Chapter Twenty-Five - The First Steps Toward Mutiny

Chapter Twenty-Five

The First Steps Toward Mutiny

 

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Perhaps traveling by seiðr was having less and less of an effect on him. Thor couldn’t be certain, but at least he wasn't sick when they made it back to Asgard this time. His head swam, however, and the Asgardian felt vaguely…almost seasick. The crystalline Bifröst—what was left of it—seemed to rise and fall like ocean waves. Thor closed his eyes and tried to calm his stomach before he disgraced himself. Somehow he managed to keep a grip on the box he carried.

"Mother thought you might be sick again," Víðarr said in a far-too-cheerful voice somewhere to his right. "Here. This will help. Take a good whiff." His brother thrust something beneath Thor's nose. The prince took a deep breath. Crisp mint stung his nostrils. Immediately the nausea began to fade. Víðarr clucked his tongue. "The mighty Thor. How easy it is to fell you."

 

"Shut up," Thor mumbled. "At least I don't heave my guts up whenever I step onto a boat." He opened his eyes to see his little brother scowling. Thor smiled and clapped Víðarr on the shoulder. "Thank you for helping me in this, Brother. You have proven invaluable."

 

Víðarr smirked. "Of course. Now you, no doubt, have things to tell our mother and father, and I am missing my beautiful Bellalyse."

 

Thor managed a chuckle as his stomach calmed further. "Go to your wife, Brother. I shall speak to our parents." He and his brother parted ways, and Thor turned to Heimdall, who watched the crown prince with unfathomable eyes. Thor thought he ought to say something to the Gatekeeper; Heimdall had grown increasingly frustrated with his inability to penetrate the seiðr shields around the Midgardian base, the school, and the house in Portland. But the Asgardian warrior had resigned himself to Loki's guise being impenetrable. He could explain to Heimdall why his extraordinary sight couldn't penetrate the shields.

 

"I see what you hold in your hands, my prince," Heimdall said before Thor could speak. "I see the tokens of love and memory within the box you carry. So it is true, then—Loki has a wife and daughter. You bring him glad tidings."

 

Smiling to himself, Thor nodded. Of course all the Gatekeeper needed was to look at Thor, at the prize he held, to discern all that had happened on Midgard. "I have also found the source of the strange seiðr shields. Loki's daughter creates them."

 

Xavier had explained that Sophie had no control of what power she possessed, but like all children, she picked up on things from her mother. She knew Thea was afraid of something finding them. In Sophie's mind, the nebulous terms monsters and bad guys applied to practically anyone who didn't possess her mother's stamp of approval, but Sophie also knew of the Chitauri. Thea's control over her own gifts wasn’t as good when plagued by nightmares of her imprisonment; Sophie had seen the Other in shared nightmares before, and knew Thea feared the eldritch creature finding them.

 

Heimdall nodded. "That explains much," he said softly. "You like this child and her mother. They are no threat to Asgard."

 

Thor shook his head. "No threat at all. If anything, they might be of great help. If Thea can be brought here, she could help mend Loki's sanity. We will need him in the coming war. And perhaps Thea can help in that conflict as well. Her gifts are reported to be formidable."

 

The Gatekeeper raised an eyebrow. "That may be…but I do not know if she will fight for us. I sense…something. An uncertainty about the new princess and...and a shadow drawing near. You have sensed it as well. Perhaps it is the svartálfar, but I do not believe so. It comes at their head, but it is a foe known only to a few. We shall have to see whether Princess Althea can be of help to us against it. In the meantime, your parents were told of your arrival. They eagerly await your news."

 

Nodding to the Gatekeeper, Thor strode off toward the palace. It was late now; he and Víðarr had stayed for supper on Midgard, and past, to bath-time for Sophie—he and the Avengers had discussed the offer of amnesty and the inclusion of Loki in the Avengers Initiative with Nick Fury and Coulson while Thea bathed her daughter upstairs—and then what Thea called "jammie time." Sophie had insisted on giving each of the Avengers and Víðarr a goodnight kiss on the cheek, and Thor had somehow been dragged upstairs into the little girl's room with her mother for the reading of a few bedtime stories.

 

The entire time, all the prince could think about was that Loki was missing this. It should have been his foster brother, not Thor, reading Sophie a bizarre story of talking pigs that fought a ravenous wolf in hand-to-hand combat. It should have been the green-eyed prince tucking his daughter into her crib and making sure the nightlight was burning bright to hold back the darkness. Loki should have been the one to kiss Sophie's forehead and bid her to have sweet dreams before stepping out of the room and closing the door. And it was only Loki who could have comforted Thea when she began to cry silently in the hall, leaning heavily against the door, as Sophie's ensorcelled bear began to sing in Loki's voice…but Thor had tried to ease his new sister's sorrow.

 

He'd sworn it then, and he swore it to himself again now—he would get his brother out of prison, make his father see the truth. Convince Loki to help repair the shattered but mending Bifröst. And then he would bring his brother's wife and child to Asgard and reunite them.

 

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His parents were waiting in the queen's sitting room when he arrived. Frigga rose and went to Thor, hope and eagerness shining in her mead-dark eyes. When Thor grinned, she hugged him.

 

"It's true," Frigga said. "Oh, Thor, you found them. Both of them. Loki's wife and daughter. He was telling the truth!"

 

His mother had asked, but Thor looked to his father when he said, "Yes. I found them both alive and well." He hefted the box. "Thea sent this back with me. They are letters and a Midgardian device known as videos for Loki. But there is a letter and a video for you as well, Father."

 

Odin had risen to his feet upon his son and heir's arrival. Now the old king stared at the box, uncertainty in his single blue eye. Thor studied his father. The king looked tired. Well, and why not? After everything that had happened to and because of Loki, everyone was worn down with fear and concern, hope and uncertainty. Thor came further into the room and set the box down carefully on the table. Pulling a small knife from the sheath in his boot, he sliced through the white strips—tape, Thea had said it was called—to open the cardboard container.

 

Then he reached into the small pouch he kept on his belt and withdrew a flat thing, perhaps four inches by four inches. Odin and Frigga couldn't see what it was, because it was backed by white matting, so Thor handed it to his mother. Thea's mother, Sophie Valerian, had given it to Thor as he'd been leaving the house.

 

"Thea didn't think of this," she'd said. "She's so worried about Loki. You understand. But if our positions were reversed, if I was your mother, I would want to have something like this." And she had handed him a photograph of Thea and Sophie. In the photo, Thea's eyes sparkled with happiness—though there was that ever-present shadow in her gaze—and her face was pink with exertion and cold. Sophie, pale as ever, wearing a thick coat and mittens and an adorable knit cap with a green poof-ball on the top, was liberally dusted with snow. So was her mother. They'd just come in from a snowball fight in the backyard.

 

Frigga made a small sound. One hand rose to cover her mouth. She looked up at her husband. "Odin…look at her." Odin drew close. His single eye widened as he studied the photograph. One fingertip lightly brushed over Sophie's face. Frigga blinked rapidly; her eyes gleamed. She whispered, "Loki's daughter. Our granddaughter." She looked back at Thor. "And this is Thea?"

 

"Yes. I've spoken to her. She wants to come to Asgard."

 

Odin frowned. "She has no innate seiðr. It would not be wise or safe to—"

 

"She knows that. Víðarr and I explained it to her. But she and I both discussed the fact that Loki seems to be slipping further and further into madness. He needs her. I believe…I believe I can convince him to help us repair the Bifröst. If he does, she could come to Asgard in a matter of days, a fortnight at most. She could begin to help him. Bring him back to us." Thor locked gazes with his father and added, "But Loki would have to be released from prison."

 

The king stared at the photograph for a long time, then looked at the box. "You said there was a letter for me," he said. Thor nodded. Pulling back the flaps of cardboard, he withdrew an envelope with Odin's name written on it in Thea's quick, casual handwriting. She'd marked it with a blue thing called a "sticker," of a winking smiley face in one corner. The king ripped the envelope open and withdrew two folded pieces of paper. Unfolding them, he sat down and began to read.

 

Frigga drew Thor to a sofa and settled onto it, bringing him down with her. Letting her husband read, she leaned in. "Tell me about my granddaughter, Thor. What is she like? Is she much like Loki?"

 

"A great deal like him," Thor replied with a fond smile. "She's clever. Professor Xavier—he is a friend of Thea's, and a scholar—says her mind is many months beyond other children her age. She can speak in almost full sentences and she understands things very quickly. She is a bit bolder than Loki was as a child, but I think that is because of her mother. Thea is quite vivacious. That is one thing that made Loki love her. Sophie takes after Loki quite a bit, though. She loves books and stories. Loves art. There are some pictures she drew here in the box if you want to look at them."

 

Thor pulled out several drawings and a few "finger-paintings" that Thea had packed. The finger-paintings were mostly splashes of color smeared on white paper, but Frigga beamed as if they were masterpieces. There were two paintings that made her pause, however.

 

Thor realized that one closely resembled the drawing Thea had included in her letter to Loki earlier that day. Sophie had smeared green paint in a vaguely circular motion off to the left, blue paint in a squiggle on the right, and a series of smudged pink dots that Thor realized had been made by tiny fingers in the middle. Darker green had been wiped along the bottom of the paper, paler blue at the top, and a yellow handprint in one corner. In Thea's careful handwriting near the top, it read My Family.

 

The second painting was carefully done—all things considered. Two tiny green handprints near the middle of the paper sat above a peach-colored smear. Another peachy mark, a smudged line near the bottom, almost looked like a mouth. And dozens of layered black handprints at the top made the painting look almost like a crude rendition of…

 

"It's Loki," Frigga whispered. She caressed the paper with gentle fingertips. "It's Loki. She painted Loki." Tawny eyes darted from the painting to Thor's face. "Does she…does she remember him? Know him?"

 

He nodded. "Thea uses her gift with memories and illusions to show Loki to Sophie, so that she'll know what he looks like." Thor checked the back of the painting. Sure enough, Thea had labeled it, My Daddy.

 

Suddenly Odin called, "Guards!" Thor and Frigga both started in surprise and turned to him. Odin said nothing until one of the guards entered the room and bowed to the king. "Go to the dungeons. Escort Prince Loki to his chambers. Send a chambermaid there ahead of him to draw him a bath, and have a page bring a meal to his rooms. Three guards are to remain outside his bedroom door at all times, but otherwise, leave him be."

 

"As my king commands."

 

Thor's eyes widened and he stared at his father. "You will…release him?" He asked as the guard bowed again and strode from the room.

 

Odin nodded. "It is requested by my daughter, after all." He held up the letter. "She says there is a…recording for me as well. Where is it?"

 

Finding the recording was easy—Thea had labeled it plainly—and so was finding the self-charging DVD player she'd packed in the box. What wasn't easy was making the thing play. Thea and Tony had both explained how such devices worked, but that didn’t make it simple. First he had to open it, carefully. Pulling up the topmost part of the silver box revealed the black screen.

 

A small black circle marked Power needed to be pushed to turn it on. Thor sought the black circle diligently and was at last rewarded. Pressing it turned the screen from black to blue, with a white image in the center that said Stark Industries. What came next? Ah, yes. He had to press a smaller, blue circle marked Open/Close. He did so, and a black tray slid out of the silver box. Thor carefully set the disc on the circular depression in the tray and pushed the blue circle again. The tray slid back into the DVD player.

 

There was a whirring sound, a click, and then Thea's face appeared on the screen. Behind her stood several bookshelves lines with tomes on Asgard. There was an entire section about Loki. Another section about Thor. A myriad of books regarding Nordic customs. Where gaps in the books resided, framed pictures sat. Thor saw there were a few photos of Coulson, men who had to be Thea's brothers, but that most of the framed images were drawings—including strangely warped versions of the few drawings Loki had done that Thor had seen. It took the prince a moment to realize the reason they looked so odd was because the perspective was shifted to focus on Loki instead of Thea, the opposite of what the fostered prince had done.

 

In the recording, Thea leaned back in her chair. Thor realized she sat at a white desk. Lacing her fingers together, the former mortal drew a deep breath, let it out, then seemed to look straight at Thor, Odin, and Frigga.

 

"All-Father," Thea said softly. "My name is Althea. Althea Odinson. I'm…I'm Loki's wife. I'm making this recording because I intend to send a few things back with Prince Thor and Prince Víðarr when they return to Asgard and I wanted to include a short message for you. Thor explained to me that you're not sure if Loki is telling the truth or not about me, about our daughter, and about why he invaded Earth. Midgard. Well, I want you to know that he's telling the truth. The Chitauri blackmailed him into doing what they wanted. If they hadn't threatened me and Sophie, our daughter, he would have never…"

 

Lips trembling, she pressed her hands to her face. Thor could see the strain on her face, in her eyes. Hear it in her voice. Swallowing and clearing her throat, she continued, "He would've never done those things if not for me. He was trying to protect me and our daughter. Please believe me when I say he did everything he could to avoid giving them what they wanted, and…and he just couldn't beat them. It's not his fault.

 

"Thor says…Thor says he's in prison. Please let him out. He doesn't deserve to be there. You don't know what the Chitauri did to him. They…" She covered her mouth with a trembling hand. Beside Thor, Frigga made a low sound of pain. Thor took his mother's hand. Thea managed to continue speaking. "They were horrible to him. They did things…he tried to hold out. He did. But when they started coming after Sophie and me…he just couldn't take it anymore. Please, he's not the man you think he is. He did what he had to in order to keep us safe. So please…please let him out of prison. If you don't want him in Asgard, we'll take him here. He can stay with me. I want him. I…please just let him be with me."

 

A tear spilled down Thea's cheek. She swiped at it, drew a shuddering breath. Then she closed her eyes, nodded, and reached toward whatever was recording her message. There was a click, and then the screen went dark. Thor looked to his mother. Tears wet Frigga's cheeks. Thor squeezed her hand gently in his, and she offered a tremulous smile. Then he looked to his father.

 

Odin's face held the same pain the prince had seen when he'd reported that Loki had tried to take his own life. The king rose to his feet and moved to a window overlooking the queen's private courtyard. The light from the hearth brought out Odin's reflection against the night-darkened glass.

 

"There is a letter for you, my wife," Odin said after a long and heavy silence. "From Thea. She said there is a rose on the envelope."

 

Surprised, Thor retrieved the letter for his mother. Frigga opened the envelope very carefully, as if she were afraid that by moving too quickly, she would startle the precious words inside the envelope into taking flight. She pulled out the single, handwritten page and unfolded it. The queen's eyes widened and she brought a hand to her mouth. Thor moved a little closer. When his mother didn't object, he began reading over her shoulder.

 

"My Lady Mother,

 

I hope you don’t think I'm presuming too much. Loki told me once that if I
ever had to address you formally, I should address you that way. You may
have heard of me already, my lady, but in case you're not sure, allow me
to introduce myself.

 

I'm Althea, Loki's wife. Please call me Thea.

 

I wanted to write to you, to tell you that Loki has always spoken very
highly of you. I've wanted to meet you for a long time. Hopefully, if things
go right, I'll be able to meet you face to face soon. If everything works out,
there will be someone else for you to meet, too—my daughter, Sophie
Frigga Valerian-Odinson. Loki's daughter. Loki thinks Sophie and I are dead.
Hopefully, by the time he gets done reading my letters (I wrote him a ton)
and watching the videos I made for him, he'll know and believe we're both
alive.

 

My lady, I don't want you to think I'm assuming we'll be welcome in Asgard.
I don't know how the Asgardians feel about me being mortal once upon a
time, or about Sophie being half Frost Giant. I do know how they feel about
Loki, so I know better than to make any assumptions. But Loki used to talk
about how much he wanted you and Odin to meet me and our daughter if
it was ever possible, and if you want to meet us, I want to meet you. My
mom said that if it were her, she'd want to meet a grandchild, so…so that's
why I'm writing to you.

 

I love Loki very much. Thor says you know that Loki and I spent a lot of
time in the Chitauri dungeons. He also says you're not sure what sort of
man Loki is now. Well, I want to tell you that when we were stuck in prison
together, he always took care of me. He would talk to me when I was scared
(which was a lot), help patch me up when I was hurt. He did so much for
me. That's one of the reasons I love him so much. Everything Loki did on
Midgard, he did to protect Asgard, or to protect Sophie and me. I just
wanted you to know that.

Sincerely,

 

Althea Odinson."

 

Frigga and Odin exchanged glances once the queen had finished reading her letter. Odin nodded. Frigga turned to Thor. Laying a hand on his arm, she said, "Go to your brother, Thor. Make him believe. Give him hope."

 

Thor leaned in and kissed his mother's cheek. "Thank you, Mother. Father." Rising to his feet, he closed the DVD player, grabbed it and the box, and went to speak to Loki.

 

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He found his brother—as he'd expected—in his bedchamber. Loki lay on the canopied bed, not even bothering to close the green velvet drapes or get beneath the covers. He'd bathed; his hair left spots of dampness on his pillow. He wore a clean black tunic and black trousers. His hands were still raw-looking where he'd gnawed savagely on red-marred knuckles and nails. When Thor entered the room, Loki only blinked.

 

"Loki," Thor said gently, coming further into the room. He set the box on the small chest of drawers beside Loki's bed and drew up a chair. "How are you, Brother?"

 

Voice empty of any emotion, Loki asked, "What do you want, Thor?"

 

"I bring you good news, my brother. Please…listen to me. Listen to what I have to say."

 

"Were you the one who convinced Odin to let me off my leash?" Loki asked bitterly, seemingly ignoring Thor's words. When the prince nodded, eyeing his foster brother warily, Loki closed his eyes. "Why?"

 

"I brought you something," Thor murmured. "From Midgard."

 

Loki's fingers convulsed around the edge of the pillow. "There is nothing I want that you can give me. Go away."

 

Thor shook his head. "Loki…I found them." His brother tensed, every muscle tightening until they threatened to snap like an overwrought bowstring. Keeping his voice gentle but firm, he added, "I found them, Brother. They're alive. Thea and Sophie are alive."

 

Loki surged up from the bed in a violent explosion of movement. Scrambling off the bed, he managed to put the entirety of the room between himself and Thor before Thor could so much as blink. Panting like a rabid wolf, eyes blazing with a mix of agonized jade and sinister blue, Loki shook his head. "No," he snarled. When Thor rose and took a step toward him, one pale hand shot up as if to ward him off. "No! Stop lying to me. Stop it. I'm warning you, Thor…stop it."

 

"Brother, listen to me. I found them—"

 

"Shut up! Stop it!" Loki cringed back from him. The sight wrung Thor's heart. Even so much as a few months ago, his brother had possessed enough fury and spirit to launch himself at Thor, to try and force him to silence. Now Loki was so broken, he simply raged the prince. "Shut up, shut up, shut up! Stop it! Leave me be! Damn you, Thor!"

 

Lips pursed in a grim line, Thor came to a decision. Simply talking to his brother wouldn’t work. Loki was too distraught, too afraid to believe. But perhaps…perhaps if he could show his brother…

 

Without another word to Loki, Thor picked up the cardboard box and went looking for an appropriate disc. Which should he start with? They were all labeled; were these the important moments in Sophie's life thus far? Letting instinct and intuition guide him, he plucked out a disc, read the label. This one would do. Opening the case, he removed the silvery disc. Turning on the DVD player, he opened the disc-tray.

 

"What is that?" Loki demanded. He'd yet to come closer to Thor. "What are you doing?"

 

"Proving it to you," Thor said softly as he inserted the disc into the tray and hit the Open/Close button again. The DVD player accepted the disc and began to make that same whirring sound again.

 

Loki shook his head. "Liar. I do not know what proof you think you have, but I'll not allow you to fool me with whatever paltry—"

 

"Come on, Sophie!" A gentle, encouraging voice issued from the DVD player. Thea's voice. Thor watched as his brother flinched as if he'd been struck. Loki took a step forward, hesitated. Anguish twisted his expression as he slowly shook his head. Thin lips parted and Loki looked as if he might protest, might try to deny what he heard, but Thea's voice cut him off again. "You can do it! Mommy's brave girl. Come on. Come on. Oh, she's standing up! Phil, are you getting this?"

 

Coulson's voice came next. "I'm getting it, Als. Come on, Sophie. You can do it."

 

The green-eyed prince took another hesitant step toward where the DVD player sat angled on the bed so that Thor could see it, but Loki couldn't. Loki would have to come closer if he wanted to catch a glimpse of the screen.

 

His brother took another step.

 

"Come on, baby. You can do it! You want Mommy to help you a little bit? Okay, you can hold my hands this time. Good girl. I've got you. Don't worry, Mommy's got you."

 

Another step. Another. The raw agony on Loki's face was almost too painful to look at.

 

He took another step.

 

"That's right. You know how to do this. Come on…where ya going, Sophie? Sophie, where you going? Huh? Oh, of course, Bear has to watch. She's just like, 'Mommy, how did you not know this? Hello.' You're so funny, Sophie-girl."

 

Loki was close enough now that Thor could hear the way his breath hitched in his chest, the way he struggled so hard to breathe evenly and failed. Loki's hands shook as he approached Thor and the DVD player. The crown prince knew when his brother finally got a glimpse of the screen because Loki made a choked sound and fell to his knees. Thor glanced at him. Loki stared at the DVD player screen, all color drained from his face. His eyes were vibrant emerald. Thor turned back to the DVD player.

 

On screen, Thea sat on the floor with her legs splayed. She wore comfortable jeans and a sparkly green sweater that matched the ring on her finger. The recording device was angled so the viewer could see the scar on her cheek. On the floor crawling back toward her mother was Sophie, a black teddy bear with green eyes clenched in one fist. She wore a bright blue dress with ruffles. As the brothers watched, the little girl stopped and set the bear on the floor off to one side. Patting the bear on the head, Sophie looked back at Thea. Then, slowly and carefully, the baby got to her feet.

 

"Come on, baby," Thea said breathlessly. "You can do it, honey. You can do it." Sophie's arms windmilled around, and she stumbled a little. She caught herself at the last minute on the edge of a couch cushion. Hushed excitement vibrated in Thea's voice as she said, "Ohmigawsh, Phil, look. Look, I think she's gonna do it. Ohmigawsh, where's Mom? Mom! You gotta see this!" To Sophie, she added, "Come on, baby. Come on, Sophie. You can do it. Walk to Mommy. This is so cool. You're so cool. Walk to Mommy, Sophie."

 

A strangled sound escaped Loki's throat as his daughter carefully lifted her foot, then set it down on the floor. She hadn't moved; it was almost as if she were testing the stability of the floor. She did the same thing with her other foot. After a few more tests, she looked at Thea and bounced up and down, laughing. Thea grinned.

 

"You're silly," Thea said. "Sophie's so silly. Aren't you? Aren't you silly?"

 

Sophie bounced some more, giggling, then looked down at her feet. Her face screwed up in concentration, she lifted her foot…and set it down in front of her. Thea's mouth popped open in a perfect O. Leaning forward eagerly, she beckoned to her daughter.

 

"Walk to Mommy, Sophie. You can do it. You can do it, you're so smart, you're so cool. Come on, baby girl. Walk to Mommy."

 

The baby took another step, arms flapping and fluttering as she struggled to keep her balance. With wide green eyes, Sophie took another unsteady step. And another. Thea's eyes were just as wide as her daughter's as Sophie traversed the three feet between herself and Thea, then collapsed against her mother. Bouncing and laughing, Sophie curled her arms around Thea's neck.

 

"Ma! Oosh! Burba oosh ta! Ma!" Sophie babbled. Thea grinned and nodded as if she understood what the child was trying to say.

 

"I know! You walked! Good job, baby! Oh, good job! My special girl, my smart girl, you genius!" Thea cuddled her daughter and pressed a flurry of kisses against Sophie's cheeks. Sophie squealed in delight. "You smart, smart girl. You're so smart. You're so cool. Good job, honey! You walked! Phil, did you see her? She walked! Ohmigawsh, Mom!" Thea looked past the recording device. "Did you see her? She walked to me! Good job, baby! You so totally rock!" Setting Sophie a little bit away from her, Thea added, "Walk to Grandma. Can you walk to Grandma?" Sophie glanced where her mother pointed, then shook her head. Thea blinked. "No? You don't want to? What about Grandpa?"

 

Sophie shook her head again. Her mother frowned, then a light kindled in her eyes. Looking over the baby's head, Thea narrowed her eyes and twitched her nose like a rabbit. Between one blink and the next, Loki appeared about five feet in front of Thea. The grief that flashed across Thea's face made the real Loki draw in a hissing breath. Sophie twisted around to see what her mother had done. When she caught sight of Loki's image, she waved her arms and squealed in absolute delight.

 

"Da! Oosh gaja ba! Da!" Sophie pushed away from her mother and took a shaky step toward the illusion. The mirage of Loki crouched down, smiling. Sophie squealed happily. Another step, and another. "Da! Gaja oosh! Da!"

 

Several steps more and the child reached the illusion. When Sophie tried to grip Illusion-Loki's hand, a woman's hand caught the baby before she could fall over. Thor realized it was Thea's mother. The mirage of his brother lifted its hand and smoothed it over Sophie's hair before disappearing.

 

Sophie stared at the place where the illusion had been, then looked at Thea. "Bageedee? Shooba? Da." The little girl toddled back to her mother and sat on Thea's knee, obviously exhausted from the three trips across the space. She patted her mother's shoulder. "Da?"

 

Thea touched her daughter's temple and closed her eyes. Then she sighed. Opened her eyes. "It was a picture, baby. Remember? Remember Mommy's pictures?"

 

After a moment, Sophie nodded. Then she uttered a stream of syllables that Thor couldn't comprehend, but Thea seemed to understand. Perhaps because Thea took Sophie's memory of the basic meaning of her daughter's words straight from the child's mind using her power.

 

"You did such a good job," Thea added, kissing her daughter and hugging her. "Mommy's so proud of you. Daddy would be so proud of you, too. Good job, baby."

 

Sophie dropped her head against her mother's shoulder. "Ma!" Somehow she infused the single syllable with absolute love and adoration.

 

The recording froze, then faded to darkness. A stream of letters appeared at the top of the screen in soft viridian. They slowly began scrolling across the screen, down one side, across the bottom, and then up the other side, before doing it all over again. It said, Intermission—One Minute. Next up: Mommy and Sophie make a snowman!

 

Loki cleared his throat. "Swear to me," he rasped. Thor turned to him and wasn’t surprised to see his pale cheeks wet with tears. "Swear to me this is real. Bor's ghost…it looks so much like…like Thea. That's her voice. Her laugh. Her smile. And the child…her eyes…is she…are they…they…" He turned abruptly to look Thor dead in the eye. "Swear to me that this is real."

 

"I swear it, Brother. I swear it by the Norns themselves and the Tapestry of Fate they weave. That is a truthful recording, which Thea sent back with me for you. There are more in this box, and letters as well. Pictures Sophie drew. I swear, Loki, that this recording is real."

 

Loki swallowed audibly. "Then…then they…they're alive?" Thor nodded. Loki covered his mouth with a shaking hand and bowed his head. His other arm came up to press hard against his belly, as if he were trying to hold himself together. He hunched his shoulders. A low sound escaped him. Scrambling to his feet, Loki strode away from the crown prince to lean hard against one wall. His legs shook. Buckled. He sank to the floor.

 

Thor pressed the strange circle with the double lines on it, which Tony had explained would pause the recording. Then he got up and went to his brother. He put a hand on Loki's shoulder. Knelt. Loki's entire body trembled. It took Thor a moment to realize that his little brother was sobbing silently. Without stopping to think about it, Thor slid an arm beneath his brother and hauled Loki against him. Put an arm around his shoulders.

 

"They're alive, Brother," Thor said softly as his brother wept. "They're alive and they're safe. Both of them. I met your daughter, Loki. I spent the afternoon with her. She is everything you could have ever dreamed. She is fine, Brother. Safe and sound with her mother. I swear to you."

 

After a few moments, Loki somehow managed to get control of himself again. His voice was still thick with suppressed emotion, but he scrubbed away the tears with the hem of one dark sleeve, took a deep breath, and nodded. "They're alive." He swallowed. Let out a shaky breath. "They're alive. Surtur's blade…oh, Thea. My Althea. And Sophie…" Green eyes widened and fixed on Thor. "Tell me about her. Tell me about my daughter."

 

So Thor told him all about reading the "horsey book" to Sophie five times, of Sophie drawing with her special markers by Thea's rocking chair. About playing "bayball;" how Sophie had to take two naps a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, and if she missed either she got cranky; that her eyes turned crimson like a Frost Giant's when something upset her; how the little girl absolutely adored the black teddy bear that Loki had made; the way she loved to imitate the things she saw on television. Thor thought back briefly to watching Sophie and Ashley play something Thea had called "Igor" in the living room…

 

.

 

Sophie put Bear on one of her flat, hardback picture books which lay on the floor. Grabbing several brightly colored plastic springs that Thea said were called "Slinkies," she draped them all over the black teddy bear. She looked at her cousin Ashley, who wore one of her mother's white button-down shirts—which hung nearly to the floor and whose sleeves hung past the four-year-old's fingers.

 

"Puh da sitch!" Sophie cried, waving her arms.

 

Ashley folded hers across her chest. Thor and the Avengers—watching from the living room entryway—had to fight not to laugh at the way the too-long sleeves flopped and danced. Ashley said coldly, "Don't yell at me."

 

"I sawwy," Sophie said. "I's in da momen."

 

Tony nudged Thea. "Does she even know what that means?"

 

Laughing softly, Sophie's mother shook her head. "No. She saw it in a movie. You know, the movie Igor about the…um, about the Igor, who wants to be a mad scientist. It's a kid's movie, it's silly. My brother showed it to them and taught them this game. Anyway, she's just saying what the main character said. She has no idea. She just knows it's funny. She does stuff like this all the time."

 

Oblivious to the audience, Sophie added, "Puh da sitch peez."

 

"Okay, okay," Ashley mumbled, and flipped the lights on and off. Sophie made a buzzing sound, swept the Slinkies off her teddy bear, and gasped. Ashley cried, "Did it work?"

 

"Is alive!" Sophie cried. She lifted the bear over her head. "Is alive!"

 

"Yay!"

 

.

 

Loki chuckled weakly as he leaned back against the wall. Thor smiled. "She loves to play pretend. She watches…movies, is that what they're called?" His brother nodded. "She watches movies with Thea and pretends about the things she sees in them. She loves to hear stories. She has a thousand books about all sorts of things. She's brilliant and cheerful and sweet. She looks like you; you saw that."

 

He nodded. Murmured, "She has Thea's freckles." Loki's face went tight as he struggled to suppress something. His body tensed. The green-eyed prince drew a deep breath. "She's beautiful."

 

"Yes," Thor said softly. "She asks about you." Seeing the stricken hope in his brother's eyes, the prince nodded. "All the time. She asked me so many questions about you. What you're like, what do you like to do. Even what you like to eat and drink." Thor chuckled. He still remembered Sophie's bright, cheerful voice asking incessant questions like, Daddy like milk? Daddy like juice? Daddy play bayball? Daddy like Bear? Daddy draw pitchers? Daddy make pitchers like Mommy? Daddy do magic twicks? He smiled and nodded toward the box on the bedside table. "Shall I leave you alone to read Thea's letters?"

 

To his surprise, Loki shook his head. "Don't go," he whispered. "I…I want to read them. Want to watch…but I…I need you here, Thor. In case this all…melts away again. I do not know what is real and what is not, and I dread the moment when this dream ends."

 

Thor reached out and gripped Loki's hand. "This is no dream, Brother. It is real. Your wife and child still live, and you will see them again."

 

Verdant eyes gleamed wetly as Loki met Thor's eyes. "To see them again…to see Thea…and to see Sophie…" Loki swallowed hard and bowed his head. Nodded to himself. Lifting his gaze to his brother again, the disguised Frost Giant added, "Thea. How is she? Is she…you said she was well? She is all right?" The crown prince hesitated. Loki's thin, pale hand shot out and gripped his sleeve so tightly the hand shook. "What is it?" He demanded. "What is wrong with her?"

 

"Nothing," Thor hastened to assure him. "I promise you, Loki, nothing is wrong. She is fine…but she misses you terribly."

 

A tremor shivered through Loki's too-thin frame. His features twisted with something to sharp and raw to be pain. "She…misses me? Then she has forgiven me?"

 

Thor frowned. "Forgiven you for what, Brother?"

 

"For everything," he replied simply.

 

Thor shook his head. "She spoke of how she misses you, worries for you. There were no words about condemnation or forgiveness. Only that she longs to be with you again." Thor patted his brother's hand. "Whatever sins you may or may not have committed, I think they are forgiven and forgotten in your lady's mind. Go; read her letters. You will see."

 

After a long minute where hope and uncertainty mingled in shadowed jade eyes, Loki nodded. Pushing to his feet, he half-stumbled to where the DVD player rested near the edge of his bed. He stared at it for a few moments in silence before turning to the box. Carefully he pulled out each letter, checking whatever Thea had written there. Thor glimpsed a series of numbers on each of the envelopes—most likely the dates they were written. Each also bore Loki’s name. One of them said, Loki—Read Me First.

 

Loki’s fingers trembled as he carefully opened the letter and withdrew the 4 folded pages. He stared at them. Swallowed. Light as a falling snowflake, he traced something on the topmost fold. The tremors that shook his hands worsened as Loki slowly unfolded the letter. His eyes scanned the topmost page, devouring the words…but then his eyes widened. His lips parted in what might have been shock. He squeezed his eyes shut. Set the letter aside. Bowing his head, he let out a shuddering breath. Then he picked up the letter again. Set it down. Picked it up. Grimaced.

 

“Loki?” Thor had gotten to his feet by this time. His brother sighed. “What’s the matter?”

 

His foster brother held out the letter. “I…read this.”

 

Thor stared at him. “You…you want me to…are you certain?”

 

He nodded. “I cannot. Her words…” Loki trailed off, staring at the pages in his hand. “Did you ever wonder how it is possible to bear the weight of someone’s forgiveness when you know you are not worthy? Did you ever wonder about the burden of being loved by someone perfect?” Then he laughed softly, ruefully. “And if she heard me, she would tell me that no one is perfect, and that I’m being foolish.”

 

Knowing Thea as he did at this point—and knowing how much she adored Loki—Thor nodded. “No doubt.”

 

“But I need…I cannot do this on my own,” Loki whispered. “Every time I think I shan’t disgrace myself, I find I am too pathetic to continue without the shame of…I am not ärgr, Thor, but I…I love her. I have yearned for her for so long and now to hold her words in my hands…please, Brother.”

 

Understanding that his brother’s control remained tenuous at best, that the slightest thing might set him off, Thor nodded and took the letter. “All right, Loki.” The Asgardian cleared his throat. No doubt this would be…awkward…but it was what his brother needed. He studied the pages. Some of the ink had smeared after getting wet, but it was still legible. Had Thea cried while writing this letter?

 

"Loki,

 

I don't know what to say to you. I don't know what you
want to hear. What you need to hear. I just don't know.
I love you so much, Loki. I miss you so much. I think
about you every day. I've been waiting and waiting for
you for so long, and I'll be able to see you soon. That
makes me so happy. I'm so happy. I haven't given up
hope that I'll see you again. I'll never give up hope. I love
you so much. I love you.

 

We escaped. Sophie and I, we escaped. I'm okay. She's okay.
We're both fine. Thor found us today. He said you think we're
dead. All this time, you thought we were dead. I knew
something was wrong with you, I could feel it somehow, and
now I know why. But I'm okay. I promise, we're both fine.
Sophie is healthy and happy and just fine. She misses you, and
she wants to see you, but she's okay. I'm okay. We're fine,
Loki. I'm so sorry that you thought you'd failed us. You could
never fail us.

 

I never lost faith in you. I knew you'd find a way to save Sophie
and me, and you did. You saved us. You sent Phil to get us when
you realized you might not make it back, and he rescued us. Just
in time, too. Sophie was born just after we got back to Earth. If
you hadn't sent Phil to get me, she probably would've died. I
might have, too. You saved us. Don't ever doubt that. You saved us.

 

There's so much I want to tell you. I thought I'd be able to explain
in person, but Víðarr said a former mortal can't travel using seiðr.
So I have to write this letter instead. What are you thinking while
you read it? I've got so many thoughts racing through my head, I
can't even sort them all out. I'm remembering snowball fights and
chocolate pudding on the beach and jumping off cliffs into the ocean
and watching the stars. I'm thinking about all the things I've wanted
to tell you all this time. I just can't pick one thing to focus on. My brain
is zipping around like a bat on crack or something. I don't have time
for a super-long letter because Sophie's waiting for me and I want Thor
to get this back to you ASAP. I want you to know - I need you to
know - that I'm okay, that we're both okay, and that we both love you.

 

And I forgive you. I know you were worried about that. I kept telling
you that I understood, that I knew you didn't have any choice, but you
were worried anyway. But it's okay. I forgive you, Loki. You were just
trying to protect our baby. Every day I'm grateful for her, and for you.
And I can't wait to see you again. I miss you so much. I know I keep
saying that, but it's true. I miss you. I can't wait to see you.

 

I don't know if Thor will have told you by the time you read this, but
the American government is granting you amnesty. You've got a clean
slate here. The German government is thinking about it. Phil's really
working with them to get that pushed through. Director Fury is even
considering offering a formal apology - not for arresting you, but for his
"unprofessional behavior" after you were captured the second time. He
told me about that after Víðarr came to see him. He didn’t tell me why
he was apologizing at the time, but now I know - when you screamed,
when you freaked out in the containment cell…this is so hard to write.
I'm trying really hard not to cry. But now I realize that you freaked out
because that super-douche, the Duke of Spook, came to you and told you
Sophie and I were dead. Oh, Loki…I'm so sorry. I can't imagine what that
did to you. But we're okay, babe. I promise.

 

Sophie's so excited to meet Thor (after she got over being shy). She
knows he's your brother, I told her about him, and she knows she'll get
to meet you soon. She can't wait. She asks about you all the time. I've
shown you to her with my powers, and I've told her all about you. She has
a lot of picture books about you and about Norse myths and legends, too.
She's so smart, Loki. She's so clever. Just like you. She understands that
you want to be with us. She knows it's not your fault. She's just glad that
we'll be together soon.

 

There's a drawing in this letter. Sophie made it for you when I told her I was
writing another letter. I was going to put it on the fridge, but she was
adamant - you had to have her picture. It takes some practice to figure out
what exactly she's trying to draw (our little Picasso, right?) so I figured I'd
explain it. I labeled it, too. It's a sunny day in our backyard. The pink thing is
Sophie (she loves pink), the blue thing is me, and the green thing is you. I
drew the faces.

 

I put a lot of her drawings and finger-paintings in the box Thor should have
given you. She loves to finger-paint. She's so serious about it, too. She'll open
one of her picture books and try to imitate whatever she's looking at. She used
to get frustrated until I told her that everyone has to practice to get good at
something. I told her about how you practiced seiðr for years and years, and
now you're the best. It perked her right up.

 

I can't wait for you to see her. She's so excited to finally meet you. She loves
you so much already. And the bear you made her - she carries it everywhere.
Thor said you thought she hadn’t had a chance to get it, but I took it and
Mini-Hobbes with me when Phil rescued us. I had to leave Hobbes because I
couldn’t bend over to pick him up and Phil said we didn’t have time to grab
him. Since I was in the middle of having a baby, I didn't argue.

 

But Sophie loves her bear, Loki. She takes it everywhere with her. She
knows you made it for her and that makes it even more special to her. She
sleeps with Bear and with Mini-Hobbes, but Bear is her special friend. She talks
to him all the time about everything.

 

When you finally meet her, just to warn you, she's going to talk your
ear off. Her talking skills are pretty advanced for her age - she can
make whole sentences and pronounce a lot of single-syllable words,
even several two-syllable ones - but if you can't understand everything
she says, don't worry about it. It took me a long time to figure her out,
and I had my powers to help. Just listen, and she'll be happy. She has so
much to tell you. She'll want to tell you all about her life - her toys, her
favorite books, what she likes to do, everything. I know you'll want to hear
it, too. I can't wait for you to meet her at last.

 

She remembers you, you know. She has an eidetic memory, like mine.
At least, we think she does. I'm pretty sure. She remembers a lot of stuff.
As she gets older, she'll be able to use it better. I couldn’t access
everything my brain stored until my powers started kicking in; it'll probably
be the same for her. But her memory is great, and she remembers your
voice. Even as a little baby, she remembered your voice. And I made sure
she knows what you look like and who you are.

 

I've sort-of explained what happened in New York with the Chitauri.
Obviously not all of the details, but she knows the Chitauri were holding
me prisoner when I was pregnant with her, and that you tried to trick the
Chitauri so we could escape, but that things didn't work out the way we
thought they would. That's exactly how I explained it to her. She understands.
As she gets older, I'll go into more detail, but I had to give her some kind
of explanation because of how some of the SHIELD agents treat her.

 

We have SHIELD protection here, and bodyguards, but Sophie's perceptive.
She could tell a lot of the agents didn't like her, and she wanted to know
why. I had to tell her something, so I explained about the Chitauri and then
told her that some of the agents are confused about you. She understood
that, too. And I talked to Fury about the agents; he's tried to take care of it.

 

Loki, I miss you. I wish you were here. I wish I could cuddle you and
talk nonsense about chocolate otter-penguins. I wish we could throw
snowballs at each other and I could climb you like a monkey climbing a
tree and we could dance and just be crazy together. All the things we did
before the invasion. Isn't it weird that we did so much together when we
were stuck as prisoners, and now that we've escaped the Chitauri, we
haven't been able to do anything together?

 

I'm sorry I'm so melancholy. I just miss you so much. I love you. I love
you always, all the time, forever. And when I see you again, I'm going to
do a running jump and glomp you to death because I'll be so happy. Or I'll
cry my head off and hug and kiss you until you can't breathe (or until your
parents tell us to get a room). I don't know which. Something. Anything.

 

Until I see you again, though, hold on. Hold on for me. Thor said you tried
to kill yourself. Please, Loki, hold on for me. Live for me. I'm coming. I'll be
there soon, I promise. I promise you. I love you, Loki. Please hold on.
Wait for me.

 

Love always, no matter what,

 

Thea

 

PS - 'I bring you with reverent hands
The books of my numberless dreams…
Man that passion has worn
As the tide wears the dove-gray sands,
And with heart more old than the horn
That is brimmed from the pale fire of time…
Man with numberless dreams
I bring you my passionate rhyme.'

 

PPS - Booyacashah. The love goddess has returned. Feel free to worship her
with your thoughts. She thanks you muchly. I love you."

 

At the end of the letter, Loki stared off into space for several long moments in silence, throat working convulsively, eyes blank. His fingers tapped a spasmodic rhythm against his knee. His face was pale. After a minute, he raked a hand through his hair. Drew a breath that seemed to hurt. He nodded slowly.

 

“That was another poem she liked. She used to say it made her think of me. She is...she is different now,” Loki whispered at last. A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “But in many ways, she is just the same.” He tilted his head back, tunneling his fingers through his hair, and sighed. “She is alive. I never thought…never dared hope…and now I, too, am different. Can she love what I've become?" He looked to Thor. "I want to see her. Now. Both of them. My seiðr is too weak to take me; where is Viðarr? I must go to Midgard at once. Please, Thor, I must see Thea.”

 

“Loki, if you go now, you could be taken prisoner by the Midgardians,” Thor said quickly. “Thea knows this. She understands this. She wants you to repair the Bifrost. She does not want you to risk yourself. Help us repair the Bifrost, Brother, and I will bring your wife and child here to Asgard. I swear to you, they will be safe, and I will keep them safe on Midgard until they can be brought here. Trust me, Brother. Trust me. You cannot go to Midgard yet.” A spark of revelation when Loki just glared at him prompted him to add, “It will upset Thea if you are captured or are forced to fight the mortals.”

 

His brother hesitated. Eyeing Thor, Loki said too softly, “I want to see her.”

 

A prickle of unease whispered down the crown prince’s spine. Keeping his voice gentle but firm, he said, “Loki, Thea has worked very hard to ensure that you can return to Midgard without causing a war. She isn’t finished yet. Do you want to ruin all of her efforts?”

 

There was a heavy silence as Loki just looked at him. Glacial emerald eyes fixed on Thor as the silence stretched out between them. Finally, Loki nodded. Then he looked at the letters in a pile on the bed. Then he glanced at the DVD player. The video was still frozen. He looked back at Thor and the taut chill faded from his expression. Softly, he murmured, “Did you see her? She was walking. My little Sophie…she was walking. She took her first steps.”

 

Thor nodded. “Yes,” he said with a small smile. “Yes, I saw her.”

 

“I never thought I would see it,” Loki said. He looked again at the screen. Next up: Mommy and Sophie make a snowman! blinked cheerfully at them. With a soft smile edged with no little sorrow, the green-eyed prince whispered, “I never thought I would see her take her first steps. My child…my little girl…” Loki looked at Thor once more and sighed. “I want to see my daughter, Thor. I want to see her. Hold her. I never…I wasn’t there when she was born,” he added. “I should have been there when Sophie was born, but I wasn’t. I never got to see her take her first breath. Never heard her first cry. I was never allowed to hold her. My little girl…I want so much to see her, Brother.”

 

“And you will,” Thor assured him. “I promise you, Loki. You will see Thea and Sophie again. Soon. Once the Bifrost is repaired, I will bring them to you. I swear it.”

 

Loki nodded slowly. “Thank you, Brother.” With another sigh, the fostered prince took the chair Thor had set beside the bed. “Now…I want to watch my wife and daughter making this snowman.” With trembling fingers, he pressed the button to unfreeze the video. After perhaps twenty seconds of black screen and letters, a new recording began.

 

“Sophie, look at the snow! Look at the snow! Oh, it’s cold, isn’t it? It’s so cold! Hang on, let me put on your mittens. No, don’t run outside…and there she goes. Joie, catch her! She’s not wearing mittens! Grab her!”

 

On the screen, Thea raced out as her sister grabbed a toddling Sophie bundled up in a fluffy green coat. Tiny red hands waved and Sophie squealed in delight. Thea made it outside, and the recording device followed. Thea glanced toward the recorder.

 

“Phil, stop laughing. She’s a lightning bug. I’m old.”

 

“I’m older, Als, and I can keep up with her just fine. You're not even thirty.”

 

“Oh…go rub a monkey’s tummy. Sophie, come here! We’re gonna make a snowman! You wanna make a snowman?” Thea asked, grinning. Sophie nodded and made a garbled sound that made Thea laugh. ”Okay! Let’s go—after we put on mittens or your little hands will get all frosty.”

 

“She’s a Frost Giant,” Coulson said. “She should be fine.”

 

“Don’t give her any ideas! There we go. Okay, mittens on. Now let’s make a snowman. Or…hey, Sophie. I got an idea. Let’s throw snowballs at Grandpa!”

 

“Hey, wait a minute, now—“

 

“Let’s get him!”

 

Delighted by this game, Sophie scooped up a small handful of snow and flung it at Coulson. “Ya! Ya! Ya!”

 

“This is mutiny!”

 

Thea laughed. “Hear that, Sophie-girl? Let’s do some mutiny!”

 

“Ya!”