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Chapter One
"Stand down, Creature . And you may still survive this." The Queen put as much royal disdain into her voice as she could (and she had considerable years of practice), stalking gracefully around the central ornamentation in the guest chambers towards the Elf as Thor's beloved hurried to back away and hide. The Queen knew things in the castle were not going as well as they could have – many Aesir had fallen, but they had won the battle. For now.
That particular part of it, driving off the majority of the invading forces, at least. Whether or not this thing would get what it came for... Well. Frigga knew she would certainly do everything within her power to ensure it did not.
"I have survived worse, woman." Probably true, to be certain. And oh, he did not know who she was... Interesting. Understandable, given he had probably been unaware of the happenings in the Realms in recent centuries, but interesting nonetheless.
"Who are you." When you were Queen, you learned quickly how to ask without asking. Questions easily becoming statements that demanded an answer with all of the royal authority behind them.
"I am Malekith. And I would have what is mine." He was almost directly in front of her now, and both of their gazes turned to where Jane Foster was shakily leaning back against the wall. Seeing their gaze, Frigga was mildly impressed when she lifted her chin, attempting to draw on her inner strength and face down her foe even as she was clearly terrified.
As soon as their gazes moved from her, Frigga was aware of the woman darting behind the opposite pillar.
Drawing this Malekith's attention away, Frigga struck, her seiðr enhancing her blades to cause further damage.
This Malekith was out of practice. As fearsome as he may have been in the times of old – and she had heard all the stories, of the Dark Elves and their defeat (exaggerated though they had obviously been given the presence of one standing before her now) – Frigga found herself cornering him remarkable easily.
A blade held to his throat as she shoved him down on his back; however, he still did not appear to be concerned.
In fact, she would say he was almost amused.
She realised why a split second too late as his massive companion appeared silently and lifted her by the throat, freeing Malekith to straighten and step away from them both while she choked for air and cursed her momentary distraction. She should have seen that coming.
Damn Kursed, or whatever that... thing was called.
"You have taken something, child." Malekith was strolling towards Jane now, who was backing away, stumbling a little as she was unused to both the dress and most likely the danger.
Frigga may be Queen, but she was no stranger to danger and violence. She was no stranger to death.
She did not fear it. She knew no help was coming – Odin was on his way, but she Knew she would not make it out of this alive.
It had been a likely outcome when she had said she would protect her son's lover, but she had hoped...
Ah well. She had lived a long, full life. She was sorry she would be leaving Thor.
...She was so very sorry she had left things as they had with Loki. She was sorry she would not get the chance to fix things with him. To tell him once and for all that, though she had not birthed him, though she had gone along with Odin's plans and had lied to him for his entire life, she still loved him very much and that he was and always would be her son in every way that mattered.
She did not even know where her younger son was. She had not seen or heard from him since shortly after he had found out about his true parentage; she knew neither Heimdall nor Odin could See him because he did not want them to. (She was proud of him for mastering his abilities to such an extent, though she knew it had long infuriated both men. Truthfully, while she had worried for him when he hid himself away on and off over the centuries, she was glad he had the escape, short lived though those excursions to the Norns knew where were.)
She was ashamed at the little she did throughout his life with them: looking back she saw how he suffered, she saw the emotional abuse and distrust that was his entire life, but she did little to help. She regretted that now, but she was so very proud of him. She wouldn't do anything about it now even if she did somehow survive this – what was the point? Loki was gone, and she knew there was no chance Odin would actually listen.
He didn't want to speak of Loki, and hadn't done since he had awoken from his Odinsleep when Thor was banished. (Very convenient timing that when he fell into it – just as Loki finally found out the truth. In her less charitable moments, Frigga wondered if he had done it on purpose to avoid having to have a difficult – an honest – conversation with their son.)
She was so proud of both her boys. She wished she would get the chance to tell them that again, but she knew she wouldn't.
Her death at least would mean something if Thor's Jane survived – as long as Malekith did not get the Aether.
His powers were evidently not as mighty as he seemed to believe anyway, as he was still stalking towards Jane. She could hear the smirk though she could not see it, immobilised and threatened as she was in Kursed's grip.
"Give it back."
She could see Foster's face from here. She was surprisingly composed, but adequately terrified.
Frigga smirked as Malekith came to a halt in front of the human. Then he reached out one pale hand and –
Her image disappeared in a light of pale smoke and a shot of green.
Hah.
Malekith clearly came to the correct conclusion within moments, turning on her in fury.
"WITCH! "
Frigga allowed her smirk to widen, gaze settling haughtily and dripping with condescension upon him.
No, she would not be giving him anything.
"Where is the Aether?!"
"Nowhere you can reach."
He was directly in front of her again, but she would show no fear. She was not afraid to die. She knew she would be welcomed into the Halls of Valhalla, and she knew that her kingdom would not fall to this pest.
Her remaining family would ensure it.
"Your bravery will not ease your pain." He warned.
She smirked back. "I have survived worse." She threw his own words from earlier back at him.
Before he had the chance to reply, Odin had appeared – mildly shocking, there had been few possible futures she had seen where he showed up in time. No matter, she still didn't foresee her own survival.
Thor and Jane, however, would survive. Of that she was sure.
"Release her!" Odin commanded loudly and suddenly, striding through the golden double doors and pointing his mighty spear Gungnir, symbol of his status as King at the two invaders. " Release her! "
Malekith turned slowly to face the new arrival, while Kursed tightened his grip around Frigga's throat. She winced, choking a little as her hand automatically lifted to swat his away, despite knowing it would do her no good.
"Are you the new king?" Malekith didn't sound overly impressed, but he didn't seem worried about being bested either. No, he held a lot of the power here, and he knew it.
There was amusement and something almost like curiosity in his voice when next the Dark Elf spoke, glancing between Odin, then back at Frigga, and then back ahead to Odin again. "Is this your Queen, then?"
Well, that certainly answered the question of if he had known who she was before. A rather resounding 'no'.
" Kill him ." She told Odin, knowing it would mean her own death as well, but she knew the stakes here. She was not afraid. She was willing to die so that Asgard could survive.
Odin, the infuriating man, ignored her, continuing on into the room. "If it is revenge that you seek –"
"Revenge?" There was honest surprise and amusement in Malekith's voice now, then he scoffed, sounding disbelieving. "Do you truly believe I care about Asgard?"
"T'was my father," Odin spoke softly, "Who put an end to your kind."
Malekith had stopped now, and Frigga could picture the curiosity on his face as he studied her husband. "Is that what he told you?"
A father – a king – lying to his son... Oh, how she wished history did not repeat itself. She did not know why her mind went there of all places and now of all times as she knew she was about to die, but go there it did: after all, Odin himself had spread many tales of his exploits and conquests. History was written by the victors, there was no denying that.
And Odin and Asgard had written quite a history to explain how they had come to rule the Nine Realms.
"I said release her." Odin ignored the insinuation, "Elf."
" You know what I want ." Malekith snapped, clearly growing impatient with this game. "Give it to me. Or watch your Queen die."
Frigga did her best to make eye contact with her husband, her gaze steady and sure as her lips quirked up ruefully.
Her message was clear.
"You must ask yourself," Malekith began to move forwards again, and Odin's gaze dropped from Frigga's. No! Asgard could not fall. She would gladly give her life to protect them, and he knew that! "As I did once. What are you prepared to sacrifice for what you believe ?"
"Kill them." She could see the hesitation in her husband's eye, but she knew what had to be done. " Kill them ."
She knew Odin no longer believed as strongly in violence and bloodshed as the only way. She knew that he believed there to be a better solution now – that there had to be. That he was tired of all the chaos and destruction, that he desired more peaceful means and more peaceful times than when he had first conquered the Realms.
Still. She was not pleased when he put down his weapon – the spear that never missed . Yes, she would die by Kursed's hand should Malekith be killed, but Malekith would die with her, and that was all that would have mattered.
He should know Malekith would not keep his word, anyway. He had not promised not to kill her. Odin may hope for a peaceful solution, but there would be someone dying here today in this room.
That , Frigga knew beyond a shadow of a doubt. She had Seen it. At least one would die here and now.
"Kill her."
And yes, it would be her.
She felt it as Kursed's grip changed, shifting and reaching to plunge his blade into her side –
A presence she had not felt in a good couple of years now suddenly appeared behind the two of them, and she felt more than saw Kursed's head sever from his neck with the clean, strong pass of two blades, and heard the sickening thunk as it hit the ground.
She saw it bounce and roll clumsily as the now decapitated body dropped behind her, freeing her from the bruising grasp the creature had had on her and allowing her to stagger back a couple of steps and whirl around to see her son. Her son – standing there, grimy and bloodied. He had clearly fought his way through the Elves to get here, breathing hard even as his gaze assessed her, saw she was unharmed, and turned to the Dark Elves that were flooding into the room behind Odin – and Thor, who had come charging in while she was distracted and had managed to hit Malekith in the face with a blast of lightning from Mjölnir.
Everything happened very quickly after that. She, Loki, Thor and Odin were fighting through the Elves, and she was unable to get to Malekith to finish him off as one of his Elves grabbed his injured self and the pair of them threw themselves off the balcony.
Their hovering ship disappeared again, leaving the last of the Elves to fight and be dispatched.
Which the four Royals together did. Swiftly, and without mercy.
Loki was shirtless and barefoot, wearing only the customary tight dark trousers she was used to seeing him donning – though usually he had been wearing decidedly more along with them. Honestly, he was remarkably skilled with illusions: he couldn't at least have pretended to be dressed? Who went into a battle barefoot , of all things?!
He caught her judging gaze, and arched a dark eyebrow at her in return, before rolling his eyes. "What?" He asked, and she felt her heart race at hearing his voice again after so long – though that could, admittedly, have easily have been from the fight. Her blood had been up and her heart had been racing anyway. "Be glad I stopped to grab any clothes."
"Jane!" Frigga glanced away from her dark-haired (and was that even his natural hair colour in his Frost Giant skin? She didn't know, never having seen it as he had been like a normal babe when Odin had first brought him home to her) son to her eldest, as he hurried to help the human woman who was emerging from where she had hidden behind a pillar. She had emerged from the adjoining room where she had been hidden during the final parts of the fight, and was looking shaken at all that had just transpired. "Are you alright?!"
"I-I'm fine," She gave him a shaky smile, accepting his arm and leaning into his side. This was a lot of violence. Frigga wasn't sure how accustomed regular Midgardians were to seeing such things first hand, but she supposed that seeing such violence in a palace was the last place she would have expected to come across such carnage.
Satisfied that his lover was alright, Frigga saw Thor's hungry gaze turn to Loki. It had been... How long had it been since the brothers had seen each other? Since they had had any kind of communication between them whatsoever? She didn't know for certain, but it was probably longer than she and Loki, what with Thor having been banished when Loki had left the palace initially. Since he had left Asgard .
"Loki," If Thor's voice shook a little, nobody commented on it as Odin went around ensuring the Elves were all dead and then stepped outside to call for a guard and find out what was going on. "You're alive. I was beginning to think you dead!"
"Sorry to disappoint," Came the customary snark in reply, and really, what had Frigga been expecting. A heartfelt reunion? From these two?
And after how they had left everything as a family? Norns, she wasn't even sure what all either of them knew of what had happened to the other in the days up to and including the Royal Family rupturing as it had...
At least, rupturing within their walls: outside and amongst the Court, Odin and Frigga had done their best to do damage control. It wasn't widely known that Loki was gone, seemingly for good. (They were long lived. Frigga held out hope that he would come around and return one day – preferably soon though she knew others who would disagree with that sentiment – to stay. His presence here and now gave her hope.)
Few still to this day knew of Loki's true heritage, and she was determined to keep it that way. She wanted her son to come home, and she knew that the people of the palace would not stand for it if the truth of his birth father's species' was known.
(She was unsure of who his mother was, but she was assuming she was also Jotun. She had to be, surely. Who else would ever lay with a Frost Giant? She sometimes thought Odin knew back when he had first brought the babe to Asgard, but he had never said and she hadn't pried. He had seemed... Well, troubled wasn't the right word. Wary wasn't really correct either... She would have said he was almost sad, but that wasn't really a word that many would attribute to the All-Father.)
"Why does that human have an Infinity Stone within her?" Loki continued, completely ignoring what should have been a family reunion and focusing on the rather more pressing issue right now. Not that Frigga could blame him, but she was a little peaved nevertheless.
"Er – it's not an Infinity... Infinity Stone?" Jane spoke up, eyeing Loki curiously, and blushing slightly as she took in his rather... unsuitable for company state. The Midgardian quickly averted her eyes so as not to appear to be staring inappropriately at her boyfriend's brother (did she even know that that was who this was? Frigga doubted she had ever met Loki. She wondered if Thor would have spoken of him at all... What he would even have said if he had... Really, what he had said of any of them. Frigga knew they weren't a perfect family, but who was?) "It's something called the Aether."
"The Aether is an Infinity Stone, apparently." Loki replied, holding back his sass that Frigga (well used to him and his brother both) would honestly have been expecting to come out. Then again, he had always been the rather more diplomatic and politically-minded of the pair as opposed to Thor's uncontested 'hit them first and harder than they can' approach (and really, she was beginning to think she should have talked to him about that sooner... He would, after all, one day be king – would already have been king were it not for those unfortunate events at his coronation – and she had always known that.).
Loki's head tilted as he studied the human, and Frigga wondered how he knew all of this. It had not, after all, been included in their education past the bedtime stories she had used to tell her boys.
Then again, Loki always had been an avid reader, and more inclined to studies than spending all day every day training to fight. (Though he was certainly no slouch in that department either, not anymore.)
And she had no idea what he had been doing or where he had been since he had left shortly after Thor was banished. When he had learned the truth of his parentage, and Odin had fallen into the Odinsleep. When she had told him that the Regency fell to him now with Thor banished, and he had turned her (and the councilman there to bestow Gungnir upon him) down and walked away.
She still wasn't entirely sure how she felt about that.
"The – what? The Reality Stone, perhaps?" Loki mused to himself, head still tilted and studying the Midgardian.
"Oh – Stones? Is that the stones your father mentioned earlier? The 'relics from before the dawn of time', or something?" Jane turned her searching gaze up to Thor, who glanced down at her with a distracted smile.
"Yes – yes, I believe so."
"So? Why does the human have one in her?" Loki repeated, sounding a little impatient now, and Jane turned on him with a scowl.
"Sorry, but who are you?" She had fire, this one. Perhaps not entirely appropriate given the circumstances and the royal family whom she was addressing, but it was amusing nonetheless, especially from a little mortal woman.
"Loki." Said God did not get the chance to reply, as Odin had returned and was scrutinising him closely. There was... something in his eyes. Even Frigga wasn't entirely sure what it was, nor what her husband truly thought of this particular son. She knew he loved him in his own way, but... Well, she had always rather thought he had been wary of him as well – understandably, given Odin's own history with Jotunheim and Loki's birth people.
He hadn't been very impressed when she had begun to cultivate their son's natural magical talents, but she had managed to convince him it was the right thing to do.
(She knew Loki had gotten a lot of flak for his skills over the years, and that Lady Sif and the Warriors Three, despite what Thor claimed and the courtiers and councillors thought, were not really his friends. That they derided him and were most likely jealous, but had turned that jealousy to contempt and even outright hatred especially in Sif's case.
And she knew that he thought all four of them were complete morons, and that he made no secret of that fact. He had spent his entire life trying to fit in on Asgard, and being blocked at every turn.
He had decided that enough was enough a few years ago, though she had felt him pulling away even before that, having had enough of his treatment but having nowhere else to go previously – or so she had thought.
With the truth of his birth and everything they had been lying to him about his entire life out? Well, she couldn't exactly blame him for leaving and never looking back, but she desperately wished he had not done so.)
(She wished she had not understood the need to put him down constantly. Wished she herself had never felt that small inkling that maybe... maybe they should be wary. That he was, and would always remain, a Frost Giant.
She wished she hadn't bought into that propaganda in any way at all.)
Loki stiffened as the All-Father entered, and turned slowly to face him. His back was straight, his expression unreadable but his jaw and eyes were hard. "All-Father."
Not Father. Never again Father.
Frigga wondered if he would ever call her Mother again...
"You have returned."
"Obviously."
"Show some respect -!"
"Shut up, Thor."
Jane was looking between the pair curiously, watching as the family drama unfolded in front of her. This must be far more than the human had been expecting when she had been looking for a way to find or contact Frigga's son again...
First coming into contact with the Aether, of all things, and then finding herself in the middle of a millennia old family feud that many of the members of said feud had barely been aware was going on.
"He is our father -!"
" Your . Father." Loki snapped back, words cracking through the air like a whip as he turned a suddenly blistering gaze on his brother. "Oh, he did tell you the truth of my parentage, did he not? Or has he lied some more, I wonder?"
The God of Mischief and Chaos' tone was mocking now – as it so often was as he grew up and began to become so utterly disenchanted with everything and everyone around him on Asgard and the Nine Realms – and Jane looked at him in sudden curiosity.
"Wait – your father? Is this your brother, Thor?" Her tone didn't really give away what she thought of Loki, and Frigga found herself wondering what she had heard about the man.
After all, Thor had not known Loki was a Frost Giant when he had met this mortal, and as far as she was aware the two lovers had not seen each other until now since they had parted back then when Thor had been banished.
She wondered idly if the Midgaurdians even knew the horror stories of the Frost Giants anyway. As far as she was aware, the Aesir themselves were old mythology of the Norse people – Frigga and her family were old mythology of the Norse people. Though she could, of course, be wrong there...
No matter. Whatever she had heard, she doubted it was too close to the reality of Loki. (She had heard some of their myths many years ago... Some were... questionable, to say the least, given they were about people she knew. They hadn't even got their familial relationships right!
Though how they had known of a connection between Loki and Frost Giants, she would rather like to know...)
No, whatever myths Jane Foster had heard, they would not be true to her boy as she knew him.
(She refused to accept that her son may have changed drastically from the boy she had always known and loved. She had no idea what he had been doing or where he had been, but she knew that that little boy was somewhere inside him regardless. That her little boy was still in there somewhere.)
"Adopted," Loki drawled, eyebrow arched as he regarded her quizzically again. This time, however, he seemed to be taking her in in the context of her leaning into Thor's space... The context of how and why she knew his brother. "Ah, you must be the mortal Thor fell for. Curious. An astrophysicist, no? I've heard of your work on gravitational anomalies. Not bad, I'll admit – groundbreaking, on Midgard, I believe?"
Jane's jaw had dropped – and Thor looked moments away from the same. Frigga found herself equally startled: Loki knew of Thor's woman ? He had heard of her research ?!
Curious indeed...
"You – I – how ?" Foster stammered, and Loki's lips quirked up into a smirk.
"Thor is not the only one to have visited Earth, Doctor Foster. I, however, have left rather less of an... ah, impact , shall we say? Upon my own visits. S.H.I.E.L.D. at least did not know of my trips there – nor my existence, really, prior to Thor's rather abrupt and loud entrance."
"You've been to Midgard?" Thor looked surprised. "Recently?"
"Impossible," Odin snapped, inserting himself into the conversation again. Frigga shot her husband an irritated look. She knew he regretted how things had worked out with their son, but this was not the way to go about fixing any of it. She knew the pair of them tended to rub each other the wrong way, though, and doubtless everything that had happened and all that remained unresolved between the pair of them – all four of them, really, as a family – would just make that worse. "I would have Seen it."
"Really." Came the dry reply, Loki not sounding very impressed at all. "Tell me, Your Highness , have you always been able to See me? I was rather under the impression that I am more than capable of preventing both yourself and Heimdall from Seeing me whenever I so wish."
Odin's jaw clenched, and Frigga knew he couldn't truthfully argue that point. After all, though the All-Father had frequently Looked, he had not been able to see Loki at all since he had awoken from the Odinsleep to find him gone.
"Regardless, I have been visiting Midgard for a while now. I find the people... Interesting." He smiled slightly at Jane. "And your scientists are an entertaining diversion as well. I have become acquainted with a few, and have been working with them in recent times."
Jane looked intrigued now. "Anyone I know?"
Loki shrugged. "I am unaware if you would know them personally. Heard of, however, I am sure you will have."
He did not expand beyond that, instead looking around at the carnage they had left, and shaking his head slightly. "Now, if you will excuse me. I left in rather a hurry when I became aware of the attack, and did not have time to dress. I will return shortly and we can continue this... conversation. I am very curious to know how you came to have the Reality Stone residing within you."
With a brief green and gold flash, Loki disappeared, Shadow-walking back to – well, back to his chambers presumably.
(And why had he even been undressed in the middle of the day? When had he even returned to Asgard?
Why had Frigga not known her son was back? )
Frigga noted the brief indecision on Thor's face, before he squared his shoulders and left the room in a hurry. Jane trailed behind him, looking anxious and probably still shaken from the whole encounter and battle, though she had been away from much of it.
Frigga figured he was probably headed to find Loki. She knew he had missed his little brother, that he had been torn up over what had happened when he had found out the truth. That, while it was true he had officially been travelling the Nine Realms to restore peace after the bifrost was temporarily out of commission, he had also been looking for Loki as a more personal side quest – and having no luck.
She thought she would give the pair a little time before cornering her youngest herself. Yes Jane's presence may not be ideal for all that the brothers had to talk about, but a brief salve on that wound would no doubt have to do for now anyway. After all, they did have rather bigger problems currently.
Leaving the room with Odin, Frigga headed to take care of palace matters and find out the state of both their defences and their people after that battle.
They may have won this round, but she knew there was far more yet to come. Malekith was not the type to give up easily.
***
Asgard so far had been... an experience. Some good, some bad, some neutral – though, mostly Jane had been stressed and worried the entire time, so she wasn't feeling too positive about the place at present.
That fight had been terrifying, and she hadn't even been in the room. She had seen Frigga's – the Queen's , God – fight with... Malekith? Was that what he had said his name was? She had seen it all through the weird magic link thingy that the Queen had set up – she had said something about not actually needing Jane to be able to see anything when she cast her illusion, but that it would be rather more convincing if it was actually Jane who he saw.
She was intrigued by all this magic she was seeing and hearing about, even if she didn’t (yet) understand it.
Obviously it wasn't actually magic. It couldn't be – there would be a logical scientific explanation for it all. She refused to believe any differently.
After all, the Bifrost was explainable scientifically – she had proven (and was still further proving) that herself with her groundbreaking research.
...And apparently Loki (Thor's adopted brother? He hadn't mentioned that part when they had briefly spoken of him before) had heard of her research? Knew who she was?
Yeah, she was intrigued by this brother, but mostly because it seemed like the others didn't really trust or maybe even like him.
Odin certainly hadn't been happy to see him, as much as Jane had been able to read him so far (so not nearly as much as she would have liked, but she had never claimed to be great at the whole 'people skills' thing. She was a scientist , for gods' sake!).
Frigga... Well, Jane thought she had been pleased, but that could have had rather more to do with the fact that the man had saved her life. (And Jane had noticed that nobody had mentioned that – not even a word of thanks. It had been utterly ignored. Seriously, what the hell?)
As for Thor, he had seemed conflicted. On the one hand, she could see that he had clearly missed his brother. On the other, she had rather gotten the impression before that he had written him off, what with that 'my brother is gone' comment to her earlier when she had asked after him shortly after reuniting with her... boyfriend? maybe? and then refusing to speak of him further (that taking on a rather different meaning to her now that she knew said brother was not , in fact, dead, as she had half believed when he had said that).
Nevertheless, whatever had happened between this (seemingly seriously messed up, what the actual fuck, had Asgard never heard of therapy? And that was just with the very little she knew so far...) family, it was pretty big she was guessing.
Had the brothers really not known Loki was adopted?
She decided to speak up as she followed Thor through the corridors of gold, evidence of the recent fight everywhere they turned. She hadn't wanted to stay in the room with just the King and Queen (the King was a condescending prick, and she was still undecided on how she felt about the Queen, but she had at least liked her better than she did Odin), so she had followed after Thor when he had left abruptly. She didn't know where he was going, but he hadn't told her to leave him alone yet, so she was sticking with it.
"Loki's adopted? It sounded like you guys didn't know?" She phrased it as a question, but it was more of a statement really.
Thor glanced back at her, then sheepishly slowed his stride as he noticed her having to hurry to keep up with him. Thank God for small mercies. Er... no pun intended. Seriously, was it weirder to think she was dating a god, or dating an alien? She's have to come back to that one, she was still undecided... (And were they dating? Talk about long distance...)
"Yes. We... We did not know. Mother and Father raised him as their own, and it was apparently only recently that he found out. I am not sure of the specifics as to how, though."
"Must've been hard," Jane mused, more to herself than anything. "To believe one thing all your life, and then to suddenly find out it was all a lie?"
"Father lied to protect him." Thor retorted sharply, before gentling his tone a little as he brushed off that automatic impulse to defend his father in all things and remembered who he was speaking to. "I do not know what your people know of the Frost Giants, but they are monstrous creatures. Loki... If Loki's true species had been known, the people would have turned against him."
Jane looked round at him in surprise. "Wait, what? Loki's a different species ? Like... Like you and I are a different species?"
"Indeed, though Loki is of course not mortal. Father said he was rescued as a babe at the end of the previous war with Jotunheim, and taken to Asgard to be raised in a civilised way. To ensure he would not become the monster he undoubtedly would have had he grown up with his own kind, as he would be better educated on the evils of the Jotun – the Frost Giants – than that on Asgard."
Oookay.
"Um, rescued?"
"Father said he was left in their Temple to die as a babe. He was their king's only son, I think – a sacrifice, no doubt. Or just disposed of as a runt."
And wow, that raised all kinds of red flags to Jane's human perception.
Bloody hell...
"Um... again, rescued ? Left to die in a Temple ? Are you sure that's what it was?"
Sounded a lot more like kidnapping the heir of an enemy kingdom if Loki truly was this other king's maybe-only son and raising them to hate their own kind to Jane, but that was her human background colouring her perception – as it obviously would, just as Thor's Asgardian upbringing was very blatantly colouring his. Maybe things were done differently here. (If they were and any of that was viewed as a good thing, then Jane did not much like that 'difference' so far. Perhaps she just wasn't understanding.)
"Father said that is what happened, and I believe him." Thor replied smartly.
"Did you ever try to find out yourself?"
Thor gave her a funny look at that. "Why would I do that? Father lived it, he knows what happened. And how would I even go about it? Loki was far too young to remember, he didn't even know he was not Aesir until recent years."
"Well, did you ask the – sorry, what was it? The Jotun? King what happened? Oh – is he still around? Do the Frost Giants live as long as you guys do? How old is Loki, anyway?"
"Loki is a few years younger than I – not many, but younger." That had clearly always been a thing: Thor was the eldest, Loki was the youngest. Typical sibling thing – she guessed: she was an only child herself, so had no first hand experience. "And yes, I believe he is still alive – or he was when I was on Jotunheim prior to being banished to Midgard, at least. A cruel king, they say, who is a heartless monster, especially after he lost the war."
"Did he tell Loki he's apparently his son?" Heartless monster after losing a war, huh... Losing his infant son to the enemy as well, by the sounds of it. Also: was this king a monster, or was that victor propaganda against their conquered enemy? It was a tale as old as time, after all: history is always written by the victors.
Thor shrugged. "I know not. I do not believe Lauffey – the king – was aware his son had survived. He made no mention of knowing who Loki was when he accompanied me to Jotunheim."
"Oh..."
Well, this impromptu trip had certainly not been boring , that was for sure. She hadn't been expecting all the family drama, though. She had quite enough drama personally at the moment to be getting on with, thank you.
"Uh, where are we going anyway?" She felt the need to ask, needing a change of subject before she got too distracted from her bigger problems at the moment.
"Loki's chambers – I assume that will be where he will be," Thor glanced down at her by his side before he came to a sudden halt, looking momentarily worried. "Unless you do not wish to be near him? I would understand, the Jotun are said to be cruel, heartless monsters. You do not need to be in his presence if his blood bothers you."
Jane arched an eyebrow at him, unimpressed despite his clear earnestness. He honestly believed the crap he was spouting... "We do not have the horror stories you speak of on Earth, Thor. I know very little on these supposed 'monsters', and as far as I am concerned Loki is your brother, and he just saved your mother's life. No, I am not uncomfortable seeing him. I would very much like to meet him properly, in fact."
Looking momentarily thrown by that, Thor nevertheless nodded his head and they began to walk again.
Jane wasn't able to keep silent for much longer. If she did, she would start worrying about the Elves and what they wanted her for again, and she very much did not want to go down that particular rabbit hole right now.
So distraction it was.
"Did you not know Loki was in the palace? You all seemed surprised to see him when he showed up back there."
"I did not know he was in the realm, let alone the palace. From what Mother said, Loki left Asgard when Father fell into the Odinsleep shortly after I was banished."
"Is that when he found out about his adoption – and, er, species, I guess?"
"Indeed. As only remaining apparent heir, when Father fell into the Odinsleep, Loki was given the Regency. According to Mother, he turned her down and walked out, forcing her to take up the mantle once more instead. He hasn't been seen in Asgard since." Thor sounding disapproving, but Jane didn't really notice.
"Probably a smart move," She remarked, and saw him look at her in surprised confusion.
"What was?"
"Walking away – not taking on the Regency?" She rolled her eyes internally at his look of blank confusion, then gave him a slightly pitying smile and elaborated: she knew he was a warrior from a warrior culture, but the little they seemed to think of mental health or implications that she had witnessed or heard about so far... Was Asgard like armies she had heard of last century during the War when they shot people with PTSD because they didn't know what it was and just thought those poor people cowards? God, she hoped not...
"Come on, Thor. He had just had his entire world turned upside down. Learning that he was actually one of the monsters he had been taught his entire life to fear and hate – he was, wasn't he? You both were – at least, that's the impression I'm getting from your tale."
Thor shrugged. "We grew up trained in the peoples of the Nine Realms and the previous wars, it is true. The Frost Giants and their natures were part of that training."
"Right." And Christ, what parent raised their child – adopted or not – to hate their own kind? That was all kinds of messed up in Jane's opinion, but she supposed she only had Thor's (third hand in some places by the sounds of it, if even) take on it so she wasn't about to judge too harshly. At least Loki had apparently genuinely been raised as their son and a prince, and not just as a prisoner for a potentially horrifically long time when she thought about it... How old were Thor and Loki anyway? She knew they lived longer than humans – Loki must too, despite his apparently differing species, if he was just a few years younger than his brother as Thor claimed. And this was so interesting, she really wanted to know how that all worked scientifically... What made the different species different? Everyone here looked human enough, after all.
"Well, to suddenly learn he was a 'monster' and that his so-called parents had lied to him his entire life? And then to have the responsibility for an entire kingdom thrust on him on top of all that? No, it was probably for the best that he walked away. I mean, imagine how messed up he must have been! I can't even imagine what he must have been going through..."
And she had the horrible feeling that he had had no one to turn to, either... It certainly seemed like none of his so-called family had been there for him.
Thor: banished to Earth.
Odin: in the 'Odinsleep', whatever that was.
Frigga: his mother , probably admitting she had lied to him his entire life, but then saying 'hey, forget all about that; you're king now! Yay!'
...Yeah. Guy was probably pretty messed up.
And she had been hoping for less depressing thoughts, not more! Why did she even care about this virtual stranger who she had met a grand total of one time, and that not even five minutes ago?!
Well. She supposed his story was interesting – tragic, but interesting – and he was, after all, her sort of boyfriend's little brother. Things that affected Loki were bound to play a part in Thor's life as well, and therefore potentially hers.
Yeah, that was probably it.
Also, she was just getting more and more evidence to add to her 'Odin's A Dick' box.
Not that she would be just taking this into account: she was, after all, first and foremost a scientist. She would need to get all the facts, or at least multiple points of view, before making any kind of decision on him or any of the events Thor had so far brought up for herself.
(At least, that was what she was attempting to convince herself. From her own observations so far, Odin was most definitely a dick with a superiority complex. He had called her a goat !)
Chapter Two
As Thor had guessed, they found Loki in his rooms.
Jane, who had been getting used to the lavish architecture around her that seemed to be everywhere on Asgard, wasn't too surprised by them, though she was by the amount of books there.
Upon meeting Thor, she hadn't really got the impression that he was much one for reading. Nor had his warrior friends given her any indication that they were less 'jock' more 'nerd' with their mannerisms and the limited interactions she had had with them – stereotypical of her though that may be.
His brother, it seemed, was quite the opposite. Oh, she had no doubt he could kick her ass – she had seen those lean muscles (and a crown prince walking around half naked? That kind of thing would definitely cause a scandal on Earth! She had seen Frigga looking at him disapprovingly, she supposed, so it probably wasn't a done thing here either. Assuming he was a Crown Prince...? To be honest, she wasn't even entirely sure what that meant, and even less so in an alien context). And she had also seen him fight back there; he had easily kept up with the others. She knew nothing about fighting, but she didn't think that he was a novice by any means, not fighting like that.
(And did all Asgardian chambers have a small entrance hall like thing for each person's rooms - plural , apparently – or was that just for royalty?)
The bed in the room they entered after the antechamber thing (she was assuming), large and ostentatious though it would have been on Earth though it fit in here well, was rumpled and in disarray when she and Thor walked in after knocking two quick raps and without waiting for a reply.
Jane also noticed the delicately woven shawl that she almost tripped over on her way into the room, a style that she thought she had seen a few women around wearing during her limited time here, as well as a gold necklace tossed to the side of the covers where they were half on the floor. Paired with the generally rumpled bed...
...Yeah, that might explain why the prince had been undressed in the middle of the day. Jane held back a snort, looking at the man in (judging, admittedly) amusement in time to catch an eye roll as he pulled a dark green and gold-trimmed tunic-slash-jacket... garment on. She did not know Asgardian fashion terms.
"Come in, Thor. I'm not busy, Thor. Of course you can just barge in, Thor!"
Well, the sarcasm was certainly strong with this one...
Jane had opened her mouth to apologise reflexively on behalf of both of them when Loki turned around to face them, glowering at his brother. "Be glad my warding isn't up."
"I could have got in," Thor scoffed, boasting as his larger-than-life persona came out in full force, but Loki just rolled his eyes again.
"You really couldn't have. What do you want?" He was pulling on long boots now, and arched a dark eyebrow in their direction when Thor hesitated for a moment to answer.
"How- How are you, brother?"
"Spectacular. And yourself? I see you've managed to get back to your lovely lady friend, congratulations on that. Good talk. Goodbye."
He brushed past Thor as he moved across the stone floor to a large desk behind him, but Thor just rolled his eyes. "Brother, please. It has been... It has been a long time since we have just talked together."
"Mm, several hundred years probably." Loki picked up a book and flicked through it, then tossed it down and picked up another. His back was to them, so Jane couldn't see his face.
Somehow, she didn't think she'd be able to read much from him even if she could see it. She hadn't been able to back in the guest quarters where they had had that horrible fight.
Thor scoffed at that, irritation rising. "You know what I mean! Why did you leave Asgard?!"
"Why would I stay?"
That deceptively simple question shut Thor up momentarily, the wind visibly going out of his sails as he gaped soundlessly for a long moment, clearly unable to comprehend what he had just heard. " What ?! What do you mean, 'why would you stay'?!"
"I mean exactly that, Thor. What exactly do I have here to stay for? Before, I only stayed because it was expected of me. You want the truth? I would have left a long time ago if I had had anywhere to go, or if I didn't still – after all these years and the constant disappointment – think that maybe, just maybe, things might get better.
"...If I didn't care about the people.
"But now? Now I know there is nothing here for me, and that there is no reason I should stay. Now I know that everything I thought I knew was a lie.
"So tell me, Thor: had you been in my position – looked down upon your whole life, never good enough, never knowing why, always in the shadow of someone else, someone everyone believes is better than you in every way and makes no secret of that belief," He was sneering now, as he had turned to face them. "If you had spent your entire life hearing about how all Jotun are monsters, how they must all be killed, hearing from your own supposed brother that he will one day hunt every last Jotun down and kill them while your 'father' watches on and approves, encourages it... Only to find out that you are one of those very monsters that everyone around you so clearly hates?
"Why would you stay? Would you stay?
"No, Thor. You do not get to judge me for finally, finally walking away from a bad situation. You do not get to judge me for leaving when I find out that everything I have ever known was a lie. That, despite what we were told, told that we were both brought up to be king, that I was never going to be.
"Did you know I never even wanted to be king? I only ever wanted to be your equal.
"Well, we both know that was never going to happen. Not here. I think we've rather proven that over the years, hm? I mean, how many times have I done something better than you – a fight, some study, a diplomatic trip, anything – and been entirely overlooked and dismissed for it, while you have been praised? How many times have your mistakes been brushed over and forgotten, but mine have been dragged out and punished, have been made into bigger than they actually were?
"So...No. You don't get to judge me. I left because it was the best thing to do. Maybe not for Asgard, but I have spent too long thinking of Asgard and the people around me overall and not of myself. I'm not a saint and I will never claim to be, I know I have done questionable things, but at least I own that. I admit it.
"But I needed to leave, Thor. Do you understand that? This was a very long time coming. I think if I hadn't been prince, if I hadn't been expected to stick around despite everyone hating me, I would have left a long time ago."
Loki deflated abruptly, looking wry and worn out. "I did not mean to say all of that. Forget it – I know what you meant. You think I should have stayed."
"Well...yes." Thor clearly wasn't really sure how to handle all that Loki had just unloaded on them, he only knew and processed in that moment that he didn't really agree with it. "And nobody hates you!"
"You have a very narrow view of the world, Thor – and this is not new information, you always have. And, ok , maybe hate is a little strong a word. But they certainly don't like me.
"Why would they? They have you, the 'Golden Boy', whose messes are always cleaned up by someone else and who everyone wants to forgive and to believe the best of."
"You sabotaged my coronation!" This had been a niggling suspicion of Thor's for a while now, but he had never actually confirmed it. After returning and finding Loki gone, with no one either able or willing to tell him where he had disappeared to... Well, he hadn't really wanted to bring it up. No one was really speaking of him – it had been strange.
Then when he had learned the truth of his little brother's birth...
"I did, yes. To prove a point. To prove that you were not ready to be king.
"Like I said: I was thinking of Asgard. And I was right, wasn't I? First thing you did was try to start a war. That was not in Asgard's best interests, and anyone could see it was going to happen sooner or later. You have never bothered with diplomacy."
"I would have had you by my side as advisor!"
"Why does everyone keep saying that? Do you honestly think you would suddenly have started listening to me when you were king, when you never have before? No, Thor: advisor or not, you would not have taken anything I said seriously. I'd say our entire lives up to this point have proved that ."
"You sabotaged his coronation to prove a point ?" Jane stared, unable to keep silent any longer and kicking herself internally at breaking this up (these two were more than a little intimidating, and she was suddenly very conscious that she was just a breakable little mortal and these brothers were literal gods , even though they weren't being particularly threatening right at this moment). She was also kicking herself at what had just come out of her mouth.
Everything that she had just heard (blatantly biased as it was, but of course it would be), everything she could have commented on, and that's the part her mouth chose?
Loki's head turned towards her, and she suddenly found herself more or less speared on his green gaze. It was an unsettling experience. "I did, yes."
"I... But what did you do?"
He tilted his head to the side as he regarded her, and she thought he seemed... amused . Prick. What was he even thinking? Probably something about the silly little mortal, and how she couldn't even grasp such trivial state matters as these.
She was getting a rather large sense of superiority from Asgardians in general. It may be influencing her perceptions a little, but she knew she wasn't wrong in them as a species looking down on her own. (Thor and his trip to Earth had certainly shown her that .)
"I showed a couple of Jotun how to enter the palace through a secret passage between the realms. They entered the vaults, Thor lost his shit and tried to start a war. I proved my point that he was not ready to be king."
As if it was as simple as that... Geez, these two were a piece of work.
"And... you thought it was a good idea to let your known enemy into the royal palace?!"
"No," Loki shrugged. "Why would it be? But it wasn't as if they would have been able to take anything, and at the time I didn't particularly care if they were caught and killed or not. Propaganda, you understand? Indoctrination to believe them to be nothing more than mindless savages."
"They are mindless savages!" Thor snarled, unable to keep his temper in check, and Jane turned to him in surprise (hadn't he just said outside that his brother was one of these... aliens?!) but Loki just sneered at him, unimpressed.
"From where I'm standing, brother , the most 'savage' of my 'siblings' is you ."
"I'm your only sibling." Thor growled in return, but was surprised when he just got a snorting scoff in reply.
"You are not, actually. I have two Jotun brothers. Well – Half brothers. We share a father. No one seems to know much about my mother."
"Unwilling bride, was she?" Thor sneered, and Loki's eyes flashed dangerously.
(Not literally. Jane didn't yet know that his eyes actually could and did flash a couple of colours – usually when using magic of great amounts, or just as a sign to let others know his magic was stirring. Still, the expression on his face now was scary enough.)
"Have care how you speak, Thor. You have always made a habit of commenting on things you know nothing of and do not understand, but do try to restrain yourself here, difficult a task as that may be for you."
Yeah, that had been super rude... Yikes. Talk about putting your foot in your mouth, but Thor didn't seem like he was about to admit to any remorse.
(Really, why had she expected him to?)
AN:// So, that’s all I had… I’ve included some of the notes I made myself whenever I wrote this, a brief look at where it might have been going if anyone’s interested:
[Jane P O V; she and Thor find Loki in his rooms, dressing; they talk – the infinity stone, putting off their more serious needed conversations for later; she learns a little more about their situation – Loki adopted, lied to their entire lives, from an enemy planet, raised to hate and scorn his own kind... Thor been claiming will wipe out the Frost Giants since he was a child; Odin did nothing to dissuade these fantasies, even encouraging it – knowing full well that Loki was one and that he would no doubt find out one day. Shitty father, basically – figures he had to have had his reasons. Loki was, after all, raised as his son and a prince, and not as his prisoner]
{Loki has known Tony Stark for some years now – met at Bern, Switzerland at the turn of the Millenia? When apparently met Yinsen, Mia and the Exremis bombing guy as well; no one night stand with Mia – stayed up talking science and the universe with Loki; became friends over time.
{Loki didn't fall into and remain in the Mad Titan's hands, so didn't attack earth
{This story being taken as the one where the Avengers are all called in and come together for the first time
{Tony less manipulatable – told S.H.I.E.L.D. to fuck off; Rogers given only info on him that will paint him in a negative light (inc. Romanoff's bullshit personality profile) and is therefore disdainful from the start – so, pretty accurate to cannon
AN:// No idea if I would have gone into all that, but I kinda like what’s here - the premise of it anyway, if not the execution. I think I was implying Hela is Loki’s mother as well, and would have gone into that and why no one remembers, but… *shrugs* Maybe some day? I doubt it, but hey – I kinda like this one :)