Dark Avenger: A Tale of Mischief

Frigga

Thor lie unconscious, various tubes and wires connected to his body making him appear something his mother never thought she would see in her son...fragile.  Frigga approached the bed, her outstretched hand reaching for him with tears welling in her eyes.  She was careful to ensure she would not be detected, lest she be injured as the son before her was, or imprisoned like her other son.  Ignoring the beeping from the machine recording his heartbeat, she gently touched the side of his face and whispered his name.

      "Thor, my son..I am here, " she said, a single tear rolling down her face as she looked him over. Glancing around her, her hand still on the side of his face, she ensured no one else was in the room to see. Turning her face back to him, she stroked his forehead and the side of his cheek and spoke to him again, in a fierce whisper.

      "My son, I need you to be strong.  You are my son. You are the son of Odin.  Wake, " placing both hands on his face, she whispered forcefully, "Wake!!"

Drawing both hands back, she watched as Thor appeared to stir, almost as if he had merely been sleeping.  His brow furrowed and he let out a pained moan, but his eyes remained closed.  Letting out a sigh, she briefly closed her eyes as her thoughts then turned to Loki.  She needed to find him.

     "I will return, my son, do not give up. Be strong. Midgard needs you.  The nine realms need you...I need you! " she said, as she turned to go, looking back at him one more time before disappearing in a shimmer of green.

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Loki sat with his arm resting on his knee, lost to his thoughts.  He was still trying to recall everything that had happened between that moment he was given the scepter, and when he was throttled by Banner as the Hulk.  Everything was hazy.  Why couldn't he remember?  Huffing in frustration his thoughts switched to Thor and his brother's current condition after coming across the woman in the field. She truly was a mystery to Loki, the thought of her truly perplexing and terrifying to him as he continued to contemplate.  Looking down to the floor and deeply lost in his thoughts, he failed to notice the shadow slowly approaching his enclosure in the darkness.  The voice silently calling out his name snapped him out of his reverie, as he jerked his head up to see their silhouette on the other side of the thick glass of the cage he was trapped in. The absence of light made it difficult to see, but he could barely make out the features of the woman standing in front of him, as she leaned in closer to really look at him and speak to him.  Shock played across his face, before melting into a cold and angry visage as he looked at her coldly.

          "Hello, Mother..." he said, words dripping with acid.

           "Loki, " whispered Frigga, "my son, what have you done?"

            "What have I done? " he retorted, rising to his feet to face her, "Look around, Mother...I'm in a cage.  Ask yourself what has been done to me. "

            "Loki.  I know about you trying to take Midgard. Your father..."

            "He's not my father, " he responded with venom.

             "What happened to Thor?  Why is he lying in a mortal bed, close to death? " she asked, "why have they put you here?  What has happened since your attack on this realm?  What is Odin not telling me?"

At hearing the last question, the expression on Loki's face softened. Looking down at the floor for a moment, then back to her as he answered,

           "I don't know. There's a woman I encountered when I made my way back here.  She almost killed him.  I thought she would kill me too before Thor's new friends showed up, and I ended up here...and Thor in that "mortal bed", " he said, "I had never seen anything like it.  It was almost if her power drew on ours to attack us with our own abilities.."

Loki watched as a subtle look of realization washed across his mother's face.  She knew who the woman was.

          "Mother, " he started, "who is she? You know who she is. "

          "Always so perceptive, " she responded, "you were never one to be fooled, Loki. "

Looking into her eyes, he waited. She smiled softly and looked into his eyes.

           "Remember, my son.  You are part of this family.  Your family loves you.  Always."

           "Mother, who is she?  What of Thor? " asked Loki, frantically.  He had to know.

           "I cannot tell you, nor can I release you from this cage. I must go, " she said.

            "Why can't you tell me? Must there be more lies?  Has the All-father forbidden it? " he questioned, barely containing his frustration and anger.

            "I will return, my son, " was her only response as she disappeared once again in a shimmer of green light.  He was once again alone.  Sitting back down, his head thumped against the side of the cage as he huffed in frustration.