Chapter Text
Midgard - Present Time
'We have found him.'
They were the first words spoken by Thor when he arrived at SHIELD headquarters after returning from Asgard. The first time the thunderer had returned to Earth after taking his psychotic brother home to receive punishment for his crimes, was about a week after he had left and it was only to tell them that Loki had escaped from their dungeons. That had been 6 months ago, and they had heard nothing since then, but SHIELD had activated all their resources to scour the planet looking for the elusive would-be conqueror.
Fury called for a meeting between SHIELD, the Avengers and Thor to determine the best way to handle the recapture of Loki. SHIELD had begun construction of a special prison as soon as the news of his escape had reached them, and they had finished it a month ago. This prison was designed to hold Loki no matter what he attempted and the Council had ordered Fury to contain him in there no matter the circumstances. Asgard had proved unreliable, so they determined that they should regain custody of the criminal and that they should be the ones to punish him for the crimes committed against the humans.
To this end, Fury was insisting that any attempt to go after Loki was to be accompanied by the Avengers, to which they agreed. Thor told them that Heimdall had spotted magic consistent with Loki's signature but had not been able to see Loki himself. So they had a general area where he was to search but nothing more accurate.
"So, where is the little bastard?" Fury wanted them on their way ASAP, the sooner they had him locked up, the happier he'd be. "I'll have local Agents form a perimeter before you get there so if he makes a break for it, we'll know."
"That won't work," Thor solemnly said.
"And why not?"
"Loki is not on Midgard."
"What? What do you mean he's not here? This is the planet he set his sights on ruling, where else would he be?" Fury was incensed, if Loki was not on earth, that meant that all that manpower and funding was a complete waste of time.
"We do not understand why he hasn't attacked you already, considering his ambitions before. But Heimdall is adamant, Loki is not on Midgard. He is on a realm that lies outside Yggdrasil, called Arda. We have no knowledge of how he came to be there, as it should be impossible to cross into realms outside the Nine if one does not use the Bifrost."
"So all the funding that we put into surveilling the planet was wasted? Just brilliant, and how exactly are we supposed to get to this 'Arda' to capture Loki?"
"We must return to Asgard and Heimdall will send us there through the Bifrost. Once we reach Arda, we will have to search the old fashioned way to find my brother as that realm is saturated in a magic that makes Heimdall's All-Seeing Eye useless."
"So let me see if I got this right," Tony piped up, "Loki escaped your supposedly unbreakable custody to skip off to a planet that your All-Seeing dude can't even see?"
"Yes, that is correct. The only way we will find Loki, is to search for him once we are there."
"What's Arda like, can you give us any information?"
"It is a world of many races, and home to mortals like yourselves which they call the Race of Men. There are also Dwarves, Wizards, Goblins, Orcs and many others. But there is one we can seek out for assistance. The Elves of Arda are an old race, one of the oldest in the universe, and they are incredibly wise and knowing. If there are any that may know of where Loki would have gone, it would be them."
After more debate, it was decided that all the Avengers would journey with Thor and his companions to Asgard and then Arda. In addition to this, Fury was sending along himself with a contingent of Agents including Coulson, and a group of scientists headed by Jane Foster and Selvig to gather information and useful data about other worlds and the paths between them. If SHIELD could garner enough out of this trip, then they would be much closer to having the means and ability to detect and prevent threats before they arrived. If this also facilitated the Council's ambition to reach out onto other planets for resources and technology, then it was just killing two birds with one stone.
Millennia ago, before Arda and the Nine Realms were completely recognised as they are today
The Norns and the Valar spoke of a prophecy in the time of Buri, father to Bor, father to Odin, father to Thor. More than twenty thousand years ago, they announced before Buri and the rulers of the Nine Realms, and the Elves and Wizards of Arda, the fate of Yggdrasil with these words:
Prince of Raging Winters, Child of Ice and Snow.
Long will you suffer as you stand alone, through Darkness you will fall, until all turns to Ash.
Harbinger of Doom and Devastation, you are bound to the fate of the Aesir.
Your path is the path of Yggdrasil, the Nine will live or die by your Hand.
But let not Darkness rule you, turn to your Light, and you will stand before all as the Harbinger of Destiny.
Prince of Ancient Forests, Child of Wood and Tree.
Raise your voice in Song, to soothe the raging Beast.
Strong as the Oak, you stand through all Despair and Grief.
Your light shines as a Beacon, a guiding Force to all who are Lost.
Accept the Darkness that exists alongside the Light, and become the Guardian of All.
If unaccepted you Remain, in Golden Halls and Throne.
Then long may Darkness cover all, and all shall Rot and Burn.
Should Heart's desire be Denied, all will Crumble to Dust.
But united with your Guiding Light, Evil can take no Hold.
For if Accepted and Loved, you shall turn all Evil Aside.
Souls bound for Eternity, One cannot exist without the Other.
Light and Darkness, Life and Death, the Beginning and the End.
Entwined together, you share your Fate with All.
Your strength and Power shared, none can Withstand.
Fall and all will plunge into Devastation, Rise and all will continue to Turn.
They bid those that watched over the lands to heed their words and to pass it to their heirs, so that it may never be forgot. The Norns took special care to impress upon Buri, King of Asgard the importance of this message, that the fate of Asgard would rest upon the fate of a child, born of Ice, but raised in Asgard. Though Buri was not overly fond of the idea that his realm's future rested on one not of Asgard herself, he took note and commissioned an exquisite book to keep the knowledge of the prophecy safe for future generations.
Buri passed this book onto his son, who then passed it onto his son, Odin, so that he may prepare for the future. Alas, Odin did not heed the warnings spoken by the Norns, scornful of the suggestion that a Frost Giant would be Asgard's saviour, for who else would be a child of Ice and Snow. It was Odin that commanded Asgard's future, not a Jotun, and in his hands would its fate stay. He would allow no Frost Giant to supersede the King of Asgard.
Unfortunately, Fate had little concern to the thoughts and desires of little kings.
Eryn Lasgalen - Present Time
Loki felt a shiver work its way down his spine, something he had not felt since his escape from Asgard. He felt uncomfortable and apprehensive, a sure sign that something was happening, and that something did not bode well for the trickster. Rarely had that feeling been accompanied by anything good, so to say he was uneasy was an understatement.
These past three and a half thousand years had been the best times of his life, living here in the Halls of the Woodland King. There had been no worries that he would be found out by his family in Asgard, no threats against him from those who would gladly see him suffer, and no enemies to glory in his downfall. Only love and tender care from those he considered his only family now, his beautiful husband and his adorable children, and even Legolas's father, Thranduil, the Elvenking, was a far more welcoming presence than he had ever received from his supposed father, Odin.
When he had first started courting Legolas, Thranduil had come to him for a very long talk about his intentions towards his only son and heir. Loki bared all to his love's father during that talk, of how he was not truly an Elf, but that his talents in shape shifting were beyond par, and that his shape while in the Woodland Realm was that of a true Elf. Because of his skills he knew he could be a fertile bearer if he desired, as he had already born multiple children of rape, but that those children had all been torn from him by a less than accepting Odin. He explained that he had been raised a Prince of Asgard, but that as second-born and least favourite, he had always been scorned and belittled, before he had ever found out the truth. That in fact, he was a Jotun, the hated enemy of Asgard, but even more than that, he was the son of the King of Jotunheim, Laufey Nalson and likely to be killed on sight by any Aesir nowadays.
Thranduil was far more understanding than Odin had ever been, promising that he would always have a home here, that the Elves would accept him no matter his differences if he always thought first on the good of the Realm, and if he chose to bond with his son, his only request was that he do it as an Elf. If Loki was biologically in the form of an Elf, Legolas's fae would infuse with Loki's magic during bonding, essentially gifting Loki with true Immortality. It was a compromise that Loki was happy to give, for he knew that as long as his love did not suffer a mortal wound, then he would outlive Loki easily.
Another promise that the Woodland King was more than willing to give was that any children born of their union would never be taken or kept away from their parents and treated with the respect a prince or princess of the Realm deserved. Thranduil also promised to respect his previous children, even though it was unlikely that they would ever be free enough to journey to Arda.
When he had first arrived on this Realm, he had been badly wounded in many ways and had suffered terribly before he could accept help from those around him. The Elves though, were perhaps the greatest healers in the cosmos and after many months he had finally been as whole and as healthy as he had ever been. Thranduil and Oropher had even secured the help of the most noted of Elven Healers, Lord Elrond, to help his guest recover from the terrible ordeals he had endured.
Although Elrond was more than exceptional in healing the body and the spirit, due to the suffering of his mind the Elvenking had also extended his request to Lady Galadriel to help in healing his fractured mind. He had left no stone unturned in seeking all who may assist in Loki’s recovery, up to and including calling on the Wizard Mithrandir. The gratitude Loki felt upon his recovery for a people who owed him nothing was immense, and he had repaid them with the only thing he had left, his loyalty and his skills in Magic. During this time, he had at first, befriended, then fallen in love with, Prince Legolas of the wood elves.
Loki had never been happier in all his five thousand years, the love and acceptance of these Elves outshone any regard he had ever had in Asgard a thousand fold. He had finally accepted Thranduil's offer of total acceptance as an Elf of the Woodland Realm, with all duties, responsibilities and safety that it implied. He officially took on the role of Prince Consort of Eryn Lasgalen, and as one of the most trusted and wisest advisors to the Elvenking.
Legolas had supported him wholeheartedly in his quest to define himself as someone other than the second prince of Asgard, offering any help or assistance he desired. Roles between the genders were very fluid among Wood Elves and it showed in their ability to accept any differences and wishes that any elf displayed, from excepting warrior females and advisors, to stay at home fathers and male healers and everything in between.
It was this acceptance that originally caught Loki's interest and appreciation for a society that was as different from Asgard as the night was from the day. What totally captivated him though and forever bound him to the Wood Elves was the most beautiful soul he had ever met, Legolas Thranduilion, Crown Prince of Eryn Lasgalen and heir to the last Elven kingdom.
The moment Loki set his eyes on the prince, he was in love with the ethereal creature, and to his undying delight, Legolas returned his fascination. Their three thousand yearlong marriage had already born four sons and three daughters, all of which he had delighted in carrying with none of the stigma or scorn that had occurred in the so-called 'Golden Realm', for elves had the unique ability that when two males or two females bonded, one of them could change to bear or sire children. So a pregnant male was not overly unusual to see, something that Loki was incredibly glad of, for he loved the joy in feeling his children grow within him, a feeling he had never been able to share before.
His plans for telling his husband of the news that he was expecting again were going to be ruined by the unwelcome revelation that Loki knew something terrible was coming. The Wood Elves had only just recovered from the War of the Ring and the destruction that the Orcs had tried to bring to the great forest, and he had no desire to give more bad news.
Loki sighed heavily, there was nothing for it. Better he got the unpleasantness out of the way as quickly as possible so they could all prepare for the future.
Asgard - Present Time
The gathering of everyone who was to journey to Arda had taken many hours, hours in which both Tony Stark and Jane Foster had spent acting like overgrown school children rather than the acclaimed scientists they were supposed to be. Asgard's golden city was filled with immense buildings, some of which floated, and the gravity defying personal vehicles the Aesir used to get around if they did not wish to use horses was just too tempting to ignore.
They had spent every second asking questions and trying to prise open panels to get a look inside some of the amazing technology they saw on display like it was an everyday occurrence. The guards that the Allfather had brought out to greet them had had their hands full in just insuring that they did not lose one of them because they leant out to far from the rainbow bridge to get a look underneath it.
Unfortunately for the scientists, the equipment they had brought with them weren’t working to the degree they should have been. Most had some form of interference that messed with the readings, rendering them essentially useless for future study. The information would not yield the secrets they hoped for when they first came here.
Fury was beginning to have a pounding headache from all the situations that were going wrong for SHIELD, first they spent billions looking for a criminal that wasn't even on earth, and then the planet they were on couldn't be analysed because none of the technology would work properly.
“No matter what we do, something is interfering with the scanners. It doesn’t seem to be affecting anything that isn’t a scanner, but unless we test everything, we can’t be certain,” Fury’s lead scientist, Dr. George Ryeback.
“So the Phase Two and Three weapons still work?” Fury enquired as they proceeded over to the waiting Aesir.
“Until we actually get them out to use, the best I can say is, ‘probably’. When we get to this ‘Arda’, we can test them there, but really, they should work.”
“Good. Keep them under wraps until we can test them securely, I don’t want our friends knowing about them until we’re ready.” Fury stopped in front of everyone that was gathered on the Bifrost, including Odin on his giant eight-legged horse. “Your Majesty,” Fury dipped his head slightly, “We’re ready whenever you are.”
“Good,” Odin readjusted his grip on Gungnir, before sending Thor and the Warriors Three onto the Observatory. “Arda is a Realm swamped in magic. The elves surround themselves and their realms in it, and it soaks into every being, making the search for the prisoner difficult. I agreed to your presence because of my son, but do not think that you have any say in decisions regarding our search or the fate of the prisoner. When he is found, he will be returned to his punishment below Asgard, and that is how it will be. Understand?”
Fury nodded before proceeding to the rest of the group. Odin’s insistence on Asgard remaining in charge of Loki would prove a problem when Earth’s put forth their claim on the prisoner’s custody. He had to ensure that it was SHIELD that found Loki, so that they were in a position to exercise their dominance within the politics of the Realms.
Once the Avengers, Thor, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three, SHIELD agents and scientists, Odin and Frigga were gathered, Heimdall opened the way and sent them out into the galaxy beyond the Nine Realms of Yggdrasil.
Minas Tirith, Arda - Present Time
The Bifrost deposited them just outside one of the most heavily fortified cities that any of them, even the Aesir, had ever seen. It was made completely of towering white stone that gleamed in the sunlight and protected by concentric rings of massive walls that encircled the whole city. They could see catapults on the higher mounts and the largest door they had ever seen closed the only gateway they could see as horns sounded over the battlements and guards rushed to cover them.
Odin rode forward and demanded to know where they were and to see the ruler of the city. In quick order, mounted guards came out in their black and silver armour, emblazoned with a white tree, to surround them and take them into the city.
As they were taken higher up through the levels, they were informed that they were currently in Minas Tirith, the White City of Gondor, one of the realms of Men, and that their King, Elessar and his Queen, Arwen would great them in the Halls of Kings. After witnessing some repair work to some of the walls and buildings, they found out that the city had been under siege by the armies of what they called the Dark Lord Sauron, one they claimed was the most evil being in all the lands, but that he had been defeated and his armies scattered.
In a white marbled hall with the statues of previous Kings lining the walls, they met the King and Queen. While the King made a commanding presence, it was the Queen that stole everyone’s breath away. She wore a gown of glittering silver and white and wore upon her dark head the most delicate crown of shining silver they had seen, and she was among the fairest and most beautiful, even outshining the Goddess Freya.
After introductions were made by everyone, Odin got down to the business of why they had arrived there. He proceeded to explain that they were hunting an escaped prisoner that was highly dangerous and powerful, a criminal that had committed great crimes and had turned traitor to his realm and home. He told them that they had been taking him to his punishment when he had shattered the bonds that held him, killed the guards that had been accompanying him and escaped through secret paths between the realms that only he knew.
That little bit of information had come as a surprise to the SHIELD personnel. If Loki knew ways between the realms that no one else knew or could detect, and without the aid of something like the Bifrost, then his capture by SHIELD had just become an even higher priority. With the information that he could provide under the right circumstances, SHIELD could have unlimited access to other realms which would benefit them greatly.
While King Elessar seemed keen to help them in their search, his Queen kept eyeing Odin as though he was suddenly going to transform into a hideous monster and devour them all, all the while sending glances Frigga's way. It was Arwen that asked for clarification on what this escaped prisoner looked like, to which Thor produced a copy of a detailed painting that Frigga had commissioned years ago to portray her youngest.
Arwen took one look at the picture and her face became as blank as paper, letting none of her feelings show. Elessar was not so controlled.
"That's Prince Loki!" he exclaimed, for he had met Legolas's husband on previous trips to his woodland home.
"He is no longer a prince," hissed Odin, "he was stripped of all titles and familial bonds when his punishment was proclaimed." Thor winced at this, further proof that Odin no longer saw Loki as his younger son.
Arwen looked slightly taken aback at Odin's venomous denial of his son's claim to royalty. "Regardless of your disownment, he is most certainly a Prince," she stated firmly, not backing down from the look of utter vitriol in his eye as he tried to glare her into submission.
"He is not my son, he was never my son. Therefore he can claim no kinship to those of higher status."
"His right to be a prince does not come from you, but rather from his husband and Father-in-law."
The Aesir were stunned by the proclamation from Gondor's Queen, and the humans almost fell over from disbelief.
"You mean that bastard actually managed to get someone crazy enough to marry him?" Fury couldn't believe his ears.
“Hang on, he’s been gone for 6 months. How could he have found someone to marry him that quickly? Especially a Prince?” Tony blurted out, jumping into the conversation. Thor and Frigga nodded along, it was a peculiar conundrum.
“Prince Loki appeared in the Woodland Realm three and a half thousand years ago, badly wounded and hurt. This was before I was born, but my father was one of the ones most involved in his recovery, and he has remained a close friend to my family ever since,” Arwen told them.
“Don’t play us as stupid, tell us the truth,” Fury snarled, his glare fierce and zeroed in on the Queen.
Elessar did not like the tone and glares that these strangers were giving his wife, so decided to enforce his presence. "Do not disrespect my Queen, Director. This is my Kingdom and you are but guests here."
"We mean no disrespect your majesty," Frigga politely replied, trying to smooth things over before tempers got the best of the men. "We just do not understand, as Loki escaped only 6 months ago but you claim that he has been here for thousands of years. It is most confusing, I just want to understand?" she begged.
It was Arwen to answer the queen's pleas. “He told my father that when he left the world he was raised on, he used the shadow paths to walk between worlds. When he was leaving Yggdrasil, he said that there was a freak occurrence when he crossed the barrier between the Nine Realms and the rest of the Universe. A supernova had occurred close by the barrier, and its effects were temporal. As he crossed over, it threw him into the past, violently, and he came down into Arda with great force. More than three and a half thousand years into the past,” she sighed.
“He has lived here ever since, and though he had difficulties in the beginning, he is an accepted and well-loved friend and prince to the elves. He is not who you remember him to be.” Arwen turned to Frigga with a sad look in her eyes, as she knew this would hurt her, but then met the gaze of Odin unflinchingly. "Prince Loki has been married to the Crown Prince of Eryn Lasgalen for more than three thousand years, so in spite of your attempts to deny him his rights, he will remain a Prince until such time as King Thranduil retracts the titles he has bestowed upon him, or he himself wishes to deny the claims."
"Married?! My son is married?" She was in shock. Her baby boy had married another and she was not included in his decision. She felt a wave of intense sadness wash over her at this revelation, proof that her son had moved on from the pain that his family in Asgard had caused him, and lived a life free from her husband’s interference.
"Do not despair,"Arwen soothed, she could not bear the look of grief on Frigga's face. "He still loves you as dear as always, it was the rest of his family and Asgard that caused him pain. He has always spoken of you fondly, and his deepest wish was that someday he could show you his kingdom and people."
Thor grew angry at that, "We are his people. Asgard is his home, not some insignificant kingdom in the middle of nowhere!"
"He has long felt that Asgard could not be his home even before the events that happened before he came here, and so has made his home among those that he loves and that love him."
"We love him, I love him, and he is my brother."
"I have seen what your 'love' has done to him, turning him bitter and untrusting of others. He resented you for years because of your ignorance and encouragement in his suffering by your friends. It was long before the damage you inflicted could be remedied by his husband, so if that is your idea of love, you can keep it!" Arwen was livid that Thor still sought to claim brotherhood, when she had seen firsthand the scars that Loki would always carry because of that 'love'.
Thor was stunned into silence by that passionate outburst. He had never thought that Loki would ever cease to love him. But then again, look what he did to you and your father, and to the mortals under your protection. If he still truly loved you, then he would never have acted against them in the first place. He despaired ever getting the younger brother he remembered back again.
Odin was growing swiftly impatient and frustrated in these people and their defence of a traitor. Not to mention that if he truly had been here for thousands of years then his control over him had suffered a serious blow, and there was no telling what he had done over the years that would necessitate fixing. "Enough. We have no time to debate 'feelings'. Do you know where to find him?" he demanded, expecting an answer straight away.
"Yes, but I will not tell you," was Arwen's answer, daring her husband to contradict her.
"Do not be foolish. He is too dangerous to allow to remain free, we must take him back to Asgard, there to serve his sentence," he spoke to her as if speaking to a child.
"You will not sway me. I know Prince Loki personally, and never has he been dangerous except to those who deserve it. We will take you to Eryn Lasgalen, and there you can take your grievances to the Elvenking, Thanduil. But be warned. He does not look favourably on those who threaten his family and no one, not even the dwarves, would dare his temper without powerful need driving them," she warned them. If they were so foolish as to challenge the Elvenking, then they would soon find out why even Sauron had not dared to pit his forces against the Wood Elves.
The debate as to whether the Gondorians should accompany them or just show them the way lasted many hours, but in the end the firm resolve of the elf Queen proved too strong for even Odin to contend with. They agreed that on the morrow, they would begin the journey to the Woodland Realm of the Elves, the last great kingdom of Elves on Arda.