Return From The Past

A few hours later, the five of them stepped out of a helicopter onto billionaire Tony Stark’s landing pad. Loki helped Holly out of the chopper and used his free hand to carry her suitcase. Fury, Thor and Laura were the first into the tower. Holly and Loki were taking time to admire the view. The Avengers were not happy to see Loki again, even though Thor had told them how he had helped stop Malekith from destroying the universe during the Convergence only a few months before. Tony especially looked like he wanted to strangle Loki with his bare hands. Fury still hadn’t told any of them that Agent Phil Coulson, the man Loki had killed the last time he had been on Earth, was alive and running his own team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. “Look, I know we’re all pissed off at him,” he told them, “but Holly made a rather… impressive argument that he should get another chance.” Tony snorted and went to pour himself a drink. “So, what? We’re going to work with Reindeer Games over there because of some girl?” He downed the drink in one swallow and poured himself another one. Laura glared at Tony. “Excuse me?” she asked, quietly. “Some girl? That is my daughter. And I think she knows more about what he can be expected to do than any of us.” She didn’t raise her voice but everyone was able to recognise the fire Tony had just walked them all into. Tony didn’t seem fazed. “Good for her,” he retorted. He looked at Fury. “He puts one toe out of line and I’ll blow him back to Asgard.” The rest of the team weren’t quite as vocal as Tony in their disapproval of the situation but they weren’t happy and reluctantly agreed to give it a try. Holly looked at the door where the others had entered the tower. “Loki,” she said, drawing his attention away from the skyline, “can we go inside now?” They had been standing on the landing pad for about twenty minutes and she really needed to go to the bathroom. Loki glanced behind them and stiffened. He had seen Dr. Bruce Banner through the window and was remembering his last encounter with the man. “That might not be such a good idea, pet,” he told her. “Why not?” “Do you see that mortal there?” He pointed at Bruce and Holly nodded. “My last encounter with him ended with me lying in a pile of rubble that had been the floor of that very room.” Holly raised her eyebrows. “He is… more than what he first appears.” Holly smiled. “Well, I’ll protect you,” she told him, taking his hand and leading him into the tower. When they stepped inside, Loki made sure to stay as far away from the Avengers as he could without drawing too much attention to that fact. Fury introduced Holly to them. “Captain Steve Rogers, Agents Natasha Romanov and Clint Barton, Dr. Bruce Banner, and Tony Stark, this is Holly. Her dad and I served in the Army together a long time ago.” “Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Hulk, and Iron Man,” Holly’s smile lit up her face. “It really is a pleasure to meet you all.” “I hope you know what you’re doing, ma’am,” Steve told her. “I’d hate for you to wind up hurt by him like the rest of us.” “I appreciate your concern, Captain,” she replied. “But somehow I think he has more to worry about than I do.” Tony snorted again from behind the bar, where he was nursing yet another drink. Holly asked where the bathroom was and excused herself. When she got back, she spent about five or ten minutes mingling with the team before Loki pulled her away from the group. “I fear they do not truly agree with your decision, nor do they wish to be in my company,” he told her, glancing around warily. He could tell all eyes had followed him, like they were expecting him to do something evil to her or the rest of them. “Well, don’t worry about them. Pretend they aren’t here, if that helps. The only one you really need to “worry” about, if you worry about anyone at all, is me and you know that.” She smiled at him and squeezed his hand. She started to say something else when a sharp pain in her head stopped her. “Ow.” She rubbed her temple with her free hand. She drew a sharp breath as the pain increased, taking her other hand out of Loki’s and pressing it to the side of her head. “Loki…” she murmured, as she dropped to her knees, “something’s wrong. My head… it hurts.” She started to slip to the floor from her knees when Loki grabbed her. “What is it?” he asked. “How does it hurt? “It feels like… like something is… is crawling around in my head… biting.” She curled up in his lap, whimpering quietly. “THOR!!” Loki frantically called his brother, causing everyone to jump. “Something’s wrong with her, her head; something’s inside her head. We have to get it out!” “Be calm, Brother,” Thor tried to console him. “We will call Heimdall and take her to the healers…” “What if he doesn’t open the gate to us, like before?” Loki’s eyes were brimming with tears. “I can’t… Thor, I can’t lose her again, not again. Not so soon after Mother. I can’t bear it.” He stroked her hair, ignoring the fact that they weren’t alone. “Bring her outside,” Thor told him. “We will call Heimdall. I will save her for you, Brother.” Loki picked Holly up, being as careful as he could not to make her headache worse. She whimpered again and he said, “Shush, Ulfrid, shush. Thor is calling for the bridge. We will have you at the healers in a few moments time. Please, hold on.” Laura followed Loki and Thor outside and decided to help Thor call for the Bifrost. The rest of the Avengers also went outside, curious as to exactly what was happening. “Thor…” Loki began, starting to visibly panic as the gate remained closed. “Damn it, Heimdall!” Laura suddenly yelled. “You open that gate right now! If you let my daughter die, again, your entire realm is going to pay for it! I will find a way to make you suffer!!” Everyone looked at her in shock. Loki let out a frightened sounding giggle. Before anyone else could say anything, the Bifrost opened and they were all sucked through to Asgard.

Notes