Chapter 23
Thor's P.O.V:
I looked seeing Lady Julia covered in dust and dirt and grime, limp over to me. She passed out in my arms.
"Julia!" I had shouted. Eire had helped me put her on a cot, putting her in the soul forge.
"Her condition, is the worst I have ever seen. Even an Asgardian couldn't survive this. Her DNA, RNA, everything. It's been tampered with. Not to mention she has the aether inside of her. I can also see shards of the tesseract inside her body. This is to much for her. Really, the only way for her to survive, to live another day, is… Loki."
"We have to get her to him immediately." I commanded.
"Son, Loki is beyond reason. He will never help a mere mortal."
"No, Father. He will help a mere mortal. Because he has fallen in complete and utter, unadulterated love. We have to get her to him, now." I commanded, once again.
"Thor, do you think you can carry her?" Eire spoke up. I gently picked up Lady Julia, quickly, yet carefully, taking her to the dungeons.
"Loki! I need your help!" I shouted at him.
Loki's P.O.V:
"What is it now?" I said, annoyed, to my oaf of a brother.
"It's Jules." Two words. That's all it took. That, is all it took to get me to go into pure, unadulterated rage. I slowly turned, taking deep breaths, looking at my love.
"Julia, what hath they done to you?" I tapped her forehead, reading her memories. After I was done, I barely had enough time to control my rage.
I grit my teeth, glaring at anything and everything.
"What happened?" Thor had asked. He sensed what was about to happen, quickly leaving my cell. Everything in my cell flew around, and was instantly destroyed in my rage.
"Hydra," I seethed. Thor's expression darkened.
"Can you heal her?"
"As far as I know, my love will be fine. All she needs is some good rest and she'll be fine."
"Good."
And she was fine. We spent the next few days totally together. She had to sleep in the dungeons with me, because she could not sleep by herself, without memories of what they did to her at hydra. She showed me her powers. I showed I would still love her, even though she changed. I showed her that she's not a monster for leaving James. We would go back for him, together.
My mother had come to talk to me. Although it was just a hologram, I appreciated it deeply. I watched as Fandral and Volstagg delivered more prisoners to the cells.
"Odin continues to bring me new friends. How thoughtful." I said dryly, sarcastically.
"The books I sent, do they not interest you?" Mother asked.
"Is that how I'm to wile away eternity, reading?" I replied, bitterly.
"I've done everything in my power to make you comfortable, Loki."
"Have you? Does Odin share your concern? Does Thor? It must be so inconvenient them asking after me day and night." I became enraged.
"You know full well that your actions have brought you here."
"My actions. I was merely giving truth to the lie that I've been fed my entire life, that I was born to be a king." I had to keep up my lie, in order to protect Jules.
"A king? A true king admits his faults. What of the lives you took on Earth?"
"A mere handful compared to the numbers Odin has taken himself."
"Your father..."
"He's not my father!" I shout, furious.
"Then am I not your mother? Is Julia not your lover?"
"You're not. I don't know why you brought Julia in this, family does not compare to courtship, but no. She's not my lover." In the corner of my eye, I see a heart broken Julia run away. I just… what do mid-guardians call it? Oh, yes. I just majorly and utterly fucked up.
"Always so perceptive about everyone but yourself." She flickered away.
Julia's P.O.V:
I knew it. I'm such a fucking idiot! How could someone as perfect, as amazing as Loki, love a piece of shit? I ran, brushing back my tears, catching up with Jane in all this commotion. Frigga soon joins as well.
"The prisons." Frigga said.
"Loki." Thor growl. That caused my heart to shatter all over again.
"Go, we will look after her." Malekith doesn't know that I have the aether. We start looking for the king.
"Send a squadron to the weapons vault, defend it at all costs. Seal the dungeon." Odin commanded.
"Odin."
"Frigga. Go! It's a skirmish, nothing to fear."
"You've never been a very good liar."
"Take them to your chambers, I'll come for you when it's safe."
"You take care."
"Despite all I have survived, my queen still worries over me." I longed for Loki to feel that way about me.
"It's only because I worry over you that you have survived. Listen to me now, I need you both to do everything I ask and no questions."
"Yes, ma'am." She tells us her plan. I hide behind the curtains.
"Stand down, creature. You may still survive this." The Queen speaks up.
"I have survived worse, woman." Malekith barks back, harshly.
"Who are you?" My thoughts keep wandering back to Loki, back to Hydra.
"I am Malekith, and I would have what it is mine," Malekith, replies, soon finding a hologram of Jane. "You have taken something, child. Give it back. Witch! Where is the Aether?"
"I'll never tell." I jump out, fighting Malekith.
"I believe you." He grunts out. Loki was on my mind, so i wasn't completely aware of everything. Suddenly, Malekith stabs me in the back as Algrim stabs Frigga in the heart. At the same time, Thor rushes in and shoots a lightning bolt at Malekith's face, severely scarring it, he and Algrim escape and jump onto their ship before Thor can catch them.
Everything fades to darkness, as I whisper, "I love you, Loki Laufeyson. Forever and always."
Loki's P.O.V:
As soon as it happened, I could instantly feel Julia and my mother die. The only two people that truly cared for me. And the lat things I said to both of them, we're cruel. Thor came, and I felt my pure anger seethe out of my being.
"Thor, after all this time now you come to visit me. Why? Have you come to gloat? To mock?"
"Loki, enough. No more illusions." I did as asked. My hair was the nest of a rat, my foot bloody, my essence in raw, emotional pain.
"Now you see me, brother. Did they suffer?" I asked.
"I do not come here to share in our grief. Instead I offer you the chance of a far richer sacrament."
"Go on." I was intrigued.
" I know you seek vengeance as much as I do. You help me escape Asgard and I will grant it to you, vengeance. And afterwards, this cell."
"You must be truly desperate to come to me for help. What makes you think you can trust me?" I ask, curious.
"I don't. Mother did. Julia did. You should know that when we fought each other in the past, I did so with the glimmer of hope that my brother was still in there somewhere. That hope no longer exists to protect you. You betray me and I will kill you." I smile softly at the mention of Julia. I soon felt pain once again.
"When do we start?"
Thor takes me out of the dungeons, so I decide to mess around a bit.
"This is so unlike you, brother. So clandestine. Are you sure you wouldn't rather just punch your way out?"
"If you keep speaking I just might."
"Fine. As you wish. I'm not even here." I make myself look like an Asgardian guard.
"It's better company at least." I chucked dryly at that.
"Still, we could be less conspicuous." I turn him into Julia, "Hmm, brother. You look ravishing."
"It will hurt no less when I kill you in this form."
"Very well. Perhaps you prefer one of your new companions, given that you seem to like them so much. Oh, this is much better. Woah. Costume's a bit much, it's so tight. The confidence, I can feel the righteousness surging. Hey, you wanna have a rousing discussion about truth, honor, patriotism? God bless America..." I fool around, when Thor suddenly drags me behind a pillar. "What?"
Thor looks to the side and we see two Asgardian guards walking away. "You can at least furnish me with a weapon. A dagger, something!" I complain, forming a plan.
Thor looks at me and we hear a noise like a sword being drawn. Immediately I think of Jules and her swords. He slyly puts a set of heavy metal cuffs on me. Well played, brother.
"I thought you liked tricks."