriors at bay while he dealt with the fourth. Metal screamed in protest as the sword scraped across the chestplate he wore, damaging the paint and leaving a light cut behind. He had to admire whatever alloy Stark had used that it hadn’t split like butter like he had been expecting. Loki quickly reached out and grabbed the man’s wrists before he could pull back and froze them in a mimicry of the manacles he’d had to wear so recently, thick and fierce. A kick tossed the sword over the side of the rooftop and Jarvis had him in the air as the other three reached him.
One tried desperately to break his spell, but they’d have had a better chance at moving a mountain than succeeding. Loki had honed his magical skills to a razor edge and he had an affinity to ice that made it even easier. It was as simple as breathing to him. Missiles burst from the shoulders of the suit and he followed it up as they ducked to freeze their legs all the way up to the thighs.
He landed back on the rooftop and smirked beneath the mask as he spotted Thor rushing through the air at him. A car screeched on the road below and he looked down to see the other Avengers, even Stark, getting out like hornets being provoked from their nests. The warriors seemed to think that there was no point in fighting any further once Thor had appeared and they dropped their weapons on the ground even as his brother had raised Mjolnir in his anger.
A second vehicle slid to a stop driven by Banner and the Warriors Three and Sif stumbled out. The suit was suddenly releasing him piece by piece and reforming around Stark, glowing bracelets calling them to him. Loki was left as he had been before, dressed in jeans and a loose shirt with no shoes on.
“Who are you?!” Thor demanded, stepping in front of Loki even though there was no reason to do so because they couldn’t move. When there was no response, a clap of thunder almost deafened them out of an unreasonably blue sky. “I asked who you are!”
“They will not answer, Thor, and you should know that.”
Tony joined them on the roof, now encased in his suit, as the others looked on from below and kept curious onlookers away as they began to filter out from the buildings. “Well that’s one meaning of ‘freeze’. What are you planning on doing about them?”
“Send them to father for their punishment. Heimdall!” The Bifrost thundered to life and the four warriors disappeared as quickly as they had come. Thor ran to the edge of the roof and landed on the street below in front of the four other Asgardians. “Did you know about this?!”
“Whoa, Thor, calm down,” Steve tried to placate, concerned. “Why would you-”
“What madness would cause you to think that we would be party to this?!” Fandral demanded in return, angry that he was being accused of such misdeeds.
Thor shifted after a minute and his expression calmed. “I am sorry, my friends. My temper-”
“Your emotions have always been out of your control,” Folstagg said with a smile and clapped him on the shoulder.
Sif nodded, albeit gravely. “No matter our view of Loki, we want for nothing but your happiness, Thor, and we are and will forever be loyal to you. We knew nothing of this attack. They must have taken advantage of our use of the Bifrost to follow us.”
“This is all well and good, but I think it’s about time we head back to the tower,” Bruce said cautiously, looking at some of the people that were growing bolder and pulling out their phones. “I’m sure at least one of them has some pictures of Loki and SHIELD will have to do damage control.”
“That’s a good idea. Stark, you take him back to the tower, we’ll be right after you.”
Loki stiffened. If he had to be ferried around, it would at least be less humiliating to be held by Thor. “No thank you. I will meet you there myself.” Despite knowing that he had promised not to do so to the Avengers and his brother, he blinked out of existence and landed back in the living room of Stark tower. Did they think him helpless or were they really that helpful? Then again, not everyone was privileged enough to be able to teleport.
“Thank you, Jarvis,” he said belatedly. He did not want to alienate the AI by not acknowledging what it had done, nor did he want to risk losing a potential ally.
“You’re welcome, sir.”
Not a few moments later did Thor land on the balcony with Tony and the others exited the elevator. The mask pulled back from the genius’ face and the expression was grim. A little device was suddenly in his hand and he flicked his fingers of his other hand. What he had come to learn was the television flooded to life. “We’re looking at it right now. Well, what did you want us to do?” he demanded after a pause into machine pressed at his ear before he pulled it away and clicked a button.
Fury’s voice filtered out, angry. “I told you to keep him under control!”
“Loki has done nothing wrong!” Thor defended as the others gathered around and watched the screen. Someone was staring out at them as they talked, gesturing to the minimal damage behind them. There was the battle he’d fought, which he saw no reason to be angry about. Surely they still thought it was Iron Man? Much to his consternation, whoever had captured the fight had also captured when the suit had been removed and his appearance was plain as day.
“How am I going to explain to everyone that he’s here and not in custody?!”
“That’s not exactly my problem is it? Other than pranks, Loki hasn’t done any harm. Why can’t you just tell them that?”
“Not doing any harm is not the same thing as ‘reformed’! And who was it attacking us?!”
“It was not, as you so aptly put it, attacking ‘us’,” Loki told the machine with a roll of his eyes. “They were merely targeting me.”
“I have heard rumors of a small few that were displeased with the Allfather’s words,” Hogun said seriously, the first time he’d spoken since he’d arrived.
“What exactly did Thor’s dad say?” Tony demanded. “Because he did a damn poor job of explaining!”
“The Allfather announced that Thor had chosen Loki as his future…mate, shall we say, and that when they returned of their choosing, a marriage ceremony would take place,” Fandral told them. “This came as a shock to all, but he continued by explaining that Loki was with child. Everyone now knows that Loki is Jotun, so this was…not well received by some. The Allfather made it clear that no reprisals would be tolerated and that Loki would be accepted back into Asgard with only minor punishment for his previous deeds because he had made his reparations to the mortals that he had truly wronged far more than Asgard.”
“…I did?” Loki said with a dark chuckle. “What reparations have I performed?”
“That’s what I would like to know,” Fury stated.
“So the reason they attacked was because of that?” Banner asked quietly.
“We assume partly,” Sif said with sigh. “Some feel that Asgard has been wronged enough that he deserves imprisonment at least, but others feel that he carries an abomination. There has never been a Jotun-Asgardian half-breed before.”
“Why don’t you just say that Loki is here doing ‘community service’ for what he did?” Tony said, clearly half-jesting about it. “I mean, the guy gave you the perfect explanation, didn’t he? Loki’s here to give reparations, right?”
There was a sigh from the small machine. “I’ll think of something. I can’t very well ignore it at this point, can I? Should I be expecting more guests from Asgard like this?”
They looked at the Warriors Three and Sif, but Loki’s eyes were still watching the screen instead. There was outrage from those speaking about his presence on Midgard and he had a gut feeling that what he had been so certain of ten months ago when he’d been brought to this place by Thor had finally come about. Perhaps it was his pessimism talking, but it was more than likely that there would be a riot. If the Avengers continued to support him against the populace, the people would turn against them as well. The admiration they held from the mortals could only go so far, couldn’t it?
“That is unclear,” Sif told them grimly. “It will not have settled the resentment, but I do not think they will be able to reach Midgard again. It would be safer for Loki to remain here.”
“For how long?”
She shrugged even though Fury couldn’t see it. “For the foreseeable future.”
“Perfect.” That was not a happy sounding voice and suddenly Fury was gone. Tony pressed a button, ceasing the beeping noise.
“Jarvis, be prepared to route all calls from any reporter or journalist that calls. We’re going to try to lay low for awhile.” He eyed Loki. “Try, at least.”
Loki only gave him a smirk.
Characters: Thor, Loki, Odin, Bruce Banner, The Avengers (later on)
Couple: Thor/Loki
Title: To Melt The Snow
Word Count: 2,536
Chapter: 14/19
Status: Complete
Rating: R/Mature
Disclaimer: I have no claim whatsoever on any the marvel franchises at all, I'm just borrowing them for my story that will bring me no money whatsoever. I shall be forever broke.
Summary: Loki is sentenced to death and in order to save him, Thor must take him to one of the most dangerous places for his brother to be: Midgard.
Loki shook his head to clear it and when he opened his eyes, all the screens in front of him were flashing red for a moment. “Jarvis?”
“The suit is not permanently damaged. It has sustained far worse.”
Well, that was something at least. He turned, the suit moving with him almost as if he wasn’t even wearing it, to look up. On a nearby rooftop were a group of men in full armor. He didn’t recognize the insignia, or style. They could have been from anywhere and he was left wondering if these men were from Asgard, or if they were other enemies. They were not the Chitauri, that much he was certain.
Slowly he eased from a crouching position to a standing one. “Jarvis, we must come to an agreement.”
“Of what, sir?”
“How this battle is to proceed. I know nothing about this iron suit I have been clamped in and,” He glanced to the side, seeing people scurry into buildings, but still watching, “it would likely be best if I did not leave it. I am not helpless, however.”
“What are you suggesting, sir?”
“That this ‘Iron Man’ is about to develop some new abilities. You will handle the suit, such as flying and its weapons. I will handle the magic and tactics. Agreed?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Now, a bit of flight would be desirable.”
He felt something at his feet and suddenly, with a burst, he was in the air. It felt highly unstable, not like when Thor was flying him and while he would never admit it aloud, Loki knew that he would be woefully inadequate to handle this armor without Jarvis’ input.
There was a blast of magic sent his way, none of the four warriors paying any attention to the mortals that had run below. It was an exploratory blast, testing in a way, and he wondered if they knew it was him or if they were just testing how Iron Man fought. It didn’t take much for Jarvis to get him out of the way. It did make it clear that at least one of those against him was a warrior that had a bit of magic, but he didn’t want to go so far as to say that he was a mage just yet.
“Forward, Jarvis, and land on the rooftop.”
The AI did as he was told and expertly flew forward, as if he’d been doing it for years and landed with the same panache as Stark would, on the rooftop in the middle of those attacking him. They immediately backed away and watched him and at the very least they were competent enough that they wouldn’t quite dare to rush him. One of them drew a sword and his eyes narrowed. Insignia he didn’t recognize, but the way the man held himself he could tell was Asgardian. Loki had seen it often enough when Thor had trained in their youth.
Renegades then? He cursed that he had been sent away from the tower before he could learn from the Warriors Three about how the news had been taken and what Odin had said. If the Allfather had been as resolute as he claimed before he left, determined to show his support of his sons, than these were renegades going against their king. If there was even a hint of lackluster attitude about Odin, they would not consider what they were doing to be treason. It could make all the difference when they were brought before the Allfather for their punishment.
Did that mean, however, that they knew Loki was in the suit? If they were truly just after him and not willing to start a war with Midgard, then they would be hesitant to attack. As if to prove his thoughts, one of the men tried to silently move away. Breaking away from the fight then, which meant they thought it was Tony Stark the Avenger. Loki smirked. This could prove interesting.
He teleported himself right in front of the man and even as he stumbled back, he could see the suspicion in his eyes. If they wanted him, him they would get. He did not need the Avengers or Thor.
“It’s him.”
It was the only words that he had heard them speak since they arrived. These were not young men inflamed by passion; they were older veterans that knew what their goal was and had the discipline to keep their emotions out of it. Very well, if they wanted to be serious about it, he would be serious about it.
With a flourish of his hand that would have made Stark proud, a sheet of ice appeared underneath two of the warriors’ feet unexpectedly. They slipped a little and one fell to his knee, and Loki had to resist the urge to laugh. He noted one of them, clearly the leader, rushing him from the side and lifted his arm, letting Jarvis release one of the bolts from the palm of the suit. He ducked the fourth that had come up from behind and attempted to behead him.
Loki had never told anyone that he had maintained a way to reach into the vault on Asgard, even from Midgard. He could still reach the casket of winters if he chose, but with just these four, good as they were, he didn’t think he needed to. Besides, it was too unpredictable and the risk of harming Midgard was greatly increased. The Avengers and Thor would never forgive him if a single hair on any mortal’s head had been harmed. He could use it due to his heritage, but only once or twice; he didn’t have the control or knowledge of the relic that he’d like.
Three more blasts thanks to Jarvis kept three of the warriors at bay while he dealt with the fourth. Metal screamed in protest as the sword scraped across the chestplate he wore, damaging the paint and leaving a light cut behind. He had to admire whatever alloy Stark had used that it hadn’t split like butter like he had been expecting. Loki quickly reached out and grabbed the man’s wrists before he could pull back and froze them in a mimicry of the manacles he’d had to wear so recently, thick and fierce. A kick tossed the sword over the side of the rooftop and Jarvis had him in the air as the other three reached him.
One tried desperately to break his spell, but they’d have had a better chance at moving a mountain than succeeding. Loki had honed his magical skills to a razor edge and he had an affinity to ice that made it even easier. It was as simple as breathing to him. Missiles burst from the shoulders of the suit and he followed it up as they ducked to freeze their legs all the way up to the thighs.
He landed back on the rooftop and smirked beneath the mask as he spotted Thor rushing through the air at him. A car screeched on the road below and he looked down to see the other Avengers, even Stark, getting out like hornets being provoked from their nests. The warriors seemed to think that there was no point in fighting any further once Thor had appeared and they dropped their weapons on the ground even as his brother had raised Mjolnir in his anger.
A second vehicle slid to a stop driven by Banner and the Warriors Three and Sif stumbled out. The suit was suddenly releasing him piece by piece and reforming around Stark, glowing bracelets calling them to him. Loki was left as he had been before, dressed in jeans and a loose shirt with no shoes on.
“Who are you?!” Thor demanded, stepping in front of Loki even though there was no reason to do so because they couldn’t move. When there was no response, a clap of thunder almost deafened them out of an unreasonably blue sky. “I asked who you are!”
“They will not answer, Thor, and you should know that.”
Tony joined them on the roof, now encased in his suit, as the others looked on from below and kept curious onlookers away as they began to filter out from the buildings. “Well that’s one meaning of ‘freeze’. What are you planning on doing about them?”
“Send them to father for their punishment. Heimdall!” The Bifrost thundered to life and the four warriors disappeared as quickly as they had come. Thor ran to the edge of the roof and landed on the street below in front of the four other Asgardians. “Did you know about this?!”
“Whoa, Thor, calm down,” Steve tried to placate, concerned. “Why would you-”
“What madness would cause you to think that we would be party to this?!” Fandral demanded in return, angry that he was being accused of such misdeeds.
Thor shifted after a minute and his expression calmed. “I am sorry, my friends. My temper-”
“Your emotions have always been out of your control,” Folstagg said with a smile and clapped him on the shoulder.
Sif nodded, albeit gravely. “No matter our view of Loki, we want for nothing but your happiness, Thor, and we are and will forever be loyal to you. We knew nothing of this attack. They must have taken advantage of our use of the Bifrost to follow us.”
“This is all well and good, but I think it’s about time we head back to the tower,” Bruce said cautiously, looking at some of the people that were growing bolder and pulling out their phones. “I’m sure at least one of them has some pictures of Loki and SHIELD will have to do damage control.”
“That’s a good idea. Stark, you take him back to the tower, we’ll be right after you.”
Loki stiffened. If he had to be ferried around, it would at least be less humiliating to be held by Thor. “No thank you. I will meet you there myself.” Despite knowing that he had promised not to do so to the Avengers and his brother, he blinked out of existence and landed back in the living room of Stark tower. Did they think him helpless or were they really that helpful? Then again, not everyone was privileged enough to be able to teleport.
“Thank you, Jarvis,” he said belatedly. He did not want to alienate the AI by not acknowledging what it had done, nor did he want to risk losing a potential ally.
“You’re welcome, sir.”
Not a few moments later did Thor land on the balcony with Tony and the others exited the elevator. The mask pulled back from the genius’ face and the expression was grim. A little device was suddenly in his hand and he flicked his fingers of his other hand. What he had come to learn was the television flooded to life. “We’re looking at it right now. Well, what did you want us to do?” he demanded after a pause into machine pressed at his ear before he pulled it away and clicked a button.
Fury’s voice filtered out, angry. “I told you to keep him under control!”
“Loki has done nothing wrong!” Thor defended as the others gathered around and watched the screen. Someone was staring out at them as they talked, gesturing to the minimal damage behind them. There was the battle he’d fought, which he saw no reason to be angry about. Surely they still thought it was Iron Man? Much to his consternation, whoever had captured the fight had also captured when the suit had been removed and his appearance was plain as day.
“How am I going to explain to everyone that he’s here and not in custody?!”
“That’s not exactly my problem is it? Other than pranks, Loki hasn’t done any harm. Why can’t you just tell them that?”
“Not doing any harm is not the same thing as ‘reformed’! And who was it attacking us?!”
“It was not, as you so aptly put it, attacking ‘us’,” Loki told the machine with a roll of his eyes. “They were merely targeting me.”
“I have heard rumors of a small few that were displeased with the Allfather’s words,” Hogun said seriously, the first time he’d spoken since he’d arrived.
“What exactly did Thor’s dad say?” Tony demanded. “Because he did a damn poor job of explaining!”
“The Allfather announced that Thor had chosen Loki as his future…mate, shall we say, and that when they returned of their choosing, a marriage ceremony would take place,” Fandral told them. “This came as a shock to all, but he continued by explaining that Loki was with child. Everyone now knows that Loki is Jotun, so this was…not well received by some. The Allfather made it clear that no reprisals would be tolerated and that Loki would be accepted back into Asgard with only minor punishment for his previous deeds because he had made his reparations to the mortals that he had truly wronged far more than Asgard.”
“…I did?” Loki said with a dark chuckle. “What reparations have I performed?”
“That’s what I would like to know,” Fury stated.
“So the reason they attacked was because of that?” Banner asked quietly.
“We assume partly,” Sif said with sigh. “Some feel that Asgard has been wronged enough that he deserves imprisonment at least, but others feel that he carries an abomination. There has never been a Jotun-Asgardian half-breed before.”
“Why don’t you just say that Loki is here doing ‘community service’ for what he did?” Tony said, clearly half-jesting about it. “I mean, the guy gave you the perfect explanation, didn’t he? Loki’s here to give reparations, right?”
There was a sigh from the small machine. “I’ll think of something. I can’t very well ignore it at this point, can I? Should I be expecting more guests from Asgard like this?”
They looked at the Warriors Three and Sif, but Loki’s eyes were still watching the screen instead. There was outrage from those speaking about his presence on Midgard and he had a gut feeling that what he had been so certain of ten months ago when he’d been brought to this place by Thor had finally come about. Perhaps it was his pessimism talking, but it was more than likely that there would be a riot. If the Avengers continued to support him against the populace, the people would turn against them as well. The admiration they held from the mortals could only go so far, couldn’t it?
“That is unclear,” Sif told them grimly. “It will not have settled the resentment, but I do not think they will be able to reach Midgard again. It would be safer for Loki to remain here.”
“For how long?”
She shrugged even though Fury couldn’t see it. “For the foreseeable future.”
“Perfect.” That was not a happy sounding voice and suddenly Fury was gone. Tony pressed a button, ceasing the beeping noise.
“Jarvis, be prepared to route all calls from any reporter or journalist that calls. We’re going to try to lay low for awhile.” He eyed Loki. “Try, at least.”
Loki only gave him a smirk.